The Absolutes: A Novel

''Read this. Right now.'' —Brandon Taylor

''Molly Dektar can write like hell. [The Absolutes] is simply ravishing.'' —Melissa Febos

For fans of Emma Cline and Garth Greenwell, an arresting, seductive novel about one woman’s headlong dive into a reckless affair that leaves her teetering on the edge of sanity.

“In truth, the idea of evil didn’t worry me at all. There were all these checks on it, of romance and restraint. In such a context, evil was intriguing.”

When Nora, a withdrawn American teenager, is sent to live with relatives in Turin, she meets Nicola, the enigmatic son of the most powerful aristocratic family in Italy.

Years later, the two reconnect in New York and begin a heated affair. Propelled by disorienting desire, Nora quickly becomes entangled in Nicola’s insular, menacing world of old-world luxury and family secrets. When she suspects she’s being used in a secret plot to overthrow his corrupt father, Nora willfully turns submissive to Nicola, pushing against the boundaries of her own moral limits until she finds herself spiraling on a path of self-destruction.

The Absolutes is searing, subversive examination of manipulation, obsession, and sexual desire. With unsparing intrigue and ferocity, Dektar proves herself to be one of the most ambitious writers working today.