In the Absence of Men is a novel by Philippe Besson published originally in French by Éditions Julliard in 2001.

In part one, during the summer of 1916, a French teenager named Vincent de l'Etoile experiences an intense love with a soldier named Arthur Vales who is on leave from the French front of World War I.

During this time of extreme tension, the romance becomes a respite for both.

Vincent also befriends a well-known but unnamed French author.

In 2001 the French edition of the novel won the Prix Emmanuel-Roblès and the first winner of Prix premier Roman de Culture et bibliothèques pour tous de la Sarthe.