A Bright Ray of Darkness

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Since "Reality Bites," as a young teen, I've been a fan of Ethan Hawke. His angsty 90's vibe was swoon-worthy. Hawke's first book, "The Hottest State" solidified his talent. Not only was he a brilliant actor, but a talented writer. Ethan Hawke, whose acting career has combined celebrity wattage with indie integrity, brings hard-won experience to his latest literary endeavour ... [A] wild ride of a book ... Written with real fire & originality. Not many novels combine scenes of lying semi-conscious by a motel toilet with thoughts on the perfection of the iambic pentameter. Metro

Searing and raw, A Bright Ray of Darkness is a novel about shame and beauty and faith, and the moral power of art. ABOUT ETHAN HAWKE. A four-time Academy Ethan Hawke, whose acting career has combined celebrity wattage with indie integrity, brings hard-won experience to his latest literary endeavour ... [A] wild ride of a book ... Written with real fire & originality. Not many novels combine scenes of lying semi-conscious by a motel toilet with thoughts on the perfection of the iambic pentameter. * Metro * The actor and director, who made his screen debut at 15, has published several books during his acclaimed Hollywood career, and he recently produced and starred in a spectacular TV adaptation of James McBride’s “The Good Lord Bird.”

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When you finish a movie, they always forget to call you a car. When you are starting a movie, everything runs perfectly--town cars, hotel rooms, per diem--but once the film ends they couldn't give a shit." Hawke spends a lot of time delving into the scenes of the protagonist on stage and the rest of the time ruminating over his broken marriage and how to handle his two children. So much of this story sounds autobiographical. What I read online, he takes parts of his life and implants it into the book. I couldn't shake the feeing of what was real and what wasn't.. It's about an actor (well, duh) performing Shakespeare ( Henry IV) on Broadway as he is coming off a divorce to a big-time pop singer. He drinks, does drugs, feels sorry for himself, has two kids he loves, feels insecure about his stagework (he's a movie guy), and cheats on his soon-to-be ex-wife.

In addition to possessing a lively, convivial atmosphere, and a full-service bar, Kramers stages hundreds of book-related events each year, both in the store and elsewhere. From tourists to neighbors, college students to the political elite, there is something for everyone at Kramers! Learn more at kramers.com. William is the star of this vivid drama from Ethan Hawke ... this is ultimately a book about the transcendent value of great art ... it communicates a real power. Sunday Times out of 5, I was almost ready to give it a 6 and call it one of my all-time faves except for a few really truly glaring moments of mediocre prose.And Ashley Audrain, author of The Push, on the new ways that psychological thriller writers are depicting motherhood. It came across like Ethan Hawke, author, has a lot of deep thoughts and decided to "hide" his wisdom in multiple side characters (who sounded similar), hoping we wouldn't notice how deep he is (hiding, not so well, behind the arras). I heard a great radio interview with Ethan Hawke last year around the time this book was published and made a mental note at the time to give the book a go.

Hawke blurs the boundaries between past roles and autobiography and brings a world of fame, longing and oblivion into sharp focus. * BuzzMag *

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And what's not so much to like? Mostly the clichés of an actor's life. And a few writer clichés to boot. Like guy is ridiculously famous, guy gets girl(s) -- all of them -- guy feels sorry for himself while he struggles with fortune's whims (love-hate relationship with fame, struggles with domestic life, mostly), and guy talks about how rough it is to be roguishly handsome and 180 pounds of muscle. The Folger’s virtual book club, Words, Words, Words continues on Thursday, April 1 with a discussion of Ethan Hawke’s A Bright Ray of Darkness. To get ready for the conversation, we’ve compiled some introductory information on this compelling story of a young actor balancing the dissolution of his marriage with work on Shakespeare’s Henry IV pt. 1. William is the star of this vivid drama from Ethan Hawke ... this is ultimately a book about the transcendent value of great art ... it communicates a real power. * Sunday Times *