A Separate Peace
written by John Knowles
www.ink2quill.com

“A Separate Peace” is an American, coming of age novel written by John Knowles. It takes place in the fictional New England prep school named Devon during the WWII. The story is a flashback of the protagonist, Gene Forrester. It won the New York Times bestseller for fiction in 1960, the William Faulkner Foundation Award in 1961, The Rosenthal Award and was a finalist for The National Book Award for fiction in 1961. It remains on the curriculum list for most high schools in the US today and was adapted into a film in 1972. A fun fact about the author and the book is the fact that John Knowles and Gore Vidal both attended the same prep school, Phillips Exeter, (with Gore Vidal being two years ahead of John Knowles) at the same time and the character Brinker in the novel is based on Gore Vidal.

A Separate Peace – goodreads page  

John Knowles – goodreads page

 “A Separate Peace” begins when the narrator, Gene Forrester, visits his old prep school called Devon in New Hampshire. The novel is a flashback to his high school days around the time of WWII. Gene befriends his room mate Phineas in the summer session before their junior year but the two are very different. Gene is more the introvert, academic, and jealous type while Phineas is an athletic, wholesome, very good, charismatic boy who can get away with anything. He is very positive and full of hopes and aspirations for the future. The real difference in the two boys is that Gene is jaded while Phineas is pure of heart and that is where all his charm comes from. Phineas grows more jealous of Phineas and eventually causes him to fall from a tree they had been climbing to jump in a lake. Things spiral down for Phineas after he breaks his leg from the fall (a fall Gene caused)and decides to forgive Gene.

This is a simple story with complex characters. I don´t know if you can call it a cautionary tale or a tale of jealousy. Is it a story of a toxic, doomed friendship or a boy´s dashed dreams or even the dangers of being overly naïve when you have so much to offer? It´s all those things.

I read this book many years ago and I still consider it a fine piece of literature. I recommend it because it´s a better read than you might think with a story that will occupy your thoughts long after you´ve put it down.

( Commentary by  www.ink2quill.com )
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