I liked how the book started out, it was gripping and I was hooked onto the characters, Phineas and Gene, because they were very relatable. I could see myself and my peers throughout these characters which helped make the read easier and more enjoyable. The beginning of the book was mysterious and intriguing. It was only after I had read majority of the book, that I had realized that this all ties in with the beginning objects that Gene focuses on. Gene’s character is alright for the most part. However, being inside his head drove me mad! I saw a different and darker side of Gene when I was listening in on his manipulative and crazed ideas towards Finny. I also got to witness how the subconscious mind works and the fact that our actions all hint out our thoughts even when we’re not meaning to.
If I were to change one thing, it would be the fact that the author shared Gene and Finny’s thoughts. This would have been much more interesting and would have made choosing sides much more difficult. Also, this would’ve allowed us to see, rather than infer, the reasons for their decisions.
A very good and symbolic point that John Knowles introduced has to do with the seasons. Using the seasons to contribute to the tone helped set the scene and differentiate more between the rising action and the falling action. I believe the summer represents their childhood and final carefree moments, whereas the winter struck them with responsibility and sadness. Another very important aspect of this book is the war going on in the background. I thought he did a good job of making it a flexible theme for anyone to grasp when he didn’t shove the war down your throat like I would imagine other books about war to do. By doing so, Knowles also set a different pace without the war being talked about nonstop giving this book a more relatable outlook.
Throughout this book I found that the plot and characters were acceptable, but the conflicts are what pushed this book through making it seem very complex and almost helpless. It’s this way because the conflicts are all within each character. There are more man vs self conflicts than man vs man or man vs nature, that it almost settles you back in for a crazy and long ride on the human brain. All in all, the resolution was reassuring and it made up for the dull spots in the book. However I can’t say that I would recommend this book to anyone mainly because it wasn’t my cup of tea.