The book tells the story of boys at a boarding school in New Hampshire during 1942-43. The heart of the book is the relationships between the various boys at the school. It is primarily about the protagonist, Gene, and his friend Phineas, their friendship and their rivalry. But the war is an ever present background, which eventually intrudes in the story when one student leaves to enlist, and suffers a mental breakdown as a result, before he is ever sent overseas to fight. There is a surprising plot twist at the end.

Overall, this is a sad story, and I have mixed feelings about it. ( )

Book title and author: A Separate Peace by John Knowles reviewed 9-13-23

Why I picked this book up: I read this in high school, like aspects about it and had it in my library and wanted to read it after many years.

Thoughts: Set against the backdrop of World War II A Separate Peace explores morality, patriotism, and loss of innocence through its narrator, Gene Forrester, in his relationship with classmate and friend Phineas. As a youth I was an athlete and identified with Finny for that and also his good natured, carefree and challenging nature. Gene was a great student which I also identified with and the accident that broke Finny’s leg really put a damper on his outlook and life.
This book goes through challenges, development societal struggles and true friendships.

Why I finished this read: it is an easy read, I got pulled into the best friend questioning motives, each other to get better, valuing each other, adjusting to death, guilt, and rivalry.

Stars rating: 3.5 to 4 out of 5 stars for the well written relationship dynamics. ( )

This book is boring. One major thing happens in the very long chapters. The ending is also really dumb. I do not recommend, and if I could I would give it a 0 out of 5. ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

So, a classic of American literature. Assigned in high school English classes for decades (though I don't remember it being read in my high school), my impression is - meh. The writing is above average, lovely descriptions, but the story... well, just not so interesting. The plot involves a private boys' school just before World War II. The narrator's "best" friend is a charismatic, athletic, alpha-male, who has everyone under his thumb. The narrator, suffering from what can only be called a passive-aggressive jealousy, causes a tilt in the balance of power between them. I couldn't relate to the dynamics between the central characters and the setting was off-putting to me, but the narrator's guilt and inability to take responsibility for what happened rings true. ( )