When I first read this book back in High School, I can remember how some in my class said they'd rather read something else while I actually enjoyed the work. This book is Knowles's masterpiece. Yes there are times when you'd rather put the book down and watch TV but those moments are few and far between. The characters are well developed, the plot is strenuously executed but in the end you feel better for reading it because you came through this journey into adulthood and friendship with the narrator.

Knowles crafts his story as a flashback to 1942 when War was declared and the boys of Devon School were making the tough choices that would define their lives. And in 1942 this meant either going to College or going into the military and fighting in WWII. This coming of age story is ideal for High School students which is the reason why it is widely required in most School Districts and Parochial School systems because it speaks of the end of innocence and realism of adulthood.

If you are an adult and wish to read or re-read this classic I recommend coming to it not as a schmaltzy read but as a serious work or fiction you'll find yourself connecting with the characters and the situations.

I do not completely recommend this novel but do think it is a good read.

This book is one of several that is most memorable from my youth. The main character is one that you easily like, his spirit is pure. Like Siddhartha he has his Govinda who follows him around. The spirit that the main character embodies is what makes this book special to me, that and the fact that it is set at Andover or Exeter, which ever one, during a more innocent time. This book to me is about innocence. Innocence is wonderful, people like that exist in the world. I think it is OK to fall in love with fictional characters to some extent. Maybe you will too. I highly recommend this book.

You can see this title on the required summer reading tables in bookstores, and I guess schools have been assigning it for almost fifty years. It is easy to see why. Its characters are all adolescents, engaged in the usual struggle for self-definition, subject to sudden mood-swings between intense affection and crippling self-doubt. And being set in 1942-43, the years following America's entry into the War, it offers a new and valuable perspective on this important period in the nation's history. It is, in short, a teachable text.

But it is a text that requires teaching. For one thing, I am not sure how easily most young people can relate to the hermetic world of a single-sex boarding school, let alone an elite New England prep school (the Dover School of the book is surely modeled after Philips Exeter, which the author attended). Although there is no hint of the homoerotic attractions that were a significant issue at the similar English school I attended a decade later, the book demands some understanding of the emotional impact of a closed world, where one's friends are everything, and every feeling is intensified. The central character, Gene Forrester, though physically no slouch, is primarily a scholar; he is drawn into the magnetic ambience of his roommate Phineas (Finny), a natural athlete for whom no feat is impossible and no scheme too audacious. The plot turns on Gene's inability to discern his own motives, or even to work out whether Finny is his best friend or most jealous rival. A moment of ambiguity early in the novel triggers an event which, though apparently soon laid to rest, will resonate throughout the book, leading to much more serious consequences. A good teacher might profitably discuss questions of truth and perception, motive and blame, on a chapter-by-chapter basis, but Knowles is a subtle and balanced writer who avoids primary colors. The lone reader who does not stop to question the text might well be left with the impression that this is merely an elegant memoir in which little of consequence happens.

The title phrase occurs about two-thirds of the way through the book during an unofficial Winter Carnival that Finny has organized in the snowy fields: "It wasn't the cider that 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 separate peace." The peace really is momentary; the very next paragraph introduces the first Devon casualty of the war, not fatal but nearly as devastating. Indeed, the war has been almost imperceptibly in the background for some time, but it now moves to the foreground, as the members of the graduating class move to enlist in one of the services. In the epilogue, Knowles has Gene take the war as a metaphor for the psychological battles fought at school over the past year. I am not certain that this works. But the brief moment when the two worlds, school and war, are temporarily balanced against one another is very poignant indeed.

/

"A Separate Peace" by John Knowles is a confusing book, which is why it is endorsed for popular consumption.

The reason is that when values are confused, people are far more readily manipulated; moreso, than if they were presented with a story whose propositions by way of story line were more explicit and unconfusing. The novel has nothing at all to do with PEACE, but a lot to do with ANGST, which the author offers as a desireable personality trait.

The first element in the story is its SELF-ABSORBED tone. The random presentation of events, and the fact that the actions of the characters are not founded upon human IDEATION, creates a perfect scenario for an elaborate HALF-TRUTH to be imposed upon the reader. The characters wander through a labyrinth of activities which are meaningless, purposeless, and thoughtless. It's a social engineer's paradise.

In this labyrinth of literary devices Knowle's presents a camouflaged ideation, which is incomplete of course, because the author is offering characters that are conveniently unhinged from reality.

This disconnection permits the dialogue to float adrift on a sea of uncertainty. Unfortunately, the uncertainty is presented as an invariable, and certitude simply isn't there.

What remains is a nihilistic proposition in which people navigate a foggy landscape, with no place to go, and nothing particular to do but wallow around in a teleological No Man's land.

The novel has appeal to people who endorse such propositions, finding fuzzy meanings and messages in the vaccuous verbiage; but that is precisely the author's intention.

There is virtually no value in reading such literature, unless one is merely curious about how nihilistic messages are implanted in the collective psyche, and how human Egotism and self-centeredness become a general proposal as a basis upon which to found a life.

In all, it is literary nonsense, whose potential damage to the human psyche is evident to anyone with an ability to sort through the author's manipulations of logic in storyline and dialogue. It's rather like a "code" in scripted form, with no benefit, unless the reader views as a benefit, fictionalized melodrama and fictionalized crises.

As the proverbialism goes, John Knowles doesn't have anything I want.

--Bruce R. Bain

/

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Needed book for required reading for school. Really enjoyed the read. Would recommend for anyone.

Sixteeen-year-old Devon Academy students Gene and Phineas "Finny" are two among 200 private high school students in attendance at a rural New Hampshire boarding school as the story begins in the summer of '42. WWII is raging on other continents, but the best friends and their classmates are a world away. Serious, studious Gene is amazed and often envious of his friend Finny's spontaneous rule-breaking antics. And even more so by his ability to evade punishment and even obtain a smile (or more) from even the most staid faculty member as he dodges punishment with seemingly logical explanations and excuses for his ever-impulsive behavior. Athletic golden boy Phineas seems almost too good to be true, convincing the most reluctant student to participate in his crazy activities, made-up games and clubs. He even goes so far as to contend that the war is not real. But Gene begins to wonder if there might be a more sinister reason for Finny's follies: preventing him from showing up his friend by winning an award for academics. All it takes is one little well-timed jounce to change both lives forever.

