Description

Book Synopsis
AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 'A GOOD READ'

'A novel that made such a deep impression on me at sixteen that I can still conjure the atmosphere in my fifties: of yearning, infatuation mingled indistinguishably with envy, and remorse' Lionel Shriver

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 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.


Trade Review
'A novel that made such a deep impression on me at sixteen that I can still conjure the atmosphere in my fifties: of yearning, infatuation mingled indistinguishably with envy, and remorse'

-- Lionel Shriver

A Separate Peace

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    A Paperback / softback by John Knowles

    £8.54

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    RRP £8.99 – you save £0.45 (5%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Wed 14 Oct 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Simon & Schuster Ltd
      Published 30 June 2016
      ISBN-13 9781471152320
      978-1471152320
      ISBN-10 1471152324

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 'A GOOD READ'

      'A novel that made such a deep impression on me at sixteen that I can still conjure the atmosphere in my fifties: of yearning, infatuation mingled indistinguishably with envy, and remorse' Lionel Shriver

      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 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.


      Trade Review
      'A novel that made such a deep impression on me at sixteen that I can still conjure the atmosphere in my fifties: of yearning, infatuation mingled indistinguishably with envy, and remorse'

      -- Lionel Shriver

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