An American coming-of-age tale during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to the second world war Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peaceis a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.
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An American coming-of-age tale during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to the second world war Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peaceis a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.
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Add this copy of A separate peace to cart. $2.99, good condition, Sold by Starfrog Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Midvale, UT, UNITED STATES, published 1966 by Bantam.
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Seller's Description:
Good. Highlighting/underlining. Signed by previous owner. Good general condition. Some cover and edge wear. Marking on front/back covers and first few pages. Mass market paperback. Glued binding. 196 p. Audience: General/trade. Originally published: London: Secker and Warburg, 1959.
Add this copy of A separate peace to cart. $2.99, good condition, Sold by Skywhys Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glendale, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1972 by Bantam.
Add this copy of A separate peace to cart. $4.44, very good condition, Sold by Fabulous Fiction Book Store rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Oxford, MA, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Bantam.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. No dust jacket as issued. (060907) Mass market paperback is in VG+/Fine condition with crease bacov bottom right corner, orig owner name on flyleaf, light overall wear. [9], 196p.; 18 cm. Originally published: London: Secker and Warburg, 1959.
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.