A separate peace (John Knowles)

A separate peace

John Knowles

This novel narrates the lives of teenagers who go to a boarding school in Devon in 1944. The boy who tells the story is Gene Forrester. He deeply admires his friend Phineas (Finny), who is the best athlete in the school, adventurous and decided to break all the rules.

An adult Gene remembers their days during the time of the Second World War. The idea of enlisting is always surrounding them as they believe they have to show their masculinity to the other students.

One of Finny's ideas is to climb a tree and jump to the lake from above. Gene follows him since he always feels his friend is pushing him to his limits.

This is not a plot-driven story. The growth of the characters is the essence. Gene and Finny learns to expand their friendship, even when obstacles seem to break this fragile connection. They discover each other, their ambiguities and weaknesses. the way a friend shape their days, even when tragedy engulfs them.

A coming-of-age story, critics have connected this novel with The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger.  Adults will remember the delicate link that onnected them to their friends, the days in the secondary school when being outside in the sunshine was more important than classes and grades.

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