A Seperate Peace by
John Knowles The time is 1942, and World War II is going on at full force, but for the boys at the Devon School, the war seems far away. Gene, our narrator, and Phineas, his best friend and roommate, are athletes, teenagers, the priviledged, who can even pretend that there is no war. Their lives appear idyllic. But one day when Gene and Phineas are in a tree, to jump into the river below, Gene shakes the tree, and Phineas falls, not in to the safe river, but onto the hard ground. He breaks his leg in such a way that he is crippled. Gene feels very guilty, and his guilt is compounded by the fact that he does not admit his guilt to anyone.
Phineas suspects Gene's guilt, but he forgives him. His forgiveness appears almost inhumanly great in light of the fact that he can no longer excel at sports, in which he had been the star of Devon school. Gene's guilt and Phineas' great character are the real topic of the second half of the book, although many events accur in which we are shown the greatness of Phineas and the confusion of Gene.
The book's style is often erudite, which fits in well with Gene, the super student. However, it does make the book a little less comprehensive. The opening pages, in which Gene returns to Devon School fifteen years after leaving, are dull and do not exhibit the quick pace of the remainder of the book.
Happy reading.
