Una paz solo nuestra (1959)

some beautiful passages. interesting characters. worth the read. ( )

between 1.5 and 2 stars. this definitely got better as it went along, as gene starts to understand himself better and reflect on that, and his friendship, more. phineas (finny) was certainly the most interesting character in the book, but i understand why we can't get narration from him.

as a coming of age tale, it has some surprises in it that i appreciated, but it's not one of the better ones i've read. i expected more about the war, and some of that came near the end, but not as much as i'd have liked. still, it's an easy, quick read and there is some value in it.

there is no purpose to the framing of the story, in the first few pages, of gene looking back on his time at the school. we don't revisit this at the end; there is no reason not to start the narration with the story itself. it always bothers me when this structure is used for no reason. ( )

A coming-of-age story involving two boys at a prep school where one is in awe of the other. I certainly get that dynamic, and often have felt like the “in awe” person. Maybe I’ve just seen this story too many times for it to move or resonate with me. Not really recommended ( )

Poetry, through a boys' school, about a war. Contains many surprising truths about human nature. ( )

The coming of age story set during 1941-1942. The war is in the background, but not a front and center part of the story. It is the story of two friends and their struggles in a New England boarding school. While slow moving, it is yet profound and poignant. 228 pages ( )