And feeling this – that Finny is untouchably superior and the better person – leaves Gene struggling to reconcile his love for Finny with the jealousy and irritation that this intense adolescent friendship brings him. But he knows for certain that Finny will be untouched even if Gene excels in his studies – partly because Finny doesn’t much care about classwork but, more importantly, because he is a truer, more honest friend than Gene, and will be pleased, rather than jealous, about his friend’s success. Finny is the superior athlete and the more imaginative of the two and the only way Gene can see to outdo him is in the academic side of things. But in his heart he is also jealous that Finny is always the leader and Gene is merely one of his followers. Gene loves and admires him and is proud to be counted as his closest friend. In Gene’s memory, Finny is a kind of golden boy, an exceptional athlete and a natural leader who recognises no rules but his own. We very quickly learn that some major event occurred during his time at school and that, in some way, this visit is intended to help him face up to his memories of that time. The book begins with an adult Gene returning to visit the school that he attended as a teenager during the middle years of the Second World War.
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