It is so difficult to talk about THE ABSOLUTIST without saying too much. Safe to say, Tristan tells the story of his friendship with Will after they have enlisted in the army during World War I. He simultaneously tells the story of his going to meet Will’s sister after the war to deliver letters to her but also to tell her a secret.

I wonder how many readers caught the allusion to the Judas story when Tristan denies his friendship with Will three times.

This is another example of John Boyne's fabulous writing. At the same time, though, the story of what Tristan regrets in the end is unlikely, not that he regrets it but that he did it.