Things As They Are [Hardcover]

Paul Horgan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1964

Things As They Are is a novel about a boy's transition from the state of innocence to knowledge.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

The acclaimed American writer Paul Horgan tells a classic coming-of-age-tale in this poignant story of a young Catholic boy growing up in early twentieth century New York. Young Richard lives in a comforting world of dreams and illusions. He travels the painful journey all of us have traveled—from the unavoidable, innocent illusions of childhood to the harsh beauty of loss, forgiveness, and hope. It’s a journey to understanding things as they are.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

"Mr. Horgan manages . . . to make the morning of life as pristine as the dawn of creation itself.”—New York Times

“A work of rare beauty . . . has a lyrical quality that is rare today.”—Best Sellers

“Mr. Horgan writes as a poet and as the biographer of us all.” —Book Week

Richard is a young boy growing up in turn-of-the-century upstate New York, sheltered in a loving Catholic family. His happy world consists largely of illusions. These are shattered as Richard learns about “things as they are”—a remorseless succession of encounters with the casual brutality of schoolboys, the faithlessness of adults, the silence of God, and the cruelty in his own heart. Yet Paul Horgan finds courage and beauty in the ruins of Richard’s dream world. Hope is also part of “things as they are,” and Horgan’s subtle, powerful vision makes this classic tale of lost innocence a novel that resonates deeply in the soul.
 

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 239 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition edition (January 1, 1964)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374274762
• ISBN-13: 978-0374274764
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,739,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Things as more books should be, July 12, 2005

By 

Tyler (Lexington, KY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Things As They Are (Hardcover)

This is a beautifully written book about different occurances in a young boy's life that make him loose his innocence. It is filled with some tear jerking metaphors, powerful quotes, and a sad and wonderfully accurate portryal of life. It is a 'Catcher in the Rye'-esque read that leaves you feeling nostalgic sad and happy all at once.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Better Definition of Innocence, September 5, 2010

By 

Ivan L Hutton - See all my reviews

This review is from: Things as They Are (Loyola Classics) (Paperback)

This is one of the favorite books I taught to seniors in high school in the late 1960s. I lost my copy years ago and I am greatly looking forward to reading it again (and again) now that it is back in print. It was written in 1951 (the beginning days of birthing boomers) by a two-time Pulitzer prize winner. It is a collection of chronologically sequenced "short stories" (each a major learning event) in the life of a boy-child growing step-by-experiential-step out of innocence into maturity (young adulthood). Horgan defines innocence as a child's initial belief about self and the world which is summarized in the phrase that "the world revolves around me," which, of course, is not the reality of "things as they are." It is as good a book today as it was almost 60 years ago when it was written, especially since all of us know too many chronological adults (individually and collectively) who are still "innocents" in their personal, community, and political lives. Seeing and relating to the world as it is, is seeing "things as they are." Horgan's very well written book helps us reflect on our own maturity and how we achieved it (or are still growing into it), what our interaction with key events in our lives led us to, and hopefully those reactions were an opening of our eyes/minds/hearts to accept and see "things as they are" and act accordingly.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thing as They Are, January 9, 2007

By 

S. Lanctot (Crookston, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Things as They Are (Loyola Classics) (Paperback)

I liked the book. Life from a child's view is something adults tend to forget. We tend to believe that childhood is a carefree, unaware and uncomplicated time. It's not. I wish I would have read it when my children were small. I may have been more patient and understanding.