Rating: 
Summary: Great book even though I HAD to read it.
Review: I liked this book very much. I wouldn't give it five stars though because some parts of it were hard to understand but the rest was great. It really teaches us a lot about peer pressure and friendship. For those of you who say this book is the worst you've ever read, that's great but I do think maybe you should read it when you are older, you'll grasp the theme better. It can teach you so much. It was required reading for me my freshman year in high school and I totally get what everyone says about it being the worst book to read, but, yes there's a but, I read it again a year ago just to see if there was anything I could get out of it. I was surprised at how far I had come with my thoughts in sixteen years. I say that if you think this is the worst book ever you should try reading it again, you'll get some great stuff from it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Classic, and Deservedly So
Review: I try not to overuse the word "classic" but "A Separate Peace" surely is and will remain so. The basic plot structure is fairly simple and the characters, while well drawn, are not extremely elaborate outside of Gene (the main character/first person narrator) and his best friend Finny. What gives this novel its power is its imagery, structure and symbolism--precisely the elements that so many prior Amazon reviewers have disliked in the book. Methinks the English teachers aren't getting through to the students, or the students are being a bit obtuse on this one!Knowles describes an elm tree as the most "Republican" of trees and the book is full of little gems like that. When you read this book for the first time, pay attention to the water imagery, including rain, ice and snow, and how they cleanse, liberate, and tie plot elements together. Pay attention to the interplay of purity and pollution, including the purity of the upper river and the pollution of the lower river, which serves as a metaphor for innocence and corruption. If you really want to get academic, circle the word "marble" every time it occurs. At the same time, we have World War II going on as both an allegory of Gene's tumultuous adolescence and--this is important--an almost musical counterpoint to the emotional interplay between Gene and Finny. Very well done. Some critics have turned themselves inside out to find "homosexual" or "homoerotic" elements in the book. I disagree. Before one can have a heterosexual or homosexual identity one must have an identity and Gene is struggling to keep his identity throughout the whole book. All in all, and for all its subtlety, "A Separate Peace" is a powerful and moving book. I hope the next generation of students comes to enjoy and appreciate this masterpiece just as the last several have.
Rating:
Summary: An absolutely wonderful book about the human soul...
Review: This book has it all. As a college English major I have been forced to go on many literary journies. When I came to this one (A Separate Peace) I think I found my most treasured one. I absolutely loved this novel. The story of two friends ripped apart by envy and pain is shattering. This book has the power to move one to tears if you let it. :-) I can't wait until Hollywood decides to do a decent film version. The old Parker Stevenson film just didn't live up to this exceptional book.
Rating: 
Summary: This book doesn't even deserve ONE star!
Review: I must say, one of THE worst books I have ever read. I mean, I might have enjoyed it a bit more if it wasn't forced upon me as summer reading for highschool, but is definately something I wouldnt have choosen to read on my own. A WASTE OF YOUR VALUABLE TIME! Hello? What kind of book kills its own main character? This goes on my 10 worst reads of all time list...
Rating: 
Summary: With so many classics, why choose this one?
Review: Can we be honest? Despite being an English teacher, I don't think I am required to like every book I read...even those deemed classics. A Separate Peace is just not my cup of tea. And my students would echo this sentiment. In fact, I took a poll in 10th grade English and discovered that this was the least favorite out of the six books/plays we read that year. What don't I (or they) like? I guess the question is, "What did I like?" And I found very little to get excited about. The author does a good job developing some of the characters, but there is enough mystery that so very much can be read between the lines. The students also wondered if the main characters were homosexual, and while I have not recently looked at the Cliff Notes--might be good to have it on hand--there was not enough clarity to definitely determine this, one way or the other. Perhaps the author would have better clarified this issue had it been written today. Overall, with there being so many classics that you will never have the time to read them all... IMHO why read this? Just don't tell my former English students who read this just because I required it!
Rating:
Summary: fabulous book
Review: This book is great. I loved reading a story with deep meaning behind it, and the story of finny and gene is not to be missed. I cried reading this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a can't miss book.
