I went to England and left A SEPARATE PEACE behind about three quarters of the way finished, so as soon as I got back I finished the book. Why not take the book with me, well, it was a library book and I do not travel with library books on a plane. So home and finished. I will also talk about another book I did take on the plane and finished while on my 8 hour flights both ways.
A SEPARATE PEACE, by John Knowles first published in 1959, my copy was published in 1996 by Scribner publishing. There is no introduction or follow up essay, so you will need to deal with my take on the subject.
Setting: Starts during the summer at a boys school in New England. Time: During WWII. Main Characters: Phineas (Finny), all star athlete, breaker of rules, wants to have fun during summer instead of being locked up studying. Narrator Gene, studious, jealous of Finny, but his best friend. Supporting people: Brinker, Leper, and rest of the Lower Middler Class at Devon.
This is a sad story, a tale of jealousy, betrayal, hardship with the war in the background as these boys are close to turning 18 and being eligible to be drafted. They are at the start of the story being led by Phineas, who thinks that they should do the same exercises as the Upper Middler Class who are preparing for their time in the services. He is a leader and likes to invent games, so he climbs a tree and jumps into a river. He calls out Gene to climb the tree and jump. Gene is not as athletic as Finny, but to save face he climbs the tree and jumps. Gene is resentful of Finny and in some moment of shear spite for not letting him study, he jumps on the tree branch Finny is standing on and causes him to fall off the branch, where he hits the ground. Gene instantly regrets what he has done, but must deal with the guilt. He even goes to Finny's house to confess but Finny gives him an excuse.
Back at school, Finny is able to return for fall, he makes Gene go in training for the Olympics. This is so Gene can carry out Finny's dream of being in the Olympics. Gene follows this because of the guilt he feels. Other bad things happen and you just feel sorry for all the young men in this book.
As I said before this book has betrayal, jealousy and hardship, but it does not end with the above tale. It is sad to think that we still have the pressures that we put on our kids to be the best, and this encourages jealousy. Set during war times with the possibility of losing your life, these kids are aided by Phineas to enjoy life before it ends. Our hopes and dreams for our children sometimes do not come to fruition because life steps into the picture and makes them grow up too fast. It would be nice if we could let our children have the life they should, without adult problems and fights putting pressure on them to be grow up.
A sad but reflective book.
The book I read on the plane is called MRS. LINCOLN'S DRESSMAKER by Jennifer Chiaverini. It was published in 2013 by PLUME a Penguin Random House Group. Jennifer Chiaverini is known by her ELM CREEK QUILTS books, which are based on history of the United States. This book is also based on history, a work of fiction but all people represented are real. Mrs. Lincoln, the modeste to Mrs. Lincoln named Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley. The book is about Mrs. Keckley, a freewoman who purchased her own freedom to become a seamstress to Washington Elite, including Mrs. Jefferson Davis before the start of the Civil War. It is a great book and I am glad that I picked it up to read based on my familiarity with her Elm Creek Books. I enjoyed reading about a part of history that I knew nothing about in terms of the Lincoln's and the personalities of the people in the White House. I had read somewhere that Mrs. Lincoln was considered mad, but now I know the reasons. I really liked Mrs. Keckley for her fortitude and compassion in a time where black members of society were treated like second class, if even that, people. I cannot wait to delve into other historical novels by Jennifer Chiaverini if they are this well written. Kudos on the research of a hidden person and making her come back to life.
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