A separate peace - Knowles, JohnSummary: Gene Forrester looks back fifteen years to a World War II year in which he and his best friend were roommates in a New Hampshire boarding school.
Kirkus Review
A first novel traces with some discretion the events in the last year at a New England boys' preparatory school (recognizably Exeter) where, in 1942, the fairly peaceful, protected life is already overshadowed by the uneasiness of the war- and the draft ahead. As told by Gene Forrester, it concentrates on his not always calculable relationship with Finny, whose careless charm, disregard for and defiance of any rules, and dazzling athletic feats attract him- and also distract him from the academic success Gene is more interested in achieving. And it is the variables on the emotional exchange of their relationship which gives the book its interest; the close friendship which is not unmixed with resentment; Finny's dominance, which ends in dependence after the accident (for which Gene is responsible) which cripples Finny- and secondarily leads to his death.... While the imprint here is a personal one, it is unsentimental, and Knowles- a cleancut writer- has given the subtler elements of this attachment, in which identification is a strong part of the involvement, a clear definition. (Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 1959)
Check Availability