Rating:
Summary: MASTERFUL DETAILS, "Look Closer.."..4.5/5 Stars
Review: (There are a few spoilers so if you haven't read the book and don't want it ruined, don't read!) I really can't believe that some people, even teachers (though it was a history teacher, not an English one), can't find the deeper meaning in this book. It was given one star by many because of Knowles' impeccable attention to detail and allusion, while this, for me, is what makes much of the book. It takes sheer brilliance to masterfully wrap sentences around one another as Knowles does, by making allusions to culture and society like describing trees as Republican and the wonderful descriptions of New England scenery. The storyline is told in flashback by Gene Forrester, an intellectual (by 90's (or 00's?) terms, a nerd) who forms the unlikely friendship (during the beginning of American's involvement in World War II) with the daring Phineas. Phineas has, at times, seemingly complete control over Gene, even in his eventual death and demise. The paranoia and partial mental breakdown that Gene goes through is no doubt directly parallelled with Phineas' health as well as other characters in the novel. The novel also proves the point that was shown with the masterful film American Beauty; it shows that we're not all perfect - most of as are, as illustrated here, far from it - but what counts is what you do in any particular moment and how it affects others in that particular time. What matters is, since no one is perfect, being perfect enough; beauty, as well as perfection, is a relative term. Alan Ball must have read A Separate Peace before writing American Beauty; both so clearly show the states and effects of beauty, as well as actions. With the exception of, possibly, Phineas, no one in this novel is perfect. We find flaws of all sizes in not only Gene but Brinker, Elwin "Leper" Lepellier, and many other students at the school, Devon, in New Hampshire. This is only a general overview of the book; read it yourself to find out all the details, this is a review, not cliff's notes. Also, like its characters, the book is not perfect. At times his formerly masterful descriptions can turn into slight rambling and over-the-top, unnecessary details, but it's still worth the read; the details are much more appreciated once you've read the entire thing. 4.5/5 Stars
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful saga of friendship and perseverence
Review: John Knowles' work here is absolutely breathtaking. The book is extraordinarily concise for the amount of substance to it, and it guides whomever reads it on a touching journey through the challenges of growing up. Love and friendship, jealousy and war are all major themes of the storyline, set against the unsettling backdrop of schooling suring World War II. This book is often recommended or required reading for high schoolers, but it is an excellent novel to pick up when at any stage in your life, whether to reminisce in the joyful but stressful challenges of maturation you may have already faced or to look ahead and gain courage from the extremity of the challenges the main characters in this book faced during high school. Realistic tragedy dominates this book, but it is still a book of inspiration. Very highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting, though depressing
Review: This was a very nice read... I had to read it for summer reading. Though short, I kept me wrapped in the storyline of a boy and his 'perfect summer' at a boarding school in New England (flashback: Dead Poet's Society...). It started off as though it were going to be, basically a 'summer reading book', that is to say that it was just some narrative and just ended up with some lesson in life. That is true of the book, but also it is a good book because it describes the human condition. It describes human weaknesses and then brings them out to in a book. This is very compelling and the most interesting part of the book. This is a very depressing book, and I had trouble getting through it because it is hard to accept some of what is going on. I mean, plot turns, surprises, and intrigue all happen in this book (most of them being depressing, though)... and yet it's not a mystery! A great read, but only if you can stomach the ever-so-present depressing scenes and happenings of the book. A. A.
Rating:
Summary: A book that keeps giving
Review: I first read A SEPARATE PEACE when I was fourteen or fifteen and was immediately drawn into the world and relationships of Devon, the fictional prep school where the story unfolds. I remember being startled and awakened because I had never read a novel where the main character (Gene Forrester) was someone who was as torn by self-doubt and envy as I knew myself to be. Although I first read the book during the Vietnam War and the events it describes took place during World War II, the book seemed to speak directly to my soul. So much so, that the first diary I ever kept was in the form of letters to Gene...because I was sure he was the only person who could understand what I felt. I reread the novel every few years and it never loses its power and honesty for me. For years I looked in used bookstores for a good hardcover edition to replace my tattered paperback. Thank you Scribners for including A SEPARATE PEACE in you Scribner Classics series of great, affordable hardcover modern classics. This is not a shoddily run off photo-reproduction of an earlier edition. It is a beautifully typeset (and carefully proofread) new setting. If you loved the book, you'll enjoy owning the hardcover edition.
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