With its perfect descriptions of the surroundings, superb character development, and not entirely predictable plot, A Separate Peace will draw the reader in to a remarkable story of friendships between privileged, intelligent young men at the brink of manhood and involvement in the war. Both a life lesson and clinic on how to write descriptively, this G-Rated novel is likely to stay with readers for a very long time. Also good, The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer, better, and An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser.

Published in 1959, John Knowles' A SEPARATE PEACE is loosely based on the author's experiences while a student at Exter Academy during the 1940s--and tells the story of two students, Phineas and Gene, who strike up an unlikely but intense friendship that leads unexpectedly to tragedy and untimely death. It was extremely well-received by critics and public alike and is considered a minor classic of modern American literature, a frequent fixture on high school and university must-read lit studies lists.

A fairly short work, A SEPARATE PEACE can be easily read from cover to cover in the course of two or three hours--but I wouldn't recommend doing so. Some novels should not be rushed, and this is one of them; Knowles' lyric style requires a certain patience to develop fully in the reader's mind and the almost ghostly manner in which he handles the novel's themes of friendship, rivalry, ethics, and morality requires a fair amount of thought.

Gene, the novel's narrator, returns to Devon Academy, a private school he attended as a teenager during World War II. He hopes the visit will allow him to face the truth of and find meaning in the past--and he vividly recalls his relationship with school friend and roommate Phineas, a gifted athlete and charismatic eccentric whose charm encouraged his fellow students to numerous risky activities. Chief among these are a dangerous dive from a tree branch into the river, a dive that gradually acquires a ritualistic nature and ultimate gives rise to tragedy.

The nature of the tragedy involved drives the action of the novel. Who is morally weak and who is morally strong? How much can Gene--and we--ascribe to accident and circumstance and impulse and how much arises from free will? Who is actually responsible? There are no easy answers.

In both tone and story A SEPARATE PEACE seems to draw from three earlier masterpieces: F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1920 THIS SIDE OF PARADISE and 1925 THE GREAT GATSBY and Evelyn Waugh's 1945 BRIDESHEAD REVISITED. All three of these are lyical in tone; both PARADISE and BRIDESHEAD present young men in academic settings; and PEACE is quite similar in conclusion to GATSBY, both novels ending without a clear moral center and leaving the reader to sort of the meaning of the story in much the same way the characters must.

This was Knowles' first novel, and in some respects his inexperience shows: at certain points, most notably Gene's visit to Leper's Vermont home and the impromptu student court, the construction feels forced and artificial, as if Knowles recognized these moments had to occur for the sake of the story but didn't quite know how to go about writing them. That aside, however, the style of writing is remarkable eloquent, the prose possessing a poetic quality that is remarkably fine. The conclusion never fully resolves the relationship between Gene and Phineas, never fully answers the questions it raises, and as such has a remarkably haunting quality.

I personally A SEPARATE PEACE an often-brilliant piece of writing; I also suspect it is a novel that holds up extremely well to re-reading. At the same time, however, I confess I also found it slightly over-rated. There is a very fine line between narrative vagueness that inspires thought and narrative vagueness that is simply vague, and Knowles too often edges into the latter. Recommended, but perhaps best regarded as a slightly flawed "art" novel.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A Separate Peace caught my attention right from the first chapter. John Knowles uses simple and clean language that makes reading this novel fun and easy. It is a short novel with an interestingly simple plot that could have been developed into any ending.

The two main characters Gene and Finny are opposite in what they do but are attracted by the same excitement. Gene is very involved in his schoolwork and academically gifted. Finny is very involved in sports and physical activity. Both Finny and Gene are complex and add a passion and empathy to their friendship. The story revolves around the life of Gene and Finny and their path through school, life, and the war.

The differences these boys appear to have creates a competitiveness that's very prevalent in most parts of the novel. This creates tensions that pull the reader in. Adding the war into the story makes it different from other tension filled novels in the sense that there is an additional fear. The fear of war becomes a reality for the boys when their friend Leper Lepellier gets drafted and sent to war. Knowles helps create a gloomy mood at select times by using dark and sharp words. But when there are happy moments he is very good at creating an ambiance that's warm and heart felt. Heart felt words are mostly used when Finny and Gene are together, like at the beach or when they make up a new game. It is a story that explores the launch into manhood and the difficulties boys deal with during war times. The novel is very realistic and offers a sense into their experiences.

I would recommend this book because it is a fun and easy read. You don't have to look deep into the story to find the meaning behind it all. The length is perfect for anyone. The ending was strange in that it didn't feel like it should have been over. There seemed to be an emptiness that never got filled. Overall it is a great book for a light read.

"A Separate Peace" is considered to be an American classic, and I cannot deny the fact that it is extremely well written, but the simple truth remains that I just didn't enjoy it. In fact, it reminded me very much of Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited", another book which I feel more or less the same about.

Both "Brideshead Revisited" and "A Separate Peace" are told from the point of view of a character revisiting a location (Brideshead, in the case of "Brideshead Revisited" and the Devon School, in the case of "A Separate Peace") years after his first visit there and reflecting on his time there; in both cases the main character (Charles in "Brideshead" and Gene in "Peace") had an intense friendship with a unique character (Sebastian/Phinneas) who was "not meant for the real world"; and both books detail the decline of the unique friend, while the more serious protagonist moves on with his life.

Both books begin with several chapters detailing the best parts of the friendship between these characters, and I enjoyed both of these sections immensely. While reading the first 70 pages of "A Separate Peace", I thought this was going to become one of my favourite books of all time. I really wish that Waugh and Knowles had continued these "fun" sections for the entire duration of their books. Unfortunately, in both cases, events transpire to change things (Sebastian's expulsion from Oxford, and Phinneas's accident), and after that, the books are just dreary and depressing. I can understand that both authors had messages to put forward through these depressing scenes, but they are just not the sort of things that I enjoy reading. I won't spoil the ending of either book, but I will say that I found the ending of "A Separate Peace" to be very contrived and after reading it, I just wanted to throw my copy of the book at the wall.

