A Separate Peace (1959)

Rating: 70% (3.5 stars)

Overall, the writing style did not feel very enjoyable for me to read. It wasn't too difficult for me to decipher most of the time, but it wasn't exactly pleasant for me to read either. Some of the time shifts felt awkward and some of the details felt pointless and over exaggerated. On the other hand, some may argue that is part of Gene's nostalgic storytelling and provides more realism, but for me personally, it was what prevented me the most from really getting into the novel.

By far, A Separate Peace was not the least enjoyable book I have had to read for school. However, I didn't really feel much emotionally until Finny fell down the stairs. I could tell where the foreshadowing was going with that as soon as it happened and was curious to see how it happened. Although, even then the writing style still felt quite heavy on a lot of insignificant details and was difficult for me to pull through.

I know this novel was written before people of the LGBTQ community began to be accepted in the Western world, but Gene and Finny's relationship felt more on the romantic side rather than the platonic side to me most of the time. Although my English teacher would never touch upon that subject, this was the first "classic" novel I have read for school that has shown any form of representation for this community, even if it was extremely subtle, so it did earn extra points for me in that area. ( )

What the everlasting what was that?????? I liked parts and disliked parts, but sheesh, it felt slow and then rushed and then smooshed in places. Like, I really don't know how to feel about this book. I liked the discussion about the psychology of war and adolescent masculinity, but the characters and pacing just felt...off. ( )

I expected it to end like that, in a knot of irony, and one of the friends dead. ( )

Boys face the impact of WWII as they attend school. ( )

This is a young adult fiction book from before that genre was formally christened; it is or once was a staple in the canon of required high school readings. Essentially it is a book that can broach the subject of betrayal in a PG-13 sort of way. The betrayer is the narrator and the lure for the reader is that the protagonist never lets down his guard or pulls back the veil and comes clean with his audience. By the end of the book you will know no more than you did the moment after the betrayal occurred early in the book. But maybe that is the whole point about betrayal.

The book's appeal and staying power comes from what is not said: the narrator never explicitly states his motive for the betrayal. Also the dire consequences of the betrayal could not have been anticipated but the narrator expresses no regrets. His lack of remorse, his character's opacity is what keeps the reader reading. By the end of the story nothing has been resolved or revealed.

On the positive side it is a shorter read than "Madam Bovary" and less convoluted than most books about the Cambridge spy ring.

The title pertains to the setting: the home front during World War II. On a deeper level the title relates to the struggles of the individual while a larger historical struggle is occurring. Nothing heroic or triumphal graces the lives of these characters, however. The world war is remote and obscure here. The nearest it comes is when a minor character, Leper (someone afflicted with leprosy) washes out of military training and returns to live in seclusion at his parents' home. ( )