An American coming-of-age tale during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to the second world war Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peaceis 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.
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An American coming-of-age tale during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to the second world war Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peaceis 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.
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Add this copy of A Separate Peace to cart. $11.82, new condition, Sold by Books2anywhere rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fairford, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2025 by Simon + Schuster UK.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Add this copy of A Separate Peace to cart. $1,181.48, good condition, Sold by SELL BOOKS LTD rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from London, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1994 by Bantam Books.
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Our good condition books are generally good for reading but not for gifting or collecting. They could have imperfections such as creasing, fanning, inscriptions, margin notes, yellowing, staining on edge or cover or pages, bumps, scuffs, etc etc (sometimes multiple of these). It's a wide category that encompasses anything that isn't almost-new down to anything that is slightly better than poor. We would NOT recommend gifting Good books-these should be considered reading copies. Our books ar.
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Good. 1967. Paperback. Clean copy showing some age and shelf wear. Previous owner's name to inside front cover. Remains a good copy.....We ship daily from our Bookshop.
Add this copy of Separate Peace to cart. $37.46, new condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 1996 by Scribner Book Company.
Add this copy of Separate Peace-Knowles, John to cart. $227.57, very good condition, Sold by LLU- BOOKSERVICE ANTIQUARIAN rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Wahlstedt, S-H, GERMANY, published 2014 by Simon & Schuster Ltd.
Add this copy of A Separate Peace to cart. $8.28, fair condition, Sold by ClickGoodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Indianapolis, IN, UNITED STATES, published 2003 by Scribner.
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Fair. Used-Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact but shrink wrap dust covers or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes highlighting or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may be missing bundled media.
I'm about 1/4 into the book and it's definitely a good read. This is my first John Knowles; I like his style of writing.
jeff k
Oct 3, 2011
A Simple Classic
The laughable thing about most of the negative comments posted here, among other things, is that these faux critics believe that a novel is important only if the character is "likable". What nonsense! The character Gene Forrester may or may not be a likable character, but he is completely believable.
I would argue that Gene's struggle with loyalty, jealousy, remorse, and sorrow are more than believable--they're part of the WWII era that marked top students for the top positions in many aspects of American life in commerce, law, education, and the military.
For those who cannot get out of their own heads, I'm sure that the story was "boring" or "unlikable" but that is due to your own limitations.
The book is flawlessly written and captures both the time period and the coming of age feel for young men who understand the pressure of competition and the real fear of not living up to high expectations. The novel is a classic and will remain so unless the spurious notion of "likability" becomes the new currency for rating high works of art.
None of the critics here could touch Knowles' ability.
