PRE-SLASH H/C apparently once requred reading in New England High Schools

[i_speak_tongue]

I found a copy of John Knowles' A SEPARATE PEACE in a Free Books box a few weeks ago. Something I'd been interested in reading for a while, but didn't really know anything about. I may be about 15 years late to the game but....

YOU GUYS. GUYS. HAVE YOU READ THIS? OH MY LORD. This is not just a really good and interesting book about youth, insecurity

Comments

[smilla02]

I have not read it! But I'm interested. Though high school is probably the less interesting time for me to explore in fiction, this sounds lovely.
Thanks for the rec.

[i_speak_tongue]

You are very welcome! It's not like I could resist, clearly! :P And if it helps, it's an ivy league boarding school. So it's almost like college. Plus it's 1943. Not really a typical High School backdrop.

[saberivojo]

I read it but so, so long ago, I can't even put the connections in place. (Maybe high school? yes, I am that old) Still it seems like it would be worth revisiting with fresh/old eyes.

Maybe when I get done school.

*puts on my reading list*

[i_speak_tongue]

Definitely worth revisiting. I'm sure I wouldn't have appreciated it as much as a youngster. It's very character-driven and psychological. Most of the kids who reviewed it on Amazon complain it was boring. And the adults all rave about it....

[embroiderama]

OMG YES. I was obsessed with that book and the lousy movie made from it when I was in high school. We had to read it and then watched it in class and I was in LOVELOVELOVELOVE. Things like that, things with boys being close friends and hurtiness and all that were like crack to me. Imagine that!

[i_speak_tongue]

YAY!!! I know! So when you read it when you were younger, did you read any closeted gay subtext? I know I say it's obvious, but when you're young and not exposed to slash and gay men are old and in San Fransisco your personal outlook on the world is probably a bit different! I'm just sayin'. I doubt I would have seen it.

I'm still not over the ending. I saw it coming from a mile away, but it still hurt. THere's a handful of ASP fanfic on FFnet, but it's mostly 16 year olds who posted their English homework! Lol.

Do you have any other books, YA or otherwise, you like for the same reasons? Hmmmmmm?

[embroiderama]

I didn't read it then with a gay subtext--not only did I grown up in a small city and then moved to the suburbs, I was also a VERY late bloomer as far as any kind of sexuality went. At the point when I read it I was 15 I think and EW GROSS about both straight and gay sex

[i_speak_tongue]

Stand By Me! 21 Jump Street! Absolutely! It's strange that there is a definite correlation between pre-slash and "platonic" soul-mate love, in the sense that the physical sexuality is removed. I think I'm still stuck in that pre-sexed high school phase sometimes, before I wanted to think about sex, but I did find boys hot. Somehow non-scary h/c ended up replacing the scary sex-making. And here I am.

[i_speak_tongue]

Awesome!! You will not be sorry! And it's about 150 pages, so you'll probably be done by this afternoon. If this is what you plan to do with your day. You must absolutely let me know what you think! We can write silly fanfics for eachother!

[mad_server]

Whoa. That sounds a little on the awesome side!