PBS's The Great American Read named it one of America's best-loved novels. A Separate Peace has been a bestseller in the United States for nearly thirty years, and it is ageless in its depiction of youth during a time when the entire country was losing its innocence to World War II. A Separate Peace is a horrific and brilliant fable about the dark side of adolescence set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II. Gene is an introverted, lonely intellectual. Phineas is a reckless ...
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PBS's The Great American Read named it one of America's best-loved novels. A Separate Peace has been a bestseller in the United States for nearly thirty years, and it is ageless in its depiction of youth during a time when the entire country was losing its innocence to World War II. A Separate Peace is a horrific and brilliant fable about the dark side of adolescence set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II. Gene is an introverted, lonely intellectual. Phineas is a reckless athlete who is attractive and taunts others. Like the war itself, what happens between the two friends one summer robs these guys and their world of their innocence.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Poor. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. Audience: General/trade. My name (Herring) is across the top and there is some wear to the book itself. Some notes in the text.
I'm about 1/4 into the book and it's definitely a good read. This is my first John Knowles; I like his style of writing.
jeff k
Oct 3, 2011
A Simple Classic
The laughable thing about most of the negative comments posted here, among other things, is that these faux critics believe that a novel is important only if the character is "likable". What nonsense! The character Gene Forrester may or may not be a likable character, but he is completely believable.
I would argue that Gene's struggle with loyalty, jealousy, remorse, and sorrow are more than believable--they're part of the WWII era that marked top students for the top positions in many aspects of American life in commerce, law, education, and the military.
For those who cannot get out of their own heads, I'm sure that the story was "boring" or "unlikable" but that is due to your own limitations.
The book is flawlessly written and captures both the time period and the coming of age feel for young men who understand the pressure of competition and the real fear of not living up to high expectations. The novel is a classic and will remain so unless the spurious notion of "likability" becomes the new currency for rating high works of art.
None of the critics here could touch Knowles' ability.
