A Bright Ray of Darkness: A novel

I had no idea Ethan Hawke was a novelist. I was acquainted with his acting, his terrific small screen adaptation of James McBride’s The Good Lord Bird, and his brilliant narration of Jack Kerouac’s The Dharma Bums, which I listened to last year, but when I was searching for a book a related to the word “dark” I stumbled on this gem. What a treat. His writing evokes the best of Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson, and David Foster Wallace, with snappy dialogue, grossly flawed characters, and a protagonist who seems likely to be drawn largely from Mr. Hawke’s own experiences in acting. Heck, I even became invested in the extensive Shakespearean scenes of the Broadway play in which he was cast (Henry IV), and I am not a huge fan of show more Shakespeare (gasp!), and which is at the center of the novel, the action spanning the duration of the play's well-received limited run. I was surprised to learn this was Mr. Hawke’s fourth novel, and that the earlier ones were not so well receive. Perhaps he was honing his craft in this genre. Whatever the explanation, the novel was a Halloween treat and a nice way for me to end a month of excellent reads. If I had any nit at all, it is that some of the characters’ soliloquies (off the stage) were a tad long, but hardly ever dull. show less

This mostly autobiographical, first-person story with an emphasis on the interior life shows that the actor Ethan Hawke is a talented writer more than capable of constructing a good, readable novel. Too many people, afflicted by the puzzlingly common desire for fame and blinded by envy of those who have attained it, seem to believe that if people of privilege are unhappy, it's their own reprehensible fault--and sometimes it is, but the same is true of the unhappiness in all of our lives. Maybe those people would learn a little empathy were they to read this book. For myself, I felt sorry for the narrator, who is nearly torn apart by a divorce brought on by his own actions, as he well knows. But because the narrator is obviously a show more fictional version of Ethan Hawke himself approximately twenty years ago, I knew that he would survive, continue to produce excellent work, and start a new family. That knowledge took some of the narrative tension out of the tale and centered the interest it holds to its descriptions of the drawbacks of being recognizable to strangers at the very worst time of your life, and on the vivid descriptions of the narrator' tortured emotional state. show less

Der bekannte Filmschauspieler William Harding erhält eine Rolle am Broadway in Shakespeares „Heinrich IV“. Doch es ist nicht diese, die ihn in die Schlagzeilen bringt, sondern die Tatsache, dass er seiner Frau fremdgegangen ist, was natürlich nicht verborgen blieb, und die ebenso berühmte Sängerin nun die Trennung öffentlich in den Klatschblättern ausschlachtet und die ganze Welt auf ihrer Seite hat. Emotional im Ausnahmezustand soll William nun eine herausfordernde Rolle spielen und das neben ausgebildeten Bühnenschauspielern, die zwar weitaus weniger bekannt, aber deutlich besser sind als er. Von Selbstzweifeln geplagt versucht er, die Rolle auszufüllen und zugleich auch fern der Bühne die Rolle des Vaters für seine show more beiden kleinen Kinder erfolgreich auszufüllen. Eine emotionale Tour de Force, die ihm alles abverlangt und ihn weit über seine Grenzen gehen lässt.

Ethan Hawke ist seit den 90ern ein vielbeschäftigter und mit verschiedensten Preisen ausgezeichneter Schauspieler. In den vergangenen Jahren hat er sich auch als Autor einen Namen gemacht. Seine Hauptfigur in „Hell strahlt die Dunkelheit“ weist unzählige Parallelen zu seinem Leben auf: zunächst die Erfolge im Film, später auch Engagements auf der Bühne, die Ehe mit einer ebenso erfolgreichen Künstlerin und die öffentliche Schlammschlacht der Trennung. Am interessantesten sind jedoch nicht diese Äußerlichkeiten, sondern das Innenleben der Figur, eine Seite, die man normalerweise nicht zu sehen bekommt und die hinter der strahlenden Fassade verborgen bleibt. Es liegt daher nahe, dass der Roman auch sehr viele persönliche Eindrücke des Schauspielers offenbart und seine verletzliche Seite zeigt.

Es sind zwei zentrale Punkte, die die Selbstzweifel Williams nähren. Zum einen die gescheiterte Ehe, dabei hatten sie sich doch einmal stürmisch geliebt. Auch die Ehe seiner Eltern war schon gescheitert und die Beziehung zu seinem Vater danach schlecht bis nicht existent. Er selbst will ein besserer Vater sein, bemüht sich um die Kinder, um sie nicht unter der Situation leiden zu lassen. Eine selbst gestellte Aufgabe, die er nicht immer erfolgreich ausfüllt. Er macht keinen Hehl daraus, dass er selbst dazu beigetragen hat, dass seine Familie vor einem Trümmerhaufen steht, aber kann er doch noch irgendetwas retten?