Overall, I give "A Separate Peace" 4 stars for the quality of the writing (minus one star for the convenient ending), but 2 stars for my personal entertainment value. This gives an average rating of 3 stars.

When I first read this book in high school, I "got" some of it, and liked it a great deal. I loved the quote at the end, about imagined Maginaw (did I spell that right?) lines, enemies we imagine, fights that are all in our heads. Wow, high school and even college age is full of these complex relationships. Not like now (haha)...

What I got re-reading this last year was the richness and intricacies of our relationships with key people in our lives. I thought that the question was not did he/didn't he, clearly he did, but are all of these confusing relationships with others so entirely meshed with our own view and relationship with ourselves? I thought the relationship between the boys was as complex, rich, multifaceted, and many-at-once as you could hope for.

I have also noted that at times of political unrest, authors turn to the setting of boarding school as a microcosm of innocence and fraternaty; I can't remember it now, but there was a similarly set book on the best seller list late last year, and many others. I had missed, on first reading, the import of the war as backdrop in A Separate Peace, with war the mover of lives and the ender of innocence. As a separte theme, an interesting one. Care to plot novels set at boarding school against periods of unrest? Me either.

That said, I still really love how the book makes me think about things, and how it so simply paints intricate relationships that we all recognize and experience but could never describe so eloquently as we are shown here.

And, I'm still trying to talk my kids into naming our next pet Phineas.

I read this book in high school (I am now in my mid-40's). Since then I have read thousands of books, fiction, non-fiction, good to great (the bad ones I usually don't finish). The character development is masterful, the study of human nature is profound.

To this day "A Separate Peace" is my favorite book. My daughter is 14 and is reading it, though it is hard to get her to read voluntarily. I couldn't put it down then and she can't put it down now.

God willing, perhaps our words will reach the Board of Education and they'll FINALLY see how bad and useless this book really is! It doesn't matter that many of us are high school students, a bad book is a bad book no matter who you hear it from. Who cares if this books is a so-called "classic?" It has more worth as fuel for the fire of Olympus.

Though "A Separate Peace" was very much in vogue at secondary school during my own high school days, the Angel of Death passed over my classroom door, leaving me to read the book only as an adult.

Author John Knowles did manage to catch me unawares at boarding school one day anyway, when I stumbled across a short story of his called "A Turn In The Sun" that was about as profound and shaking a reading experience as I ever underwent. It was like that song, "Killing Me Softly," and I was Roberta Flack, or Lauryn Hill, or whoever. I was definitely the kid in the story, and Knowles' fine-bored narrative had me in its sights from first to last.

So I came to "Peace" with expectations, appreciation, and none of the homework-ridden angst much of its audience experiences on a first reading. And you know what? It was not impressive. Yes, Knowles' gripping descriptive powers were in evidence, and the setting, the same Devon boarding school as "Turn In The Sun", feels even more solid and dour here, establishing a great mood of preppy angst. But the end result doesn't deliver.

Published in 1959 but set during World War II, the novel features two boarding-school roommates, Gene and Phineas, a.k.a. Finny. Gene's the sensitive intellectual, and Finny the carefree jock. The two are best friends until one fatal day when one of them thoughtlessly jounces a tree limb the other is climbing on, sending him to a crippling fall. Unlike every other story of this kind, it's the jock that gets hurt, as Gene suffers from jealousy, or guilt, or frustrated homosexuality, or trembly legs, or, well, something.

I know what "Separate Peace" suffers from: A weak story. People complain that nothing much happens here, which was not the problem I had. I liked Knowles' wandering narrative eye just fine, as I said he's engagingly descriptive. It's when Knowles tries to create a semblance of a story that the thing falls apart. Finny won't believe his friend would hurt him, and so unconvincingly stifles any conversation on the subject until its too late. Meanwhile, a second plotline regarding the war's impact on Devon comes and goes to minimal effect, Knowles trying to tie it into the main story as if the whole of 20th century geopolitics consists of superpowers jouncing each other off tree limbs.

Add to that bad dialogue, unconvincing as that of teenage boys, like when the intellectually imposing and supercilious dormmate Brinker Hadley calls Gene out for injuring Finny in a basement smoking room. Gene tries to joke about the incident, because it will somehow make him less suspicious. "Yes, huh, yes there was a small, a little contretemps by the tree," Gene says, going on in this painful vein for a while, as Knowles channels the guilt within him with a full heart and a tin ear.

In the end, the story feels like a lot of symbolic puffery combined with some interesting bits about boarding school life that remain underdeveloped. I think I got the better of Knowles from reading "A Turn In The Sun", and maybe you will, too.

Before reading "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles, I noticed one of my friends reading it and became very interested what the story line was about. To my dismay she explained how bored she was with it. Taking into consideration I avoided the book for quite some time, until I found it in my library and checked it out. I wasn't to sure about it still but forced myself to get through the first chapter. After the first speed bump in the reading I was instantly pulled into the text. This was very surprising because I find myself more interested in more far off fiction novels, and bored with realistic text. The story follows two young men named Gene who is the narrator of the tale and Finny who is Gene's best friend. The story takes place around the time of World War II and many of Gene's classmates are tempted to join the army and be on with the action. The two friends end up staying at Devon School in New Hampshire where they are currently studying. The friends soon create a secret ritual among themselves which includes jumping from a tree into the river. The two are not as close as it seems however, because gene secretly is jealous and starts to despise Finny. The story from here goes onto show how hard coming of age can be for a teenage boy. There are many deep meanings in the book which seem to spring as you read. I was surprised to see how easy it was to connect with the characters, and how greed can cause one to do horrible things. There were also great messages of friendship that were heartwarming as well. One thing that stood out to me the most in this book however was, how things can stick with you even years after they have happened, and to try to be the best person you can be. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has not read it already. It's just over 200 pages, making it an easy but satisfying novel.

I had to read this in ninth grade and it truly reawoke my love of books which had waned somewhat in junior high. Finally a book that haunted me in a way that I could relate to, with characters whose inner lives and darker sides I could connect with on a level that usually wasn't acknowledged in real life. I've since recommended it to various teens I have worked with and I have yet to hear back from one who didn't love it.

