That Was Then, This Is Now
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Author | S.E. Hinton |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young adult novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Released | 1971 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 160 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-670-69798-2 (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | The Outsiders |
That Was Then, This Is Now is a novel by S.E. Hinton. It was later turned into a film starring Emilio Estevez. The book (like Rumble Fish) takes place in the same universe as Hinton's first book The Outsiders. However, unlike Rumble Fish, which only hinted at a connection between the two books, in That Was Then, This Is Now the main character of The Outsiders, Ponyboy, is actually a minor character (as "Curtis," his last name). He is often referred to as a sometimes rival of Bryon, the protagonist, and even makes a few cameo appearances in the events surrounding the dance.
It is centered on the relationship between two best friends, Bryon and Mark, and how they begin to grow apart. Ever since Mark's parents shot each other out of drunken rage, he has been living with Bryon, his best friend for as long as they can remember. They have spent their days boozing in dry river beds, playing poker, and hustling pool games.
But now things are changing. Bryon is spending more time with his girlfriend, Cathy, while Mark becomes more distant and isolates himself from Bryon while bringing in massive amounts of money. Also, Bryon is growing tired of the seemingly never ending street fights that plague their town, while Mark can't seem to live without them.
When Cathy's brother, M&M, runs away , Mark finds him in a hippie commune under the influence of LSD. Bryon and Cathy find him there, take him to the hospital, and are able to talk to him, but M&M will never be the same again. Bryon then discovers that Mark had been actually selling LSD to other young teens. Bryon is devastated and the only thing he can think about is M&M, and while thinking about him he decides to call the cops on Mark. This ruins his life and they are never the same again.At the end of the story, Mark is in jail for selling drugs and he and Bryon are not friends anymore, Cathy has left Bryon, after they had a spat, for Ponyboy Curtis, from The Outsiders, and M&M tells Bryon of the lasting effects the LSD had on him. Bryon is left sad, wondering about everything that has happened but knowing nothing will ever be the same. At the end Mark states the famouse quote that one of his friends(Bryon) once told him "that was then this is now"
