John Knowles - Separate Peace: A Novel

Pros: Deep themes, a fun character named Finny
Cons: Underwhelming

Though World War II is raging somewhere across the ocean, the young men who attend Devon School are experiencing a more peaceful existence. Yes, at this prep school, war is the most common topic of conversation, but it doesn't seem quite real when you're ...

Pros: Interesting exploration of jealousy and identity.
Cons: A long, hard read for a thin little book.

I never had to read John Knowles' A Separate Peace when I was in high school --- but I can see why it'd be a good book to teach.

Knowles' coming-of-age story is narrated by Gene Forrester, who tells us about the events that...

Pros: Outstanding Story Based on Reality, Great Plot, Excellent Characters
Cons: A Bit Dry at Times

All around you, war and punishment flourish. The world is not the same as it was, while evil and hatred are the key ambitions unto which leaders are born, thus creating our world into a personal chaotic haven.

Alas,...

Pros: Young men come of age in war time, written with power and sensitivity
Cons: none--always gripping

I'm always troubled by war stories--stories that take place on the battlefront or in the combat zone of the troubled heart. But I know they touch the very core of human existence, and one of them, A Separate Peace is so exquisitely crafted and finely...

Pros: It's a drug-free remedy for insomnia...
Cons: ...which is not necessarily a good thing.

Pros: dynamic characters, engaging plot, Knowle's catchy writing style
Cons: immature and annoying (albeit fascinating) characters

A Separate Peace by John Knowles "It wasn’t the cider which made me surpass myself, it was this liberation we had torn from the gray encroachments of 1943, the escape we had concocted, this afternoon of momentary, illusory, special and ...

Pros: easy read
Cons: ?

DID GENE JOUNCE THE LIMB?

Gene intentionally jounced the limb when he and Phineas were up in th tree. He was jealous of the perfectness of Phineas. He was strongly intimidated by him. Gene is searching for something that tells him Phineas...

Pros: Time period it is set in is great
Cons: can get really slow at times

A Separate Peace is a novel that deals with illusion so much that at times one cannot distinguish reality from fantasy. The reason for so much illusion is due to World War II. All the characters are frightened of being sent out to the “front lines, ” so...

Pros: Characters are real, situations are familiar.
Cons: If you didn't like the style of Lord of the Flies, you might not like this one.

"Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death, by violence." The writer's work begins in the time and place of his own childhood experiences. For John Knowles, these were the final years of the second World War, at the Phillips...

Pros: Makes you think, very realistic
Cons: sad, not very flattering portrayal of human nature

"A Separate Peace" is the story of Phineas, as told through the eyes of his friend, Gene. The two of them are roommates at a New England Prep School during the second World War.
Phineas is a most engaging character, a clown and natural...

Pros: Excellent story, interesting characters
Cons: none

Finny’s Blitzball

In John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, an outgoing, friendly, athletic schoolboy named Finny invents an intense sport he calls “blitzball” (28-31). The sport is designed as a personal test, having no teams, and no winner or...

Pros: Great, interesting writing style
Cons: Story moves a little slow

Gene and Finny are two students who attend Devon School in New England during the early years of World War II. "A Separate Peace" recounts one summer in the lives of these boys and the great relationship that they shared. The book is written...

Pros: Nice plot
Cons: Short lapses of boredom

The main character Gene is jealous of Finny's natural athletic ability and fluid walk, but believes he compensates for this lack of ability by excelling in academics. Gene leads himself to believe that Finny is attempting to sabotage his academic success...

Pros: a somewhat interesting book
Cons: goes into too much detail possibly boring the reader

In a Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene, a teenage boy at Devon Boarding School, has a war to fight. It is not World War II, the war that is going on at this time period, but his own private war. He has done wrong to his best friend and it is up to...

Pros: Great insight to the human heart
Cons: A bit dated--though still meaningful

A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, portrays two teenage boys, each blinded by his own values. Each saw only in others what was found in his own heart. One could only see the good, pure, and positive energy in others; the other could only interpret...