I am a fifteen-year-old home-schooled student. Reading this novel was part of my 10th grade English course curriculum. Reading so many bad reviews by other people my age who were "forced" to read this book makes me sad, but it's actually almost funny in a way. Their only argument for hating this book was because it's "boring," a statement that I don't agree with. Those kids who think that classics are "boring" obviously are missing out on a lot. I guess they'd rather spend all their time talking on their silly little cellphones about trivial things that have no significance.

Anyway, back to the novel. (Warning: SPOILERS may be ahead)

The book studies the human emotions that create wars by telling the story of two teenage boys who live in a New England boarding school during World War II. One of them, Gene, comes to believe that his best friend and roommate, Phineas, is his enemy and one day, without thinking properly, shakes Phineas out of a tree, which breaks Phineas' leg. Over time, he realizes what a horrible mistake he made in assuming that Phineas was an enemy. He then concludes what he's learned from his experiences by saying "wars are created by something ignorant in the human heart."

The way the lessons are learned and the story is told is brilliant, and the book touches on several other themes as well. I hope to one day be able to write as good as this.

I'm in my 40's and I've only now read this book. My wife and I were in a book store and, surprised that I had not read it, she pulled it from the shelf and bought it for me. I'm glad I read it now because I think a lot of it would have been lost on me had I read it as an assigned book in high school.

This book is about humans and their nature. The nature that can transform small bits of angst and doubt into tragedy on a grand scale. The two main characters are prep school roommates and best friends. However, Gene still fills gaps in their relationship with suspicion and insecurity, leading to an irreversible horror that he spends the remainder of the book coming to grips with. I think every human grapples with this same weakness. For most of us, luckily, we learn these lessons in small ways from our own lives and we safely learn them from novels like this where the effects are grave and permanent.

I'll bet there is someone in your life that you do not understand. And rather than confronting that gap in an open and honest way, you are instead nurturing a suspicion of ill will on their part. Don't be like Gene. Don't shake that person from the tree. Talk to them. Be honest and open. You might not get to an ideal place but you will avoid the dark breakdown of the sorts found in this novel.

You are a human and, therefore, this novel, this unflinching study of human nature, should be part of your curriculum.

I first read the book when I was 16 and, frankly, quite a bit went over my head. It didn't help that I was learning English at the time and that the language of Shakespeare is not my native tongue.

My second reading was last week. I'm in my forties now and got a lot more out of the book. There are things said and unsaid, motives known and motives inferred, that deliver the full power of meaning to this masterpiece. It is rare that a writer shows such respect for the reader as to trust that one will be able to read between the lines. I don't much recommend this book for young readers, who typically lack the experience and perspective necessary to appreciate this book.

While the story had a powerful impact on me when I was 16, I could not quite make out why the story had made such an impact.

Fast forward to two days ago, when I finished my second reading. The effect of the novel differed by an order of magnitude. This is truly a masterpiece. Having an adult's mind and experience this time allowed me to glean much meaning. I found it especially interesting that I could infer Finny's thoughts and motivations with great clarity. This is a remarkable accomplishment by the author when one considers that the novel is told entirely from the first-person perspective of Gene, the protagonist.

The story is as powerful as ever and its message is universal. Perhaps the historical setting and the cultural conventions of the time leave the modern reader at some loss, but then again the very point of fiction is for us to live in another's skin, if only for a while.

Just because the novel involves teenagers does not mean that this should be the intended audience.

"A Separate Peace" by John Knowles.

In the summer of 1942 Gene Forrester attends the summer session of Devon a private school in New England. Gene's friend Phineas (Finny) decides it would be a good idea to jump from a tree overhanging a river on campus. A tree used to simulate jumping from a war ship by the seniors. Finny talks Gene into jumping as well. Gene as always goes along with Finny's idea........

This book was surprisingly enjoyable. The story is told from Gene's point of view as he goes through his last year of school while contemplating life, his friendship with Finny and others as well as the war which overhangs everything and everyone. The book isn't full of action and adventure per say but Knowles writing style is very engrossing and will keep you turning pages.

The good: The easiest way to sum it up is to say the writing. The style made for a completely enjoyable read. The characters all have a real feel to them. The ongoing description of the school was done well enough that it might be considered one of the characters as well.

The bad: Nothing memorable

Overall: A great read. Pick it up and give it a try.

"A Separate Peace" by John Knowles.



In the summer of 1942 Gene Forrester attends the summer session of Devon a private school in New England. Gene's friend Phineas (Finny) decides it would be a good idea to jump from a tree overhanging a river on campus. A tree used to simulate jumping from a war ship by the seniors. Finny talks Gene into jumping as well. Gene as always goes along with Finny's idea........



This book was surprisingly enjoyable. The story is told from Gene's point of view as he goes through his last year of school while contemplating life, his friendship with Finny and others as well as the war which overhangs everything and everyone. The book isn't full of action and adventure per say but Knowles writing style is very engrossing and will keep you turning pages.



The good: The easiest way to sum it up is to say the writing. The style made for a completely enjoyable read. The characters all have a real feel to them. The ongoing description of the school was done well enough that it might be considered one of the characters as well.



The bad: Nothing memorable



Overall: A great read. Pick it up and give it a try.

"A Separate Peace" by John Knowles.

In the summer of 1942 Gene Forrester attends the summer session of Devon a private school in New England. Gene's friend Phineas (Finny) decides it would be a good idea to jump from a tree overhanging a river on campus. A tree used to simulate jumping from a war ship by the seniors. Finny talks Gene into jumping as well. Gene as always goes along with Finny's idea........

This book was surprisingly enjoyable. The story is told from Gene's point of view as he goes through his last year of school while contemplating life, his friendship with Finny and others as well as the war which overhangs everything and everyone. The book isn't full of action and adventure per say but Knowles writing style is very engrossing and will keep you turning pages.

The good: The easiest way to sum it up is to say the writing. The style made for a completely enjoyable read. The characters all have a real feel to them. The ongoing description of the school was done well enough that it might be considered one of the characters as well.

The bad: Nothing memorable

Overall: A great read. Pick it up and give it a try.

This novel has become a new favorite in our family, we have all read it.

