A Separate Peace by John Knowles

A Separate Peace begins with Gene, the narrator, returning to the boys school where he spent his formative years. As he introduces the reader to the various buildings and features of the school, you get the sense that he has not simply returned to the school to reminisce, but to lay to rest something that he has lived with for many years.

After a few pages, the story hits flashback mode and never really returns to the present. Gene begins to tell the story of Devon School, and more importantly, the story of his friendship with Phineas. Finny and Gene were roommates and close friends, but in many ways they were polar opposites. Finny was athletic and magnanimous, while Gene was neither. Gene received good marks in his classes, while Finny struggled just to pass – often Gene did Finny's homework for him. Although the two were friends, they were also competitive with each other, in a passive aggressive way. As the competition between the two increases, it puts a strain on their friendship. Across the Atlantic, World War II is raging, but the latent one-upmanship between Finny and Gene is just as real of a battle.

With A Separate Peace, John Knowles is saying just as much about the War and the nature of war, as he is about the lives of teenage boys. Knowles makes it clear that the older boys got, the more diligently they were primed for combat. The seniors at Devon School spent a lot of time in physical training, expected to enlist after graduation, or be drafted. The specter of war hung over this New England boys school, permeating the student’s minds and the curriculum alike.

A Separate Peace is beautifully written and laden with vivid, true-to-life characters. The pacing of the book is excellent. It moves along at an even keel, toward a conclusion that is not forgone, but at the same time not necessarily unexpected.
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As a side note, I have to believe that John Irving was influenced by this book when writing A Prayer for Owen Meany.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Carlton recommended this book to me, and prefaced it by saying that it was probably on of his top five books of all time. That's a lot of pressure when you're staring a new book, but, while I don't think Owen Meany will be making my top 5 anytime soon, it was a very funny, entertaining book.

The basic story (which I'm sure Carlton summarized in his earlier review), revolves around the narrator, John, a rather spineless, uncharismatic kid who, throughout the course of the novel, seems to derive most of his identity from his association with Owen Meany, a strange, short kid with a “ruined voice” and an unshakable faith in the mysterious ways of God.

The book opens with John confessing that he believes in God today because of Owen Meany, and the remainder of the book shows why this is so. It's made up of seven sections (which I hesitate to call chapters because of their length) which are told in chronological order. The book follows John and Owen from elementary school through their late teens.

I mostly enjoyed Prayer. The characters were likable and believable, the plot was interesting, and the religious aspects were all handled very well. My only complaint was that parts of the book, particularly when the older John is speaking, sometimes read like polemics against Ronald Reagan and American foreign policy in general. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, I don't think. After all, an author can write about whatever sentiments he wants, but in context of the entire story, the political asides were a) jarring and b) somewhat dating, since John is supposed to be writing from the present day.

Still, these complaints are fairly minor, and I enjoyed Prayer. I'd like to check out some of Irving's other work, although his books are long enough to make them slightly time prohibitive.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

This book was recommended to me by my boss, after I described Catcher in the Rye to her. Since she had never read Catcher, I am not sure what made her think that I would like this book. In actuality the two books do not have much in common, except that they are both written like a memoir or diary — essentially the main character is telling you a story about his past. I guess the books do have two things in common: I thoroughly enjoyed both of them, and each author created a character that was completely unforgettable. Moral of the story, my boss was right. That must be why she gets paid the big bucks.

Much like Salinger’s Holden Caulfield, Owen Meany is forever burned into my brain, maybe even to a greater degree than Caulfield. Although the story is told through the eyes of Johnny Wheelwright, Owen Meany, who is friends with Wheelwright, is truly the main character of the book. He is hilariously funny — intentionally and unintentionally — unbelievably smart, but all the while mysterious. In truth Owen Meany is full of mystery. Why is he less than five feet tall as a senior in high school? Why does his voice always sound as if he is screaming his words? What happened at his Catholic church that caused him to hate them so? What exactly does he know about the future? Maybe more importantly: What does he think he knows about the future?

This is the first book by John Irving that I have read. I have been told by many that it is his best. Irving does an excellent job of creating characters and situations that linger with you long after you have closed the book. (I just closed the book about twelve hours ago, but I thought that phrase sounded nice.) He creates a realistic world, one that seems familiar. But there is something slightly off about this place, namely Owen Meany. I never knew anyone like Owen Meany growing up. I hesitate to say that I wish I did.

This book has instantly become one of my favorites, easily in my top five. I highly recommend it.

Check out Brent’s review of this book.