I should start to say that the first world war is very unknown in the Netherlands. It's not that people don't know about it, but as we didn't play a part in it, it is apparently less important in History class. Since 2,5 years I've been going to college in Leuven, Belgium. That city has been burned to the ground in 1914, but luckily it has been rebuild after. The famous University Library was rebuild from donations from American Universities, if I recall correctly. In Flanders fields ...
The Absolutist is a book that tells yet another side of the war. A side I was not familiar with, I had never given it a thought, as luckily I have never been involved in a war. About having to fight even if you really don't want to. Not because you're a coward, but because you morally object and can't rectify it for yourself. I thought it was a very moving story.
Note: The Dutch title for this book is - translated- The White Feather. After reading this made a lot more sense to me, as I was completely unfamiliar with the expression.
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