The story of Gene an' Finny is peppered with so much irreversible psychological harm being committed that it is impossible to not feel uncomfortable as the story unfolds. One boy is a lively free spirit while the other is being driven down a path to adulthood without stopping to appreciate the joy of the last years of real peace. World War II is looming an' the story is all the more troubling because of this disenchantment with mankind's determination to destroy each other so present in these boys, while knowing that "the war to end all wars" was really anything but; that the cycle of violence as akin to superiority, to racism, to sectarianism, all aspects of the idea of one nationalism over another, was only going to escalate an' grow more deadly; an' that the lines between who was right an' wrong, good or bad, in these wars would begin blurring rapidly. If it was ever there in the first place.

What happens between the two boys in this story could constantly be reinterpreted, whether it was premeditated an' malicious, or an unintentional act that simply weighed too heavily on the conscience to accept as an accident. An' the eternal question I constantly posed to myself being whether where the story ends up places the fault on a young boy regardless of the aforementioned uncertainty of the act's intent.

I could read this again and be enveloped by this feeling as though it were fresh. Maybe because in the time since I've read it I've never resolved the moral question here. And probably never will. Cheers to the late Mr. Knowles for tackling something pure an' human in a universal way. One of the seminal reading experiences of my life.

This book had little markings on it, but I was expecting that. Otherwise, the book was in great shape. No pages ripped, no missing pages, etc. Although the book is boring but interesting to me...

John Knowles is a skilled story teller and a master at writing. His deep and rich descriptions give your mind the ability to paint your imagination with images that are much more than just images. These images are alive. His words not only bring life but they add another dimension to the picture. Emotion.

What sounds to be a simple tale transcends beyond any expectation and puts your soul, your very being into the picture. Your emotions are played like a delicate instrument. You feel for the characters and your sympathy runs deeper than as if you were a friend or relative. Their emotions are your emotions.

Main character Gene and Phineas quickly become friends at a prep school. As World War II approaches, the boys at the school are torn by emotions. Each boy struggles to find himself.

This book is definitely a classic. I only wish it were better known because it is far better than some of the other classics out there.

A Separate Peace was written initially as a means of describing the loss of innocence in youth and the way that loss shapes them when they grow older. It did a satisfactory job in doing so. Yet, I feel as though the book didn't completely grasp me and I didn't feel anything beyond simple sympathy towards any of the characters.

The plot essentially went like this (without the ending). Teenagers Gene and Finny go to a prep school in Devon during WWII. The war serves as the representation for the loss of innocence ready to take fold. While Gene is the quiet overachiever, he viciously envies his best friend Finny as Finny is more popular, social, and athletic. The envy explodes one day when Gene accidentally-on-purpose shook the branch that Finny was swinging on, causing him to fall out of the tree. Finny is paralyzed, as a result of this, and the rest of the novel serves to examine Gene's reaction to this and how his newfound guilty shapes his future.

I enjoyed how Knowles used the ongoing war as a representation of the violence and despair that would rip these friends apart. It added an extra depth to the novel, since the events of the story relating to the war coincided with the experiences of friendship, or damaged friendship, between the two boys. Ok, I felt sympathetic for Finny because he was suffering due to the detrimental jealousy of his closest friend. I'm not an apathetic person. But I didn't like this book mainly because, it was extremely boring. The plot dragged on, and for me, it just got to the point where I gave up caring for any of the people.

If you have to read this book, I'm guessing it won't be bad comparing to the other books they make you read in school. But if you want to read a book that brilliantly analyzes the loss of innocence within humanity, read The Lord of the Flies.

This was a good, thought-provoking novel. Some of the emotions and mental processes of the characters were hard for me to identify with, but I think that adds to the experience in a way. This isn't the greatest book I've ever read, but it definitely presents some fascinating thought-processes, which I admired.

// Spoiler Below //

Notes: Finneas doesn't have to try to be good at things; his friend Gene needs to work hard. Gene resents this fact and begins to hate his friend's seeming perfection and unconquerable innocence. Soon his resentment blooms into an almost irrational hostility. He becomes almost paranoid, he thinks Finny is trying to keep him from his studies, the one thing at which he excels. Meanwhile, Finneas lives a free life, breaks school sports records without making official records, lives a life above the rules. Finny has an innocence partially divine. But all childhoods must end, and Finneas' perfection must fall.

Gene describes Finneas as part of himself, as an extension of his own person, and when Finneas dies a part of Gene also dies; he is transformed. Finneas represents a pure side of Gene and that is usurped at school's end by the encroaching real world as war looms. And he must be shed as all the boys begin to each adopt a new, grownup face. A face of fear -- a face to confront the enemy of Europe and Asia, and the grown up world.

At the beginning of the novel, Gene visits Devon and sees things as an adult; yet he has not forgotten what it was like to see them as a boy. He is a sleuth, a visitor looking in at the gates of his childhood. He observes the fabled tree, the things once magical but now soberingly real. He notices the fateful marble stairs outside the First Academy Building: how hard they are, he now realizes, edging closer to that long lived with truth.

All the boys are, as the narrator says, "imprinted with the spirit of the times" in which they met life at that time of special terms. When life was to be invented, questioned, when everything was possible. Those times, the narrator reflects, will always be a part of us. They are what is the truth, what we always return to. A seperate peace.

*** Spoiler Below ***

There is an innocence about Finneas. He doesn't have to try to be good at things, but Gene needs to work hard. Gene resents Finny for this and his friend's seeming perfection. His resentment blooms into an almost irrational hostilely; he becomes almost paranoid, thinking Finny is trying to keep him from his studies, that one thing at which Gene can excel. Meanwhile, Finneas lives a free life, breaks school sports records without officially reporting them: he is beyond regulation, above the rules living an innocence that is partially divine. But all childhoods must end, and Finneas' perfection must fall.

Gene describes Finneas as part of himself, as an extension of his own person, and when Finneas dies a part of Gene dies too and is transformed. Finneas is in effect the alter persona of Gene. Finneas represents a pure side of Gene and that is usurped at school's end by the encroaching real worlda as war looms. The boys begin to each adopt a new, grownup face. A face of fear -- a face to confront the enemy of Europe and Asia, and the grown up world.

