Rating: 
Summary: God help us if kids come away from this book idolizing Phine
Review: Here's the dirty little secret about A Separate Peace (no, it has nothing to do with the sublimated sexuality angle), the secret is this: we all knew people just like Phineas when we were growing up, and we all wanted to shake them off of the tree branch too. The Finnys of the world are characterized by an easy physical grace which provides them with a spooky kind of preternatural self-assurance that sets them apart and makes them seem superior, particularly during the awkward teen years, when most of us are/were completely devoid of such confidence in ourselves. This gift tends to be mistaken, as Gene mistakes it, for a moral quality. In fact, it is anything but. The fearlessness that Phineas displays is precisely that; he feels no fear and, therefore, demonstrates no courage by his actions. It is the boys who feel fear, but conquer it and jump anyway who demonstrate true courage. However, they are also demonstrating stupidity and a disturbing sheeplike quality in following Finny's example. And this is the other thing about the Finnys of the world, they lead others into situations which are bound to end in disaster. Because their grace has always given them a special form of protection, they assume that nothing bad can happen to them and they simply don't understand or care what might happen to others less gifted. This utter carelessness even redounds to their favor. Suppose that earlier in the story, when Gene lost his balance, that Finny had not been able to grab him and prevent his fall, would anyone have blamed Finny? No. Would Finny have genuinely blamed himself? Oh sure, he would have accepted blame and folks would have been proud of how nobly he behaved, but would he have truly accepted the fact that he had caused the fall and the injury or would he, and others, have actually believed that the fault lay in Gene, that he was simply unequal to the task and had even shown himself to be inferior to Finny? Knowles tiptoes right up to this point when Gene realizes: It was only after dinner, when I was on my way alone to the library, that the full danger I had brushed on the limb shook me again. If Finny hadn't come up right behind me...if he hadn't been there... I could have fallen on the bank and broken my back! if I had fallen awkwardly enough I could have been killed. Finny had practically saved my life. Yes, he had practically saved my life. He had also practically lost it for me. I wouldn't have turned around, and so lost my balance, if he hadn't been there. I didn't need to feel any tremendous rush of gratitude toward Phineas. But of course Gene is at heart a follower, one of the enablers so overawed by Phineas that he can not see through to the logical implications of this intuition. Nor does he understand the manner in which Phineas warps situations to his own benefit. The Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session naturally rewards Finny's own lack of fear. The game he invents, blitzball, is likewise uniquely crafted to suit his own skills: Blitzball was the surprise of the summer. Everybody played it; I believe a form of it is still popular at Devon. But nobody can be playing it as it was played by Phineas. He had unconsciously invented a game which brought his own athletic gifts to their highest pitch. ... Right from the start, it was clear that no one had ever been better adapted to a sport than Finny was to blitzball. I saw that right away. Why not? he had made it up, hadn't he? It needn't be surprising that he was sensationally good at it, and that the rest of us were more or less bumblers in our different ways. So when he controls situations and plays to his own strengths, he excels. But what of situations he can't control? Is he an indifferent student?--then academics must not matter. And this is what finally prods Gene to his precipitous action; when he realizes that Finny discounts the thing that Gene excels at and is therefore not jealous of his academic achievement in the way that Gene envies Finny's physical prowess, it is too much for him to stand and he shakes Finny off of the branch. When Phineas returns to school, the boys enter a realm of unreality where his specialness remains unthreatened. They pretend that the injury is temporary and he will be back in action soon. Finny even refuses to acknowledge the reality of WWII; obviously if he can't participate in this ultimate physical test, it's very existence must be denied. It is at this exact point in the story that Knowles uses the phrase "separate peace", during the Winter Carnival which Finny organizes. And in fact this is a separate moment, the last moment when Finny is a significant person in the lives of these boys. As the carnival is winding down, Gene receives the telegram from Leper and suddenly the War is undeniable. Since Phineas can not go to War, he is destined to become a minor figure instead of the center of attention that has been previously. At this point he becomes a real figure of pity because we perceive, though he and Gene do not, that he has nothing to fall back on. Here we see the fundamental shallowness of his prior status, based as it was solely on natural physical attributes and not upon anything for which he was personally responsible. Sure he was able to excel when he chose the games and set the rules. What is left of the Golden Boy when he faces a game & rules that are beyond his control? Remarkably