Review: A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace by John Knowles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book over 45 years ago. I just re-read it and (no surprise) years of life have helped reveal so much more than my first walk through these pages at age 15.

Knowles helps up focus intently on the two young men, Gene and Phineas. We never "meet" their parents, they have no girlfriends, we don't become familiar with their teachers -- there are no other sub-stories or peripheral dramas playing out. The entire book is singularly wrapped up in the friendship and in the personalities and the motivations in these two young men.

The event which darkens the pages of this story is just as relevant to young men and women today, as it was when this book was published in 1959. It is a close examination of rivalry in friendship, of impulsivity and regret, of love and war.

It is a beautiful story and an urgent reminder to all to err on the side of kindness. Always.

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