Rating: Summary: incredible Review: A must-read for teenagers and adults alike. The book that made me realize that words are what matters in this great universe.
Rating: Summary: I CAN'T STAND A SEPARATE PEACE Review: I read "A Separate Peace" for school this past year. First off, the book didn't catch me from the start, which isn't a good sign when you're reading a book. The book is so unrealistic, but it seems like the author is trying really hard to be. For example, one of the main characters, Finny fell down and broke his leg, then broke the same leg again and died from it. All of the characters were dysfunctional, and weren't well defined at all. There was no concrete plot, and my entire class didn't like the book, or the movie.
Rating: Summary: A boring book Review: "A Separate Peace" was a book that I had to read for my summer reading list from school. The whole book was very descriptive and I guess original but the plot itself was extremely boring. I had to force myself to finish it.
Rating: Summary: A Look at a Seperate Peace Review: It shoudn't take so may words to describe this book. Of cousre if you think their should be a lot of words in this review, then you will probably enjoy this book. The use of extreme desricption ruined what could have been a good book. To many words ruined this review don't you think?
Rating: Summary: I want to marry Gene Review: A wonderful glimpse into the dark side of human nature--there is a bit of Gene in all of us.
Rating: Summary: Enter the darkness Review: In this darkly beautiful novel, John Knowles takes the reader on a journey, and it is no ordinary journey. 'A Separate Peace' plumbs the remote depths of the human heart--and it will take courage to face what is there.This is, first and foremost, a character story. Gene and Finny are central to the plot, and to this end the author develops the characters with piercing clarity. Finny's genuineness sets him apart from his peers, Gene included, who tend to act more in accordance with the way they think would be acceptable to others, instead of what is acceptable to themselves. Finny follows his heart in all his ways, and his achievements are a reflection of his love for life. In contrast, Gene is repressed, his achievements based on what others believe to be important. As a result, they are of no importance to him, because he sees himself to be lacking that unique, genuine quality. The friendship which develops between Gene and Finny is beautifully drawn, woven with skill into the mundanity of everyday existence. The tragic turn it takes sends the rest of the plot, though outwardly inocuous, hurtling toward disaster and a darkness beyond imagining. 'A Separate Peace' explores the evil in the human heart, using this tale of betrayal as a parallel to the war raging in the world at the same time. While this may invite comparison with 'Lord of the Flies', they are in fact extremely different. 'Lord of the Flies' contends that humans are evil by nature. In 'A Separate Peace', humanity is shown to have a dark side, the cause of tremendous horror and suffering. And yet, there is hope offered in this book for humanity. Evil is not the be-all and end-all of our existence. For even as Gene must confront the evil within himself, a light shines through: the genuine love he has for his friend. Which is why Finny wept at the end of the book--not for himself, but for the betrayal of that loyalty and love which he had always known existed. This only scratches the surface of the depth to be found in this masterpiece. However, I don't recommend over-analyzing the metaphors and similies and whatnot. I read this book without a class or a teacher, did not learn the significance of the metaphors, and probably for this reason more than anything else, loved the book. For the teachers who disparage the book as 'too boring'--perhaps if you would try to see the book as something more than an exercise in metaphors, both you and your students would benefit. The true power of this book lies in its clear rendering of the immensity and the frailty of human nature, the many shadings of light and dark which together create a human being. In the author's own words, this book penetrates to "that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth."
Rating: Summary: Discriptive, but not interesting Review: Although "A Separate Peace" completly went into depth of the characters, was very discriptive, and all together was "a masterpeace of words," I found the plot to be unrealistic, and unintresting. The books overal story, i found to be very boring. After a while of reading, the book became a task to finish. If you are a reader who likes books of word play and discription, then i strongly recommend this book. If you are a reader who is interested in action, i do not recommend it.
Rating: Summary: A Separate Peace and The Wave Review: Essay: A Separate Peace and The Wave Everyone has a yearning to be part of something. Joining a group can be especially meaningful when a person is in search of a positive experience. However, when conflicts arise, difficult decisions must be made. Both A Separate Peace and The Wave have characters who become a part of a group situation and are forced to question why they're in the group and who they really are. The Wave, a novel which looks in on a suburban Los Angeles classroom, tells a very deep story. Sarah, the main character in the story, is part of a new club that has been started in her school. Not long after joining she finds the club she has joined, called "The Wave", to be highly fraternal, possibly too fraternal, and mean to students who wouldn't join. Once she decides to stop going to the meetings, other members harass her. Sarah learns from the whole experience that fighting for her cause made her a better person. In the story A Separate Peace the character focused on is named Gene. He faces an internal conflict while at boarding school in New Hampshire: be liked by his friend Finny, or just be himself. Just like Sarah's, his decision is hard. Gene tries to be what Finny wants him to be and consequently does whatever Finny tells him to do. 014 There are some similarities between these two books. One similarity is that the characters focused on in both novels find themselves in situations that they can't get out off very easily. But in time Gene and Sarah acknowledge their mistakes and come to terms with them. Stronger personalities come as a result of the experiences. In conclusion, the two main characters learn from the situations. Sarah learned that by leaving "The Wave" she was fighting a good cause. Gene realized he could be who he really was and no one would think any differently of him. Better souls resulted from one thing: change.
Rating: Summary: Yawn.. how did I ever finish this book? Review: A Seprate Peace is extremely dull book. It has a nice plot, but it is ruined by the extreme details (we're talking about pages describing one thing) and a lot of metaphors. (And plus, my teacher ruined it even more by finding more obscure metaphors, such as Phineas is Gene and vice versa.) If they had been used more lightly, then the book would have been more of a pleasure to read. If you love details and metaphors, this book is for you. If not, stay away.
Rating: Summary: My Review on A Separate Peace Review: When I first read this book, it started out boring but whe it got to the end it got better. The novel was moving and sad. It was exciting too. It helped me a little bit in my personal life. Phineas is risky and Gene is an average guy. One gets the bad side of things. The setting was good for the novel. The winter setting is good for the down part of the book. This book is good overall. I think you should try reading it.
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