I just finished John Knowles' A Separate Peace this afternoon as I sipped a mug of tea after having a luxurious nap (got to love Sunday afternoons!). I found it a deeply moving coming-of-age story set at a New England boarding school during World War II. I am not going to give a synopsis here, but I recommend it to anyone who loves good writing and interesting characters. Funnily enough, it's thought of as a children's book, but I can't imagine today's children having anything close to the attention span to read it because it moves fairly slowly and is richly descriptive--kids today like non-stop action and snappy dialogue (just look at children's movies if you don't believe me) and thus A Separate Peace would appeal far more to those in their later teens or adulthood. From The Art of Manliness' 100 Must-Read Books for Men:
A classic coming-of-age story about two boys, set around the time of the Second World War. Dealing with one of the boy’s jealousy of another, and the tragic accident resulting from it, the novel mourns and reflects on the specific moment when all innocence is lost. After all, a boy cannot go on thinking life is about ice cream and tree forts forever.
I would not consider this a "man book" in any way at all, but I can see why it made their list of must-reads. Highly recommended...
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4 comments:
funnily?? is that even a word??
Yes, "funnily" is a word--check your dictionary.
Matt,
I'm with you on the children's literature thing. Many times I find that my best entertainment reading comes from what they call children's lit. I vaguely remember having A Separate Peace assigned in one of my high school classes.
Funnily enough, I have read this book, and I quite enjoyed it... It's sitting on my bookshelf at home.
I don't know many other teens who have read it.. Kids these days, eh?
I agree with you on the fact that I would no call it a "man book".
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