"Saya pikir saya hanya bernapas, itu saja. Dan ada perbedaan antara bernapas dan hidup."Dengan posisi kursi tegak dan meja lipat tersimpan, saya mempersiapkan diri untuk petualangan lain, berkat Bapak Boyne. Namun, saat saya membuka sampulnya dan membaca beberapa baris pertama, saya segera menyadari bahwa tidak ada sabuk pengaman di dunia ini yang bisa menahan saya — saya akan mengalami perjalanan yang luar biasa. "Duduk di seberang saya di gerbong kereta, wanita tua berselendang bulu rubah itu ...

Pilihan Mutlak Ketika saya selesai membaca buku ini, saya memberikannya 4 bintang. Saya pikir itu adalah novel yang kuat dan memancing pemikiran tentang kejelekan serta beban perang yang ditimpakan pada para pemuda yang bertempur di Perang Dunia I. Saya masih berpikir demikian, tetapi saya juga tidak bisa berhenti memikirkan beban pribadi dan pergulatan batin yang mereka bawa saat pergi berperang, dan beban tambahan yang mereka bawa pulang jika mereka kembali. Saya harus menaikkannya menjadi lim...

"Akan lebih baik bagi kita semua jika Jerman menembak mati kamu di tempat." —Ayah Tristan Sadler.Astaga, aku sangat menghargaimu, John Boyne; dengan kepalamu yang mulus seperti pantat bayi, mata peri mungilmu yang berkilauan, dan kejeniusan kreatifmu yang luar biasa. Kamu adalah penulis andalanku saat aku bertemu dengan serangkaian bacaan yang menyedihkan, dan kamu tidak mengecewakanku, pria luar biasa.Kisah dalam *Pilihan Mutlak* karya John Boyne ini dimulai pada tahun 1919, pasca-Perang Dun...

Oke. Ini resmi. Setelah dua buku bintang 5 berturut-turut, John Boyne kini telah dengan mantap bertengger di daftar penulis favorit saya.Saya terobsesi dengan cara karakter-karakter John Boyne menarasikan kisah mereka. Ketulusan dan keramahan tertentu yang mereka pancarkan memungkinkan pembaca untuk melahap dan menikmati kata-kata mereka dengan begitu mudah. Saya rasa saya belum pernah membaca yang seperti ini.Terutama dengan *Pilihan Mutlak*, berempati dan merasakan apa yang dialami Tristan ter...

Fenomenal!!!!! Realitas pahit yang mendalam... tentang apa yang bisa dilakukan (dan tidak bisa dilakukan) oleh perang sialan itu-- oh, betapa aku MENCINTAI JOHN BOYNE!!! Ya Tuhan... aku SAMA SEKALI TIDAK TAHU apa yang akan kutemukan saat mulai membaca novel luar biasa Pilihan Mutlak karya John Boyne ini... penceritaan yang sangaaaat bagus!!! - begitu banyak yang ingin kukatakan. Aku benar-benar TERKuras.... SETIAP EMOSI terpancing!!!! SANGAT DIREKOMENDASIKAN!!!!!

A letter I sent John Boyne after finishing the Absolutist. Dear Mr Boyne, You don't know me, and you're probably thinking, hey, what's this random guy sending me a bill for. Well, John, let me break it down for you: Psychiatric evaluation 1000 Pain and suffering 2000 Undeserved mental anguish 5000 Broken heart 5000 Lost wages (because reading isn't allowed at work apparently, F**K you Tom!) 200 As you can see, John, the Absolutist has completely destroyed me. Your beautiful writing, amazing char...

“I think perhaps the adults we become are formed in childhood and there's no way around it.”3.5 starsDo you know what an absolutist means? It turns out that this term had a specific meaning during the First World War. People who refused to take up arms or fight were called absolutists. They were relatively few and could justify their decision not to fight using religious, ethical, or political reasons.We meet two absolutists in this book. Both struggle to defend their principles. Both face a tra...

In order to be fashionable John Boyne was just fishing in muddy waters… The stylization is poor and The Absolutist is but a modern fake war tale – judging by the books belonging in the described period, people then had a quite dissimilar mentality and they thought differently…Launching myself out into no-man’s-land gets more terrifying every time. It’s Russian roulette: with every pull of the trigger the chances of your surviving the next shot diminish.The Great War is only a background because ...

In his usual understated and deft manner, John Boyne has written a WWI story that is very different from all the others in this genre.Two young men, Sadler and Bancroft, train in the army together in England and are dispatched to the fields of Flanders in the same squad. They share a secret and taboo friendship that must remain hidden. But then a shocking case of barbarity by one of their squad finds the two friends on opposing sides of belief. One will find himself with an unthinkable task. One...

Tristan Sadler, newly 21, travels to Norwich from his London home to take care of an errand he is dreading. He has promised to deliver a sheaf of letters his friend Will Bancroft received while they fought together during World War I to Will's sister. And while this errand dredges up memories of the fighting and the deaths that Tristan would rather not remember, it also forces him to confront his feelings, his actions, and the direction the rest of his life is going to take.Spending the day with...