A Separate Peace

Rating:
Summary: A Separate Peace Dazzles Bro. Ray's Class
Review: Overall, I enjoyed the novel, A Separate Peace. Although I did not enjoy it as much as other books that I have read, its originality stands out from the rest. The well defined characters and intense plot development are factors that make me want to read it again. The protagonist, Gene, was so well defined that I could sense his emotions and outlook towards life. Another reason why I enjoyed this book was the fact of John Knowles sense of reality. I have not found any books that I have read similar to this novel. Its originality is a crucial factor for reading it. The conflict was one that I have not seen in most books. The twists and turns of the plot keep you attentive and hooked to this book. The originality of the novel is due to John Knowles view of life. In A Separate Peace, John Knowles philosophy of showing realistic morality proves to be a good choice because it makes the book more believable. With the book being more believable, one is able to associate with and enjoy it. One crucial key in the novel that aids the main plot is John Knowles belief that there is a savage force within an individual which must be recognized. This force is this inner ignorance of good that causes war between nations and jealousy betwen friends. If you read the novel, John Knowles view is clearly shown through Gene's actions. A Separate Peace was an exceptional book.

Rating:
Summary: A Separate Peace is a remarkable piece of literature.
Review: I think A Separate Peace is a remarkable book. The reason why is because it made me feel as if I was actually immersed in the story. In the story Knowles brings his characters to life with enigmatic conflict he created. This feeling is created by the plethora of feelings that Gene and Finny face. One of the things I appreciated In A Separate Peace was the use of subjective action. With the main action of the story taking place inside Gene's head, I had to pay Assiduous attntion to things that seemed minor. This made it tough to comprehend everything that was happening. Since I was continuosly trying to out what was happening in the story I did not get bored reading it. The other reason I love this book is because of its theme. I believe the theme in this story is that one should always look for the finest qualities in a man instaed of his worst qualities. If Gene had looked at Finny this way from the beggining of the book Finny might have lived. This lesson helped me look for the finest qualities in a person not the undesirable qualities they posses. I feel John Knowles wrote a remarkable piece of literature. It succesfully captures the thoughts and emotions og real people. This makes the reader feel like he is being pulled into the story. This book is the only book I have read that has given such a realistic feeling to its characters, making it one of my all time favorites.

Rating:
Summary: "Masterful", "A Great Book"
Review: A Separate Peace is one of the most exuberant books I have ever read. I read it for my freshman english honors class and I loved it. Once I started, it was quite hard to put it down. The book is about a group of high school boys who struggle between war and peace. The choices they make cause bitter rivals or affectionate relationships. Most of the conflict occurs between the two main characters. Throughout the book they change from either being friends or enemies. They reach their harmony when they find their "separate peace".

Rating:
Summary: The struggles and tragedies of two students during WWII
Review: A Separate Peace is about the struggles and tragedies in the lives of some students at Devon, a fictional boys' college, during World War II. The story is written in a 1st person point of view as a flashback of the main character, Gene Forrester.

Gene is an intellectual, the class valedictorian, quite the opposite of his best friend, Phineas. Phineas, or Finny, as his friends call him, is quite popular and is the best athlete at Devon. These personality differences are a major source of conflict as Gene's jealousy of Finny becomes more apparent. Finny, however, is the perfect friend and never feels angry towards Gene.

Overall, it was a good story, and the characters were well-developed and realistic. I enjoyed it, but if you're looking for a happy, exciting story, this isn't one. The plot is sad in itself, and the atmosphere of winter and the war doesn't brighten it. Still, it had all the elements of a good story, but a bit more action would have helped.

