John Knowles's A Separate Peace

by Harold Bloom

In this American classic, a young man comes of age and struggles with a loss of innocence and friendship at a northern boarding school amidst the backdrop of World War II. The full-length essays in this volume provide a comprehensive critical overview of John Knowles's best-known novel. This latest edition in the Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations series features a chronology, bibliography, and an index, as well as notes on the contributors and an introductory essay from noted literary scholar Harold Bloom.

124 pages, Library Binding

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read "A Separate Peace for English" over the summer and annotate my thoughts as well as connections I found between it and the book "How to Read Literature like a Professor" by Thomas C. Foster (great book for inspiring English Majors and book freaks by the way). Harold Bloom's compilation of essays from various poets, novelists, essayists, and dramatists were very interesting as well as helpful. Reading this book helped me look at "A Separate Peace" from multiple perspectives as well as gave me a deeper appreciation and understanding of this novel. I definitely recommend for those who have read "A Separate Peace."