Here in Boyne’s eighth novel, aimed at adult readers the total brutality, filth and gore of war are aptly displayed. In that sense, despite the most beautiful use of language this is not a story for the faint hearted. The Absolutist is a tragic heart rendering story of hostilities, of opportunities lost and of a young generation losing their lives and their hope. Boyne has managed to record both the distinct lack of humanity for adolescence in war and their total incomprehension to their situation.

Set during and after the Great War in England, this story of friendship and moral integrity is based on twenty-year-old Tristan Sadler. Tristin travels from London to Norwich to deliver some letters and news to Marian Bancroft. Tristan fought alongside Marian’s brother Will during the War, and Tristin is searching for redemption. In 1917, Will in the middle of the war fields, declared himself a conscientious objector. For this he was shot as a traitor, an act which has brought shame to the Bancroft family. For Tristin, Will was his first real friend and his death has implications for him that are extraordinarily disturbing.

The Absolutist is framed by Tristin’s day long visit to Marian with the use of flashbacks to the war and their lives prior. The novel is constructed so carefully that one could almost argue that this is a crime novel. And in the end it is. But it is for you dear reader to decide where the crime is. John’s most famous novel, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas reached world acclaim. The Absolutist is worthy of a similar response.