Rating:
Summary: An exploration into the mind of a troubled boy
Review: A Separate Peace is a fascinating, wonderfully written book. The story takes a rare look inside the flustered mind of a high-school student named Gene. Amid the troubles of the second world war, Gene and his best friend Finny encounter troubles of their own. Gene always makes good grades and takes time to study. Finny neglects school and teachers, living only by the rules he makes. He excels at all sports and lives a carefree life. Gene's mind fills with jealousy and competition . He compares himself with Finny and wants to be better than him in everything, though he tries to keep it hidden. When Finny falls out of a tree while Gene is standing near, rumors are spread throughout the school that Finny's fall may have been "helped" by Gene. Both deny the rumor, but Gene is the only one who knows the truth. I think the conflict going on in Gene's mind is vivid and makes the book very interesting. Gene wonders if maybe there is no competition at all between the two friends and if he is only imagining it. Gene is a well-developed character and I can understand the things he is going through. This simple story about friendship turns out to be a more complex story about the evil and greed in humans. I highly recommend this intriguing story.

Rating:
Summary: Great writing but lack of point.
Review: A Seperate Peace is a wonderful book about two young men growing up in the middle of World War II. It is basically a story focused on betrayal and competition between these two students. The story begins very content. Finny and his followers are jumping about and playing in a very exuberant manner. Finny then decides to jump off of a tree into the river with his best friend, Gene. But little did Finny know, the very same tree he was jumping from, would soon be his fate. The story goes on, always revolving around that tree. Gene, Finny's best friend, is always forming thoughts of competion towards his friend. He is constantly thinking of Finny always trying to be the better of the two, and one day Gene loses it...the rest is up to you to read. I liked and at some points disliked the book. At some points I could not put it down. There was much suspense and thrill to the story, but the ending was disappointing. The novel was really making a short story very long. At the end I looked back in the book and I noticed how long it took me to read such a short point (Even though I never actually found a point.) But overall, it was really brilliant writing.

Rating:
Summary: A startaling book about conflict between friends
Review: This book showed me that inside, at some time, all of us want to hurt those dear to us. I found a lot of what Gene thought and did reflected my own life. While reading this story i lived along side the characters laughing and crying with them. I hope this book touches you as much as it tuched me.

Rating:
Summary: I Don't Understand
Review: I thought that the book was kind of interesting. It lost me though at some points. At the end of the book I didn't understand what it was all about. I have sat and thought on it and it still doesn't click. I thought that it had pretty good content and was written well. It kind of had an impact on me because I have a verry close friend but we get along good and I would never do something like that to her. That is the part of the book that I didn't really under stand. How did he come to the conclusion that finny wanted to make him fail. I have no clue but over all the book was hind of good and held my attention for a little while but not for long.

Rating:
Summary: Good.
Review: This book is about two boys who go throught the dilemma of one of the boys being crippled. This is about how the boy tries to live with himself and how he reflects on everything around him. I think that this book is not a humerous book but a book that is of real life dilemmas and how we try to get over our defeats. This book has some good points and some bad points. Some of its stronger points are the emotions in the book. This whole book is full of raw emotions of teenage boys. It takes the emotions of happiness, sadness, hate, jealousy, and forgiveness and makes them come alive in the characters. This is a very dramatic book. The book also has some bad points. The bad points throught this bookare how the book ends up and how they never really explained what happened on that limb that day. The bad points are how some things are resolved and how the characters deal with situations. These are some of the good and bad points throught A Seperate Peace.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, it really captures the mood of WWII.
Review: A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, is a spendid story of friendship, war, and trust. This story takes place at an all boy school during World War II, and is told in the first person point of view. The narrator is Gene, an intelligent young man who's best friend is Finny, an athletic boy who can talk his way out of anything. The two have an inseparable friendship, until jealousy tears them apart. What I find brilliant is that you can see into the mind of Gene, but you never do really discover what Finny is thinking. There are several other intriguing characters, mainly Brinker and Leper, but you also are never fully aware of their emotions. The whole story revolves around World War II, and most incidents relate to the war. In other words, there is more than just one war in the story, and not all of them occur on a battlefield. Like most true wars, they all start and finish with one deep impact. I hold high regard for this novel, and I believe John Knowles made a great impression on me. The language itself is fascinating, and the use of metaphors is incredible. This is truly a book no one will want to pass on reading. It is simply an extraordinary tale in every aspect, and a novel that can be enjoyed for a lifetime.