A Separate Peace

This is a frequently studied novel, and I can see its fertile ground. The relationship between Gene and Phineas is a complex one, viewed through a prism from Gene's point of view. Phineas is a rebellious rules flouter; or he's an innocent Pollyanna who doesn't understand the concept of rules; or he's manipulating a deeper game of one-upmanship with Gene, and his entire personality is a subterfuge. The background is World War II, providing a ticking clock as Gene and Phineas approach enlistment age. Gene shares in the general experience of the war as simultaneously dangerous and alluring. Phineas has a different kind of response, revelling in the peace they still enjoy in the moment. He is living in the present, while the rest of his show more classmates are swept up by their future. This becomes a kind of lifeline as Gene struggles with what's approaching.

The novel's primary fault is its blandness. At this all-white prep school there are no girls, no dating, no homosexuality; barely a hint of alcohol or driving; almost no music; no drugs, no gangs, no weapons. Everyone lives with their well-off parents, and the weirdest kid is only a naturalist who collects slugs and enjoys cross-country skiing. I am deeply surprised this book has been banned by anyone, ever (a teacher might want to lead with that mysterious fact, to keep the kids awake). But there's poignancy in scarcely being able to imagine coddled young men less well prepared for the horrors of war than these. show less

This is a perfectly solid novel. The style is often lyrical, eloquent, is perceptive about the the workings of envy and insecurities of the teen years. I appreciated the emotional restraint that keeps the elegiacal tone from seeping too much into sentimentality. So I'm not sure what leaves me so unmoved by it, feeling this is a good, but not particularly profound novel that makes me wonder why it's earned such classic status. (Other than it's the perfect high school book with adolescent subjects--and relatively short.) It's told by Gene Forrester, looking back on events of around fifteen years ago at Devon, a New England Prep school. In the summer of 1942, a "brief burst of animosity, lasting only a second, a part of a second" on his show more part leads to tragedy. Knowles tries to connect up this brief moment to the war raging on outside the confines of the school. Knowles tells us "wars were made... by something ignorant in the human heart." Maybe it's that I resist that sentiment, particularly coming from Gene, that the story and its antiwar sentiments seems too predictable to me. Or maybe that I just feel Gene gets off too easy--both in terms of his friend Phineas' forgiveness and his own self-forgiveness which turns his impulsive act into a portal to epiphany. show less

I think a lot of people read this in high school, but I didn't. I decided to pick it up because I kept seeing it everywhere. My impressions:

1. There are almost no females in it. The lack of girls and the lack of interest in girls among these 16- to 18-year-old guys, made me think that the two main characters were in love with each other, which is probably just because I minored in gender studies. But, really, the total lack of anything sexual was an interesting choice.

2. This is a deep, dark book about living in wartime. I was reminded of how little the Iraq war affected my time in college compared to how tremendously WWII affected the boys at the boarding school in the story.

3. Obviously, this is also a story about the psychology of show more adolescence, particularly among young men, particularly in a competitive and isolated environment. The way they talked was so old-fashioned, though, that I kept picturing them as much younger, like 12 or 13.

4. How reliable of a narrator is Gene? Can Finny really be so perfect? I went back and forth on this. I kind of hated Gene, but I also felt so sorry for him.

5. Overall, a really fascinating book that I'm sorry to read all by myself with no professor to guide a discussion. show less

(27) Every year around this time, I re-read a book I read many years ago. 'A Separate Peace' is one I read as a tween I think, and possibly even another time in school in close proximity to my first read, maybe circa 6th or 7th grade. I loved it then and thought about it long after turning the last page and it has not lost much of its mystique. Finny and Gene - best friends and roommates at a prestigious New England boys boarding school during WW2. The need to enlist or be drafted lies heavily over all their interactions despite the seemingly halcyon days and then tragedy strikes.