At the beginning of the novel, Gene visits Devon and sees things as an adult; yet he has not forgotten what it was like to see them as a boy. He is a sleuth, a visitor looking in at the gates of his childhood. He observes the fabled tree, the things once magical but now soberingly real. He notices the fateful marble stairs outside the First Academy Building: how hard they are, he now realizes, edging closer to that long lived with truth.

All the boys are, as the narrator says, "imprinted with the spirit of the times" in which they met life at that time of special terms. When life was to be invented, questioned, when everything was possible. Those times, the narrator reflects, will always be a part of us. They are what is the truth, what we always return to. They are our own separate peace.

Aubrey Menen wrote that "A Separate Peace" was the "best-written, best-designed, and most moving novel" he had read in years - which begs the question...who is Aubrey Menen? ("Was" is more appropriate, as the satirist died in India in 1989, after a career as an ad exec and novelist.) His observations were on target, though, and some of Menen's best writing is observed in his cover-blurbs for John Knowles' 1959 coming of age story.
As a title that appears on a number of high school required-reading lists, it might be easy to dismiss "A Separate Peace" as another tedious assignment bent on beating the life out of students. The presence of sixteen-year-olds in the story likely reduced it to an assignment to begin with, but the quality of the writing is what keeps it there.
Although generations removed from the time when general conscription filled the ranks of the armed forces, "A Separate Peace" is able to recapture the uneasiness of that era, and the distinction between those old enough for the WWII draft, and those who have another year of relative innocence. Gene and Phineas are in that latter class, attending an underpopulated summer session at an exclusive New England boy's school. Gene is an intellectual who tends to read between the lines, while Phineas is athletic smooth-talker who has the ability to get away with anything.
The two wind up as roommates and unlikely best friends, although Gene can scarcely contain his jealousy of Finny's winning ways. He alternately views his friend as naive and crafty, and in an instant of competitive retribution, Gene bounces on the tree limb on which they are balanced, causing Finny to fall and shatter his leg.
The emotions Knowles touches on in dealing with Gene's resulting guilt, and the shame of knowing he has permanently changed the life of his friend, are eloquently stated, and certainly identifiable as part of the angst-ridden years of growing toward adulthood. Without giving away details of the story, later complications compound the situation, and Gene - already burdened with intellectual introspection - forces himself to reason or rationalize the ordeal.
Part of the joy of the book is Phineas himself, the sort of character some are fortunate to meet in real life, among those treasured acquaintances who seem to streak like wondrous meteors across the skies of our lives, before disappearing forever from our sight, and - assigned or not - "A Separate Peace" soars as one of life's extra-credit literary pleasures.

Aubrey Menen wrote that "A Separate Peace" was the "best-written, best-designed, and most moving novel" he had read in years - which begs the question...who is Aubrey Menen? ("Was" is more appropriate, as the satirist died in India in 1989, after a career as an ad exec and novelist.) His observations were on target, though, and some of Menen's best writing is observed in his cover-blurbs for John Knowles' 1959 coming of age story.
As a title that appears on a number of high school required-reading lists, it might be easy to dismiss "A Separate Peace" as another tedious assignment bent on beating the life out of students. The presence of sixteen-year-olds in the story likely reduced it to an assignment to begin with, but the quality of the writing is what keeps it there.
Although generations removed from the time when general conscription filled the ranks of the armed forces, "A Separate Peace" is able to recapture the uneasiness of that era, and the distinction between those old enough for the WWII draft, and those who have another year of relative innocence. Gene and Phineas are in that latter class, attending an underpopulated summer session at an exclusive New England boy's school. Gene is an intellectual who tends to read between the lines, while Phineas is athletic smooth-talker who has the ability to get away with anything.
The two wind up as roommates and unlikely best friends, although Gene can scarcely contain his jealousy of Finny's winning ways. He alternately views his friend as naive and crafty, and in an instant of competitive retribution, Gene bounces on the tree limb on which they are balanced, causing Finny to fall and shatter his leg.
The emotions Knowles touches on in dealing with Gene's resulting guilt, and the shame of knowing he has permanently changed the life of his friend, are eloquently stated, and certainly identifiable as part of the angst-ridden years of growing toward adulthood. Without giving away details of the story, later complications compound the situation, and Gene - already burdened with intellectual introspection - forces himself to reason or rationalize the ordeal.
Part of the joy of the book is Phineas himself, the sort of character some are fortunate to meet in real life, among those treasured acquaintances who seem to streak like wondrous meteors across the skies of our lives, before disappearing forever from our sight, and - assigned or not - "A Separate Peace" soars as one of life's extra-credit literary pleasures.

I of course recognize that this book is well written and a classic but I personally found it too depressing and uneventful.

I of course recognize that this book is well written and a classic but I personally found it too depressing and uneventful.

It has been said that A Separate Peace is the quintessential coming of age novel. That may quite be so. I certainly could not argue against that statement. That being said, I will say that this is one fine bit of smooth, restrained writing. The sentence structure, syntax and flow is some of the best to be found. If for no other reason, it should be studied for that reason alone. I note that there are quite a few critical and negative reviews on this one, for the most part, from kids who have been forced to read it in class. I, myself, probably would not assign this work to a general class in High School. I can remember from my school day, that anything that had the word "classic" attached, made m eyes roll to the back of my head before I even opened the cover of the book. An honors class, perhaps. This, at first glance, is a very simple book, but it is so much more. There are so many levels found in this work that it is actually rather difficult to track all of them with just one reading. I also feel that many of our young folks today would have problems relating to the setting and the situation addressed in this work. The subjects studied by the school boys of that day alone and at the level they studied them, would be difficult to find in any of our schools today. After all, it was published fifty years ago and times they have been changing. On the other hand, the emotions addressed in this work have been with us since the beginning of time and always will be. To the argument that it is a coming of age book written by another old white guy. This is true. Authors should write about what they know. The author was an old white guy, ergo, a coming of age book about a rich white kid. I am an old white guy and would never think about writing a novel about the life of a young Hispanic man living in this day and age. That would be silly as I would not have a clue. Knowles is a good story teller and a fine writer. I liked and enjoyed this work when it was first published and could well relate to the character at that time. I am old now, do not so much relate to the young man in the book, but certainly can relate to the old man telling the story. I do have to agree with another reviewer in that some of the pages in this book are absolutely hilarious, a fact often overlooked. All in all, recommend this one highly.

