John Knowles Books

From the author of a Separate Peace follows a little tale of Yale, New Haven, and romance, with classic scenes including polo horses in dorm rooms. A must read for anyone who has an interest in Yale or John Knowles, but perhaps a little too light for serious novel-goers.

It is fairly obvious that John Knowles tried to capture the same success of "A Separate Peace" with this novel: New England, war time conditions,adolescent boys, maturity, and school life. But "The Paragon" falls far short of "A Separate Peace." The same emotion is never quite there. Instead, I felt like I was reading the script to a Sunday night made for TV movie. The thoughts of the main character,Lou Colfax,are overstretched and unintentionally humerous. I almost felt sorry for Knowles at one point in the book. He describes a character as being a worn out writer who only had one successful work attributed to his name. I'll give you a little pity John--2 stars.

Its a solid story that makes you want to keep reading. One problem is that it has some chronology problems. HIppy beatnicks in the wrong era. But if you want something to read, pick it up.

John Knowles does a good job of developing Lou Colfax' character, only to waste it with a rushed, so-so resolution of this man's troubles in the end. He does present good insights about war, life in New England, and early 20's angst. The various characters around Lou are also very interesting. It was only at the end that I felt let down.

The Paragon is an in-depth look at the life of Yale student Lou Colfax as he travels throuh his sophomore year. Lou is a complex young man who is battling with love and his desire to make chanes in the world. You will become more -tune to the human character and you'll find yourself pondering the ideas of Lou -- most of which ou've probably never considered before! The book also provides valuable insights into the life and times of fifties North Eastern USA.

I needed cliff notes for my report, but all they do is help...

This cliff notes is very disappointing. To much analysis and not enough straight fact from starters. Also, as I perused it in 10th grade for my final exams, I wondered if Cliff and I had read the same book. The book is short..you're better off reading the book. At best, use it as a companion to the book.

After slogging my way through 1/3 of this story, I realized I didn't give a bean about any of the characters. Before abandoning it, I skimmed the rest to see if I was going to miss anything. I don't believe I did.

It's hard to believe that the person who wrote "A Separate Peace" wrote this dreadful thing.