It is spare with elegant prose that is unadorned and devoid of gimmicks. Really? Can good novels still exist that are this straightforward? Excellent show more foreshadowing. Excellent thematic integrity. Pristine structure. Must be an English teacher's perfect novel. And it is moving and engaging. There are a few politically incorrect passages which perhaps render it unusable in today's ultra-PC society.

What really went down in the tree or on the staircase and is Gene truly to blame? His line of 'you don't cry at your own funeral' is fairly haunting. This book is so innocent in so many ways. Makes me think of these boys as a mother of two sons and causes my heart to ache. It is elegiac. It is wistful. It is not heavy-handed. I will hold on to this copy and give it to my boys for another 5-10 yrs from now. show less

Originally published in 1959, A Separate Peace by John Knowles is a coming-of-age story set in a New England private boy’s school during World War II. The story is about friendship, competition and the inner doubts and fears of adolescent boys. There is a school of thought that pushes a homo-erotic dynamic as implied by the interactions between the two main characters, Gene and Phineas. This is subtle and open to an individuals’ interpretation of the relationship.

While Gene is an introvert and intellectual, Finny is an extroverted athlete who definitely has more control over their relationship. Whatever Finny wants to do, Gene, often reluctant, always follows along. As roommates, these opposites are always together. When Finny show more devises a daredevil club whose membership must jump from the limb of a tree into the river, Gene, although terrified, follows along. Gene admires Phineas but also is jealous of his ease with others and his ability to impress through actions. This jealousy flares up at various times, and eventually Gene acts upon impulse and this act of betrayal changes both boys forever.

A Separate Peace is beautifully written. It moves slowly but gives the reader vivid imagery and strong character development. World War II plays a vital part but always remains in the background, shaping the boy’s world, but not controlling it. The book varies itself, sometimes sad, sometimes humorous, always moving, and for me, it felt authentic to both the time and the place. show less

A Separate Peace is about a friendship between two opposites. Gene is smart, Phineas is athletic. Gene is sensitive, Phineas is carefree. Gene is reserved and cautious, Phineas is bold and daring. The one thing they have in common is being roommates at Devon, a prep school for boys. Throughout the entire story Gene is constantly in a mental tug-of-war with his feelings towards Finny. He is resentful of the way everything comes so easily to his athletic roommate (like when Phineas broke a long standing swimming record without even trying). It's as if Gene has to forcefully remind himself everyday they are best of friends. He tags along, a willing participant in Finny's daily adventures but he has to convince himself he is having fun. show more When Finny starts a secret society where members must jump from a tree into a river on school property Gene goes along with that as well, hating each and every jump. But, when Phineas falls out of the tree, missing the river completely things get complicated. Did Gene make his best friend and roommate fall? The psychological struggle of doubt that ensues is the central theme of the entire story. show less

Although this is a beautifully written book, I think 'harrowing and luminous' is a bit much. It centres around a group of 16/17 year old boys at what seems to be the least strict boarding school ever. As the date is 1942, the war hangs over them and shapes their views of the future and each other. The boys' ambivalence towards the war was my favourite aspect of the novel, in fact. None of them are unequivocally gung-ho and uncritically invested in heroism. Moreover, they are disdainful of such attitudes in teachers, parents, and other adults. Knowles conveys effectively the distance that the war had from everyday American life for these boys, in contrast to its immediacy in Europe.

At the centre of the book, however, is the relationship show more between Gene and Phineas, who are best friends. This I found somewhat irritating, because it seemed to be heavily implied that they were in love with one another. Their friendship could definitely be described as a romantic one, as well as seeming fraught with a tension that could be sexual. But the narrative never admits to these possibilities, which makes it seem a little baffling why the two are so emotionally invested in one another. It isn't so much subtle subtext as deliberate avoidance. To be fair, both characters seem equally baffled by the nature of their relationship as well. (Perhaps their classics lessons were extremely well censored?) The blurb of the edition I read also seemed to think it was a romance. Anyway, I found their interactions movingly written and the whole novel atmospheric. I was displeased with the ending, though. show less