It has been said that A Separate Peace is the quintessential coming of age novel. That may quite be so. I certainly could not argue against that statement. That being said, I will say that this is one fine bit of smooth, restrained writing. The sentence structure, syntax and flow is some of the best to be found. If for no other reason, it should be studied for that reason alone. I note that there are quite a few critical and negative reviews on this one, for the most part, from kids who have been forced to read it in class. I, myself, probably would not assign this work to a general class in High School. I can remember from my school day, that anything that had the word "classic" attached, made m eyes roll to the back of my head before I even opened the cover of the book. An honors class, perhaps. This, at first glance, is a very simple book, but it is so much more. There are so many levels found in this work that it is actually rather difficult to track all of them with just one reading. I also feel that many of our young folks today would have problems relating to the setting and the situation addressed in this work. The subjects studied by the school boys of that day alone and at the level they studied them, would be difficult to find in any of our schools today. After all, it was published fifty years ago and times they have been changing. On the other hand, the emotions addressed in this work have been with us since the beginning of time and always will be. To the argument that it is a coming of age book written by another old white guy. This is true. Authors should write about what they know. The author was an old white guy, ergo, a coming of age book about a rich white kid. I am an old white guy and would never think about writing a novel about the life of a young Hispanic man living in this day and age. That would be silly as I would not have a clue. Knowles is a good story teller and a fine writer. I liked and enjoyed this work when it was first published and could well relate to the character at that time. I am old now, do not so much relate to the young man in the book, but certainly can relate to the old man telling the story. I do have to agree with another reviewer in that some of the pages in this book are absolutely hilarious, a fact often overlooked. All in all, recommend this one highly.

This was required reading for my 15 year old son and he said:
It was boring.

This book had a good message, and could have had a lasting impact on me. But the plot was obscenely dull, and the middle of the book (Gene and Finny relationship) does not seem to fit in with the rest of the book. Not recommended.

I had to read this book once. When I first saw the book, I wondered why we had to read this. But now I feel as though I have missed out on a great work of literature.
The story begins in 1957 when Gene returns to Devon School. There, he reflects on the year he met Phineas.
Phineas had created a society whose sole purpose was to jump from a tree, the tree that was being used to train the upperclassmen for war. But Gene thinks Phineas wants to destroy his chances of being valedictorian.
One day on the tree, Gene shakes the limb and Phineas falls. Phineas tells Gene that he has to play sports. But Gene does not have the courage to tell Phineas the truth.
Leper goes off to the war and returns. He claims to have seen things while on the frontlines.
Gene stands on trial for the accident. While the trial occurs, Leper comes and says that he saw what happened. Phineas tries to leave, but a terrible incident occurs.
I was absolutely captivated and spellbound by this book. I know I might read it again to recapture the memory of this great American novel.

The year is 1943. War is raging across Eastern Europe and Northern Africa. Italy joins the battle, and so does Japan. Peace seems improbable. War is war, and its savage and horrific reality leaves tons of thousands of sodiers and civilians either dead or maimed for life.

Devon School is considered the most beautiful school in New England. Located astride the Naugamsett and Devon rivers, which are separated by a dam, Devon School--especially during the summer months--is considered to be one of the richest pearls of New Hampshire. Its lush green fields, ivy-covered buildings, and sprawling athletic complexes set it apart from many others. Its purpose is to train adolescents to become men both intellectually and physically.

In A Separate Peace, John Knowles masterfully juxtaposes the brutalities of war in Europe with the peace of Devon School in the summer of 1943. Knowles weaves a starkly intriguing parable about the dark forces that can invade the complex world of adolescence. The principal players are a small band of adolescents who remain to take summer courses. Named "The Super Suicide" by Phineas, the novel's tragic hero, these young men are magically attracted to Phineas because of his charisma, his ability to turn sadness into joy, and his marvelous way of diverting their minds away from the horror of war.

Finny is best friends with Gene Forrester, through whose eyes the novel unfolds. Gene is a scholar; Phineas is an athlete. Gene's life is regulated by societal expectations of studying hard, being on time, getting all As. Finny's life is one of spontaneity, skipping classes to take walks and inventing crazy games like blitzball--and taking risks.

One risk-taking venture turns into a tragedy when Finny's ankle is broken. The accident involves Gene and Finny, and it leaves Phineas nearly handicapped throughout the book. Gene knows he was responsible for the accent; Phineas denies his friend's culpability to the point where he has Gene convinced that the accident was just a fluke--a loss of balance that caused his fall from the branch of a large tree onto the hard ground below. However, Phineas cannot be a super athlete anymore because his mobility is severely compromised. Because the ankle is so vulnerable, it leads to another break and ultimate death of Phineas as durin gsurgery some of the bone marrow escapes into his blood stream and goes directly to his heart and stops it.

Beneath the major plot there is a complexity of subplots that Knowles expertly intertwines. These young men are superpatriots: they want to enlist to defend their country. Phineas tries to convince them that the war is only an illusion created by fat men who wear three-piece suits and occupy the seats of power. A kangaroo court is set up by one of the novel's compulsive activists named Brinker for the purpose of proving Forrester is in truth to blame for Phineas's injury. Before his death, the two friends strengthen their bond, but the separate peace carved between them and created that summer by the idiosyncratic escapades of Phineas is lost forever. It is during this time that Forrester learns of Phineas's passionate desire to enlist--a secret he keeps only to himself. All the time he was denying the reality of war, he was writing to all of the major military academies for the purpose of becoming a soldier. Because of his vulnerable ankle, however, he is rejected by everyone.

I first read this book during my college years in the 1960s. In reading it again, I was reminded of William Golding's Lord of the Flies, in which a small group of young men become marooned on an island out live out their evil by regressing to their primitive and animalistic behavior. In A Separate Peace, evil is everywhere present but in a more subtle and insidious way. The evil of war is also reflected in the evil of young minds when left to their devices. In both novels, however, goodness is defeated by the evil in men's reason, which is the worst evil of all.

