At a New England boarding school during the early years of World War II, the quiet, competitive Gene Forrester and his magnetic, athletic best friend Phineas share an idyllic summer that ends the moment Gene's jealousy leads to a single, irreversible act.
Books mentioned in A Separate Peace (3)
Candide by Voltaire: “When we read Candide it opened up a new way of looking at the world to Chet, and he continued hungrily reading Voltaire, in French, while the class went on to other people.”
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme by Molière: “Then I took a shower, dressed, and went back to the dormitory, reread part of Le bourgeois gentilhomme...”
Iliad by Homer: “"...the Iliad with the English translation of each sentence written above it, Brinker's file of Betty Grable photographs..." — one of Finny's prizes on the Prize Table.”
Books that mention A Separate Peace (1)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: “I gave Patrick On the Road, Naked Lunch, The Stranger, This Side of Paradise, Peter Pan, and A Separate Peace.”