A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Notes From Your Bookseller A timeless story of innocence and its loss, Separate Peace is heartfelt and tragic, a reminder of how war effects everyone, young and old. Phineas and Gene may be at home during WWII, but that doesn't mean they're immune to its effects. Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read. An American classic and great bestseller for over thirty years, A Separate Peace is timeless in its description of adolescence during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to World War II. Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world. Editorial Reviews I think it is the best-written, best-designed and most moving novel I have read in many years. Beginning with a tiny incident among ordinary boys, it ends by being as deep and as big as evil itself." --Aubrey Menen "A quietly vital and cleanly written novel that moves, page by page, towards a most interesting target." --Truman Capote "Is he the successor to Salinger for whom we have been waiting so long?" --Encounter "A masterpiece." --National Review "A model of restraint, deeply felt and beautifully written." --The Observer "Mr. Knowles has something to say about youth and war that few contemporary novelists have attempted to say and none has said better." --Warren Miller - From the Publisher A masterpiece. - National Review A model of restraint, deeply felt and beautifully written. - Observer Gr 9 Up-The volatile world of male adolescence provides the backdrop for John Knowles' engrossing tale of love, hate, war, and peace. Sharing a room at Devon, an exclusive New England prep school, in the summer prior to World War II, Gene and Phineas form a complex bond of friendship that draws out both the best and worst characteristics of each boy and leads ultimately to violence, a confession, and the betrayal of trust. Narrator Scott Snively's ability to switch seamlessly from the perspective of a teenager tormented by feelings he doesn't want to understand to the reflective musing of a man looking back at the formative experience of his youth provide both the story and the setting with an immediacy that quickly engages listeners. Not only does Snively give a distinctive voice to each of the main characters, he also delineates the mannerisms and personalities of the other boys and the teachers surrounding them. Intense, mesmerizing, and compelling, this rendition of a classic coming-of-age tale belongs in all public library collections, and will be especially helpful to high school students as an accompaniment to the written text.-Cindy Lombardo, Orrville Public Library, OH Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. - School Library Journal Scott Snively tackles Knowles's famous novel about rivalries and relationships at the fictional Devon School, a prep school for boys, during WWII. The story is told from the point of view of Gene, a man looking back on his last year at Devon. Like Gene himself, Snively's narration is sometimes wistful, sometimes regretful, sometimes hesitant. Most of the performance is subdued, with subtle distinctions in the voices of the major characters. Snively does an excellent job conveying emotions in scenes of conflict. He ably conveys anger and sadness with changes in pitch and a few well-placed shouts in a way that sounds genuine, never forced. This is an excellent treatment of a modern classic. A.F. 2003 YALSA Selection © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine - AUG/SEP 02 - AudioFile
Publication Details
Title:
Author(s):
Illustrator:
Binding: Paperback
Published by: Scribner: , 2005
Edition:
ISBN: 9780743253970 | 0743253973
208 pages.
Book Condition: Good
cover worn. Ex-library
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