Noch mehr beschäftigt ihn jedoch sein Talent und seine Rolle. Er trägt eine unbändige Wut in sich, genährt von seinem eigenen Unvermögen und Verärgerung über sich selbst. Zwar kann er dies in die Figur kanalisieren und diese mit unglaublichem Leben füllen, das tägliche extreme Ausleben der Emotionen jedoch zehrt an ihm und laugt ihn aus, schadet seiner Stimme und lässt ihn wichtige Warnsignale seines Körpers übersehen. Wie ein Besessener steigert er sich in seine Rolle als Hotspur und lebt sie förmlich aus.

Interessant ist vor allem das, was sich hinter der Bühne abspielt, die Routinen und Gepflogenheiten am Theater, aber auch der harte Konkurrenzkampf und vor allem die Selbstzweifel, denen die Figuren ganz unterschiedlich begegnen. Das Transferieren eines Jahrhunderte alten Textes in eine lebendige Aufführung, die das Publikum mitreißt – eine Kunst für sich, in die Hawke hier spannende und erhellende Einblicke gewährt.

Ja, William lamentiert und jammert ganz schön viel und bemitleidet sich selbst. Aber der Roman wird dadurch lebendig, die Figur greifbar und authentisch und vor allem zeigen sie eine Seite, die man selten sieht. Für eine Erzählung, die sofort gefesselt hat und nicht mehr losließ. show less

A philosophical dance told through the eyes of an actor

With two Oscar nominations for screenplays and likewise for his acting, it's obvious this was one of Ethan's more personal stories. Having been delighted by his performance in The Good Lord Bird, and learning of his writing accolades, I was compelled to read this story. Like himself, the protagonist is a movie star struggling with marriage to a rock queen while he begins rehearsals for "Henry IV", his first Shakespeare play on Broadway. Several cast members serve as metaphor while they share insights about life and relationships with script dialog that magnifies its importance. Driven by themes of redemption and forgiveness, Shakespeare quotes act as a cipher while the father, cast show more members and friends impart wisdom. Told through the POV of the movie star, the reader is immersed into worlds unknown, unless you happen to work in Hollywood. Paced well, he engages the reader from the start and as the story plays out, deepens. Toward the end, the protagonist is witness to other's stories and life philosophies that shed light on how he might handle his personal dilemma. We don't often have the chance to get 'inside the mind' of a celebrity, and its far different from what we assume. Hawke's talent rivals the best, so those that appreciate engaging storytelling would do well to add this to their list! show less

This novel by actor Ethan Hawke (Dead Poet’s Society, Gattaca) tells the story of a successful movie actor making his Broadway debut in Shakespeare's Henry IV while simultaneously endeavoring to cope with the dissolution of his marriage to an even more popular pop star. The premise is promising: I just wish the writing and composition weren't so disappointing.

I figured a book about the staging of Shakespeare's Henry IV by an actual actor was bound to contain, at the very least, intriguing details about the process of staging a Broadway show. And so this did. I genuinely enjoyed learning more about the process of staging a Broadway play, the interactions between the actors, and the stresses/anxieties of performing live theater.

On the show more other hand, I was continually distracted by the mechanics of Hawke’s writing (and I don’t just mean the grammatical errors). Much of the information in this novel seems out of order – which, in the hands of a competent author, can create dramatic tension but which, in the hands of Hawke, creates gaps in understanding that rob the narrative of dramatic impact. For instance, why give us 50 pages of various people lecturing the protagonist about love, divorce and life before bothering to providing us with enough detail about the protagonists’ marriage to determine whether any of this pontification is even relevant? Other things that bothered me:

* Shallow, unconvincing characters. Someone needs to tell Hawke that giving characters tragic backstories isn't a substitute for character development.

* Stilted, unconvincing dialog. Almost everyone in this novel speaks as if they are reading from a script

* Odd inserts that appear to be attempts at free-form poetry. You have to question an author's decision to juxtaposition their own poetry with excerpts from one of the greatest poets in human history.

* Subplots that go nowhere. Just saying: don’t worry about the lovers, any interactions between the actors, or those quotes that keep appearing in our protagonist’s dressing room

* Really, really obvious symbolism. Example: just in case you miss our protagonists’ festering depression, Hawke provides an actual festering infectious boil; and …

* A denouement that’s way too tidy and pat to feel authentic. (Hint: Carpe diem! Oh, wait, where have I heard that before?)

I *really* need to remember to be more suspicious when it comes to buying books with blurbs that praise an author’s past works, conspicuously omitting blurbs about the present work … never a good sign! show less

I really, really though this would be enjoyable, moderately reprehensible, drivel-delight from the man who brought you the sexually-questionable "The Hottest State" and other books that I have not read.

Instead this was actually a, dare I say, profound insight into a life in the arts, the power of theater and Shakespeare, and the onslaught of time for us all.

First and foremost I am an Ethan Hawke stan