A Separate Peace

From School Library Journal Grade 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， OHCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition. From AudioFile 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. © AudioFile 2002， Portland， Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile， Portland， Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition. See all Editorial Reviews

John Knowles (September 16, 1926 - November 29, 2001), b. Fairmont, West Virginia, was an American novelist, best known for his novel A Separate Peace. A 1945 graduate of the Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire, Knowles graduated from Yale University as a member of the class of 1949W. A Separate Peace is based upon Knowles' experiences at Exeter during the summer of 1943. The setting for The Devon School is a thinly veiled fictionalization of Phillips Exeter. The plot should not be taken as autobiographical, although many elements of the novel stem from personal experience. In his essay, "A Special Time, A Special Place," Knowles wrote: The only elements in A Separate Peace which were not in that summer were anger, violence, and hatred. There was only friendship, athleticism, and loyalty. The secondary character Finny (Phineas) was the best friend of the main character, Gene. Knowles took to his grave the secret of whether Finny was all a part of his imagination, or an actual friend whose true identity was never spoken. Gore Vidal, in his memoir Palimpsest, acknowledges that he and Knowles concurrently attended Phillips Exeter, with Vidal two years ahead. Vidal states that Knowles told him that the character Brinker, who precipitates the novel's crisis, is based on Vidal. "We have been friends for many years now," Vidal said, "and I admire the novel that he based on our school days, A Separate Peace." Knowles' other significant works are Morning in Antibes, Double Vision: American Thoughts Abroad, Indian Summer, The Paragon, and Peace Breaks Out. None of these later works were as well received as A Separate Peace. A resident of Southampton, New York, Knowles wrote seven novels, a book on travel and a collection of stories. He was the winner of the William Faulkner Award and the Rosenthal Award of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In his later years, Knowles lectured to university audiences.