The Absolutist
by John Boyne
There is nothing like a well-written and compelling novel,
and I have found another in The
Absolutist by John Boyne. The book
is set in the time of World War I in Europe.
At age seventeen, Tristan Sandler decides to enter the war as an escape
from his current situation, estranged from his family after being sent away for
a ‘vile’ act (as defined for the time period): kissing his best friend, a
male. While in basic training, Tristan
meets Will Bancroft, an eighteen-year-old, from another part of England and the
son of a vicar. While in training, the
two young men develop a friendship that leads to something more – a physical
connection and emotional connection. The
training leads to the battlefield where both men are challenged to survive and
stay true to their values. When Will
captures a youthful German soldier in their area, things turn upside-down as
his peer soldier kills him. Will is
enraged and felt the German youth should have become a prisoner of war. Will decides to no longer fight in the war
and looks to Tristan to support his claim to higher ranking officers. The outcome pits the two friends against each
other and leads to a surprising ending.
The book captures issues related to following your conscience,
risk-taking, and the issue of homosexual relations during a time when men would
be killed if they identified as gay. The
book follows the various points of struggle for Tristan from youth to being an
eighty-year-old prize-winning author.
The author does an outstanding job of bringing the reader on a journey
of life with a character who can never shake the decisions he makes in
life. Beautifully written and what a
novel should be like. Great read!
No comments:
Post a Comment