little. Because everything has come easy to him, Phineas has never developed character. He is a hollow man. One of the great movie scenes of all time occurs in Ordinary People (read Orrin's review), when Timothy Hutton finally has his epiphany and realizes that he survived the boating accident because he was simply a stronger person than his Phineas-like brother. I vividly recall how cathartic this moment was, but I had never fully realized that one of the subliminal reasons is that in some sense we are glad that Buck drowns, that when push comes to shove it's enormously satisfying to see the hard working kid win and the kid who's always had it easy fold in the face of adversity. I don't think that, in A Separate Peace, Gene is much better than Phineas. The kids who follow along and judge themselves against the Phineas/Buck standard are little better than the Golden Boys themselves. I much prefer the loners who simply reject those standards to begin with and thereby fail to fit in, but preserve their own set of core values, which is why I react to the Phineas character with such visceral loathing. I would never have done, nor do I condone, what Gene did, but I feel a sense of cosmic justice at work, that this is just Phineas reaping what he has sown. Finally, a question occurs. Do parents who send their kids away to private school ever read any of the fiction those schools have produced? Winston Churchill's memoir My Early Life, Robert Musil's Young Torless, The Power of One, this book--the literature of the private school is one long litany of brutality, sodomy, homoeroticism, homosexuality, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum. The more you read, the more convinced you become that most young men simply do not have sufficiently armored personalities at their tender ages to withstand the hothouse atmosphere that these places engender. I saw somewhere that after the book came out Knowles' Mom said to him that she was sorry she didn't realize how unhappy he was at Philips Exeter (upon which the story is based) and that he said he wasn't unhappy. Boy, it sure seems like a cry for help to me. This could be an invaluable book for teaching kids, to help them understand the universality of their own insecurities and to perceive their peers more clearly. One doubts that is how it is taught, which instead makes it a somewhat dangerous book. God help us if kids come away from this book idolizing Phineas. GRADE: C+
Rating: 
Summary: Worth Reading - And Not Just For School
Review: I was not familiar with this book until I was assigned it as part of my freshman (high school) English class. The elements usually praised in literature aren't necessarily what make this book worthwhile. The beginning is slow and the end rather abrupt. But between the beginning and ending is a complete story that really makes you think. Cliches such as character development and life-altering experiences apply to A Separate Peace but do not adequately describe it. A few ordinary teenage friends. World War II. Hidden jealousy and spitefulness. A Separate Peace is a great book to read and discuss for English class, but it is even better to consider for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: I LUV THIS BOOK!
Review: This was such a good book. I really enjoyed it. Although it was sad, it really made u think. It had a wonderful flow. I had to read it for school and it was the best book I have ever read! I'm a big reader and this is up there in my top ten books! I hope u all read this book and luv it as much as i did!
Rating: 
Summary: the worst book ever
Review: This book was part of my required summer reading for highschool and I am afraid to say it was horrible. The plot was weak and unmoving. There was no climax (the attempt at a climax was pathetic), and I had to FORCE myself to finish the book.
Rating:
Summary: QUITE WELL DEVELOPED AND ENJOYABLE!
Review: Our class was required to read this novel this year and I was actually quite surprised by how good it was. Gene Forrester and Finny, Gene's friend, are the main characters in this novel. Gene is quite disturbed and jealous of his friend because he is so good at sports. Gene goes to great length to try and be even with Finny, he even shakes a tree limb, which makes Finny fall to the ground and become paralyzed. This novel probes into the mind of crazy, obsessive, people and the extent that they will go to to be considered "part of the group."
Rating:
Summary: NOT BAD FOR A SCHOOL REQUIRED READ!!
Review: Since I am a junior in high school, I have read many novels that we are required to read and to be honest I hated everyone of them, except for "To Kill A Mockingbird." In "A Separate Peace," I was impressed with the story. It held your interest a lot more than other school Core-Literature novels. Gene, one of the main characters, is very intelligent when it comes to schoolwork. Finny, on the other hand, is not very smart but excels when it comes to sports. Gene, after being jealous of Finny for a long time, shakes a tree branch where Finny is standing on and Finny falls a dangerous drop to the hard ground. He must go to the hospital and he is somewhat paralyzed. Gene is obsessed and jealous of Finny, so he goes to the extent of hurting him. Later, Gene feels that since he is "part" of Finny, that he not only hurted Finny but himself. Gene is quite "off." "A Seperate Peace" comes to an interesting conclusion. Overall, "A Separate Peace" is a worthwile novel read for school.
Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: I never thought I'd say this, but this book is worse than Of Mice and Men. A Separate Peace barely had a plot. I bet no one will agree with me. But this book had bad writing, and was not interesting to read. It was definitely not a page-turner. My english teacher has been telling the class that when we write anything, we have to have an opening sentence that grabs the reader's attention. NOTHING in this book makes me want to keep reading. Yes, I had to read this for my english class, and yes, I had to write an essay about symbolism, blah blah blah. So that probably made me hate the book even more. But I would never read this if I didn't have to. Speaking of symbolism, can't the author just write a good book without having all those deep meanings embedded in the.. well.. "plot"? To all you authors out there, just write an interesting book! Don't make it something you have to analyse! And to all you students out there who have to read this book, just hope you don't have to watch the movie...
Rating:
Summary: What i thought about "A Seperate Peace"
Review: I read " A Separate Peace" as a required reading book over the summer. I wasn't particularly thrilled about summer reading and this didn't sound like it would be the most exciting book ever, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it pretty interesting, with a much deeper meaning then casually met the eye at a glance. This story took place in New England at Devon ( a private high school for boys) during World War II, and involved mainly two boys, Gene and Phineas, who were best friends. It tells of how Gene, who represents the experienced grown up, is overcome by jealousy and anger towards his friend. The jealousy that he holds within himself eats away and eventually leads him to push his friend from a tree and permanently injure him in a way that will eventually lead to his death. As Phineas is representative of the innocence we have as a child, this is very symbolic; Gene, the symbol of experience, "destroying" Phineas, the symbol of innocence.( growing up, losing our innocence) The tree is also symbolic , it is like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (The Garden of Eden). In the story it is Phineas's idea to climb the tree that has thus far been used for military training as a fun new thrill. When he decides to climb it and jump and convinces Gene to do the same, it is symbolic of taking the forbidden fruit that will lead to death and pain in the end. This is especially true for Gene who, when he "destroys" Phineas he is really destroying the innocent half of himself. He had forebodings at first when Phineas wanted him to climb the tree, but he ended up brushing them aside and in a sense, with that decision , it was the beginning of the end. I think this was a good book. It was sad in some ways but it was a meaningful and interesting story.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it.
Review: A Separate Peace is a novel that goes deeper than a narrative story. It is a window into the human heart, and the evil that lurks there. There is symbolism in every page. One of the main themes or motifs in the book is the loss of innocence. The characters themselves are perfect examples. Gene represents the "adult human," who has lost his innocence. He is aware of the world and the bad in it. Finny, on the other hand, represents "the child." He is good and innocent. He sees the world in its glory, not its shortcomings. Devon, the school, is a symbol. It is a microcosm of the outside world. Throughout the book the world is encroaching on Devon and the students. By the end of the book, when the military troops are moving in, Devon and the outside world have become one. The book is excellent. A Separate Peace is well worth reading. I enjoyed it and you will too.
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Summary: my first internet -wide book rewiew
Review: A Separate Peace, an exquisite tale by John Knowles about jealousy, betrayl, trust, and friendship, ranks as an awesome literary piece. The story which takes place at a distinguished college called The Devon School during a war, begins as a reminiscence of the main character, Gene, who is visiting his old school. Gene remembers his athleticlly gifted friend, Finny and what happened to him that summer session of 1942. He recalls his reluctant adolescence and how, out of a fit of jealousy and rage, he shook a tree branch that Finny was standing on, causing him to fall and break his leg. Finny then restores their truthful friendship, but one night when a fellow classmate, Brinker holds a fake trial, blaming Gene for Finny's disability, a change of events would change their lives forever. Mr. John did a wonderful job making his characters real, tangible, and life-like and the conflicts very believable. A Separate Peace is an extraordinary piece that should be cherished,and recieve noteworthy praises.
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