My conclusion: war will never be eliminated unless we understand the evil within ourselves. Although a separate peace is created in the blissful summer of 1943 in a place where life is seen as a gift--beautiful and free--evil will sooner or later appear. How do we detect it? What is its M.O.? How can we know its devastating power? I don't have an answer. It still remains a mystery to me.

Like many other readers and Amazon reviewers, this book was assigned reading for me in high school. I read it again recently when the kids got it...and found it has not improved with age. One wonders why generation after generation of teachers continues to tout this book as a "classic" when it's really far from enjoyable.

The premise is interesting - youths coming of age during the World War era that's changing not only their future but their entire way of life. Unfortunately the characters, from prestigious, wealthy families who are more than just a little bit snotty - just can't hold the average reader's sympathy. Teens couldn't relate to them 30 years ago and can't now. The main character, furthermore, can't be referred to as a hero, since he deliberately wounds his best friend, and is indirectly responsible for his death. "Did he do it on purpose?" won't hold interest for hundreds of pages, and the fact remains that, whatever the reason, he DID do it either through deliberate cruelty or carelessness. Neither reason is excusable.

If we want kids to love reading, give them something that's interesting, and characters to like. "A Separate Peace" provides neither.

If this book was assigned to you as a high school student, you may have a tough time liking it. Your high school teacher either doesn't like it but teaches it anyway, or else loves it so much that he/she can't understand why you don't.

"Who is this clown?" you're thinking. "Why should I care about this self-centered East Coast preppy who, by the way, actually HAS a choice of whether to go to war or not? Is it my problem that he can't express his feelings in a healthy way? Maybe he should go back in time and blame his Puritan ancestors. Or better yet, maybe he should wait until after the war, get together with his boozy network of good old boys, and impose his values on every single human being on the planet so we all have to suffer as well."

A valid point, but I swear to you, there's more to this book.

For one thing, it's funny. Don't let Gene's morose tone rub off on you. Finny is completely hilarious.

Even among people who really liked the book, there's a tendency to overlook how much Finny and Gene have in common:
-Sometimes I wish my friend were a little more like me...
-He can do some things I never could...
-There are certain situations where I'll do or say ANYTHING to keep from seeming vulnerable...

I think a lot of us can identify with thoughts like that, even if we are not of this book's time or place.

In literature, loyalty and love are around the most important themes there are. Knowles treats them both with real care in this book. The relationship between Finny and Gene is really something. You won't find many characters who care about each other this much. No kidding. I know Gene acts like a jerk, but...

Knowles also manages to weave all that in with an exploration of the subject of war that's actually very original, despite the relatively familiar framework of the basic plot. He questions whether innocence can survive certain situations, and the fact that, sometimes, we can't even tolerate innocence. There's an impulse to bring people down to our level.

By the way, I gave a four star rating because I wanted people to read this without thinking I was myself hopelessly in love with this book, but I obviously am. I would give it six stars if I could.

"Assistant crew manager?!"

A Separate Peace is a tale of two friends at an elite prep-school in New England during world war II. Gene is an intelligent and studious boy with much ambition, while his friend Phineas is more outgoing, athletic and charismatic. Gene feels jealous of Finny which leads him to believe that Finny doesn't really like him and is just using him. This insecure assertion leads to devastating results...

Masterfully interwoven with the war happenings, this book offers ponderings into the nature of friendship, jealousy, spite and social harmony. Ultimately, it redefines the concepts of war and peace in both every individual and the world at large. Well written, with great character descriptions.

It's a shame John Knowles couldn't follow up his act in the subsequent books he wrote, but this book will forever remain a great american classic.

Having taught this book several times as an English teacher, I've certainly had my exposure to it. My view of the novel has certainly changed over time, as I've come to regard the novel for all of its beauty. I strike a single star from its score simply because I don't believe the book has aged well; it is not accessible and applicable to contemporary America like it was to the generation of adolescents who could still remember that there was such a thing as World War II and that it wasn't almost as long ago as Noah's flood. To today's teenagers, it comes across as cheesy. This is truly a shame, suggesting we have reached a period in history in which the naiveté of youth has been obliterated. But then, that is what the novel is about, and perhaps it has grown even more meaningful today. Instead of reading this text as a commentary on individual maturation and the rites of passage associated with it, A Separate Peace must be viewed as a commentary on the development of Modern America, a country that has grown much like Gene, made mistakes like Gene, and has come to realize a state of experience and worldliness that is a far cry from its origins.

The value of Knowles' novel lies, moreover, in its accessibility as an instructional tool. His use of metaphor and symbolism yields easy discussion to the work's major themes and concepts. It lacks scope in the its single-minded attention to Caucasian males does not lend itself toward all classrooms, ethnicities, or school districts, but for those two whom it may hold some relevance, there is a great deal to learn from it. A Separate Peace shows ordinary teenagers encountering and engaging in the same foibles I see my students make on a daily basis. There is something about Gene that is ubiquitous in all of us, and there is much that can be derived from his narrative.

A Separate Peace has been read by many highschoolers, including myself. Over the years I have dread every book handed to me at school, they all just dragged on. Except for A Separate Peace, which has become my all time favorite school book. The bond between two boys, named Phineas and Gene, at a boarding school in New Hampshire during WWII captured me. I ended up finishing it in four days (which is fast for me).

Nevertheless, if your school has not made you read this novel yet, you should read it on your own!

This is a coming-of-age story set during WWII in a boy's private school. Gene, the narrator, is best friends with Phineas, who is a golden boy, capable of outdoing everyone at anything and whose influence causes Gene's own grades and achievements to suffer. Gene begins to resent his friend, and when Phineas suffers a terrible accident, Gene isn't sure that he didn't deliberately cause it.

The author looses some of the poignancy and immediacy of the story by trying to make it Symbolic Of The War, and, though I was quite captured by the tensions between the friends until the "accident," Gene's unending self-pity (not really remorse, just self-pity) made the book grind to a near-halt for me. But even so, there was a great deal to enjoy about the early sections of the book, and the good writing made it worth it.

This book seemed to drag on forever and ever. I hated it. I would NEVER recomend this book to any of my friends.

Well I had to read this book for school and well it wasn't as good as books I would normally read but it was pretty good for being from school.

I felt, when reading this book, like I felt when reading Ayn Rand: that the author