The Embers: A Novel [Hardcover]

Hyatt Bass (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2009

A once-charmed family is forced to confront the devastating tragedy that struck it years ago in this fiercely tender tale of betrayal and reconciliation

It’s the fall of 2007, and Emily Ascher should be celebrating: she just got engaged to the man she loves, her job is moving in new and fulfilling directions, and her once-rocky relationship with her mother, Laura, has finally mellowed into an easy give-and-take. But with the promise of new love

Settling into old comes a difficult look at how her family has been torn apart in the many years since her brother died. Her parents have long since divorced, and her father, Joe, a famous actor and playwright who has been paralyzed with grief since the tragedy, carries the blame for his son’s death—but what really happened on that winter night? Why has he been unable to clear his name, or even discuss that evening with Laura and Emily?

As spring looms—and with it Emily’s wedding in the Berkshires and an unveiling of Joe’s new play—each Ascher begins to reevaluate the events of long ago, finally facing the truth of his or her own culpability in them. Moving between past and present over the course of sixteen years, The Embers is a skillfully structured debut novel of buried secrets and deep regrets that crush a family while bonding its members irrevocably.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Director, producer and screenwriter Bass creates a riveting narrative that digs into the notion that there is nothing that happens to a child that does not implicate the parent in some way. Emily Ascher is planning her wedding at the site of her Berkshires childhood family vacation home, on the very hillside where the ashes of her brother, Thomas, are scattered. Alternating between present day and the past, Emily's story, along with that of her divorced parents, Joe and Laura, unfolds along with the circumstances surrounding Thomas's death. Joe, a once famous actor and playwright, is now consumed by a desire to create and equally consumed by his inability to do so, while Laura, now remarried, still carries the emotional scars of a rocky first marriage and the inability to truly understand or successfully communicate with her daughter. Bass creates a large window into the workings of the Ascher family, exposing how small slights or seemingly minute actions ripple with consequence. Bass's excavation of a complex familial labyrinth is an elegant testament to the beautiful mess that is family. (July)
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From Booklist

In her first novel, screenwriter-producer Bass explores the effects of a child’s death on a nuclear family. As Emily Ascher plans her wedding, years after her older brother Thomas died in his teens, she still talks to him and wants to be married where his ashes were scattered. The grief felt by Thomas’ now-divorced parents, Joe and Laura, is compounded by Joe’s guilt for his part in his son’s death. Flashbacks work forward from 1992, revealing family relationships: the ongoing mother-daughter conflict between Laura and Emily, Joe’s ups and downs as a playwright and actor and his affair that ends the marriage, and eventually the circumstances of Thomas’ death. Sadly, none of these primary characters is particularly likable: Emily comes across as petulant, Joe as egotistical, and Laura as dutiful but sometimes remote. And the degree of talk and analysis about how the three of them have failed each other dilutes the tragedy of the death of a beloved 17-year-old. A well-intentioned but flawed debut. --Michele Leber

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (June 23, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805089942
• ISBN-13: 978-0805089943
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,243,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hyatt Bass is the first person to tell you she never intended to write a novel. At Princeton, she majored in English Literature because it was the only department liberal enough to let her write her thesis on film. After college, she moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a production assistant on Sister Act, a camera assistant on Tombstone, and an assistant editor and camera assistant at Roger Corman's infamous Concorde Films. After making her own short film, Just Desert Bass moved to New York City, then wrote, directed, edited, and produced the award-winning feature, Seventy-Five Degrees in July (released in 2006), which she shot in her hometown of Ft. Worth Texas.

While still in the editing process, and engaged to be married, she began writing her next screenplay but it just wasn't working as she had hoped. After scribbling too many notes in the margin that said "not right for film-maybe for novel?" she switched formats and THE EMBERS was born. Over the past five years, now a mother of two rambunctious young boys Bass has juggled her work as a writer and mother, while writing a story about a once close-knit family that has become divided by deep guilt and blame over a son's mysterious death.

Hyatt also serves on the Board of Directors for the New York Women's Foundation, and will be giving a portion of THE EMBERS' proceeds to Women's Funds throughout the country that work to achieve sustainable economic security and justice.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Salvaging relationships from the embers of tragedy., March 31, 2009

By 

Eliza Bennet (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Embers: A Novel (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Hyatt Bass has constructed a smart, sharp novel of a troubled family that is as remarkable for what it doesn't say as much as for what it does say. There was a point toward the end of the book where the father, Joe, shows his daughter, Emily, a picture from when she was younger - and this was an "ah" moment for me. With no elaboration, the author explained a large portion of the storyline. I like it that it was assumed that the average reader would be smart enough to extrapolate all that was necessary. Told from both the past and present, the story unfolded in an unhurried manner, and the characters were all drawn realistically, with human and flawed characteristics. There is a poem in the book and Bass describes the words as having "deceptive simplicity." The phrase could be used to describe this book. Yesterday, after reading the last words, I set the book aside and considered the characters, their relationships, and the fitting symbolism of the title. I'm still thinking about it today. The writing was excellent, and I hope to read more from this author in the future.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic first novel, September 17, 2009

By 

Heather O'Roark "Heatherlee" (Round Lake, Il USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Embers: A Novel (Hardcover)

I am unsure of how to begin this review because I am still trying to wrap my head around my feelings about The Embers. The thing is, I liked the book. I REALLY liked the book, even more than I expected to - but I'm not sure why. I can say with absolute certainty that one of the reasons the book spoke to me so much was Bass' beautiful writing. She definitely has an amazing talent at crafting passages and conversations between characters that draw the reader in and really make you think. Another reason I think I enjoyed the book so much was because of my difficulty in parting with it for any length of time. Something about the story and the characters just grabbed me and didn't let go.

Here's the weird part: I didn't like any of the characters, and the entire time I was reading this novel I kept thinking to myself, "these people are so annoying. I should be hating this book right now, but I'm not. Why is that?!" The three main characters were all so completely self-absorbed, so unaware of the world around them, and I had a really difficult time with all three of them. I honestly cannot think of another book I've read recently where I so detested the characters but still enjoyed the book, so it's really a tribute to Bass's phenomenal writing and story telling abilities that made me come away with a deep appreciation for this novel.

I always have a soft spot in my heart for books that go back and forth between time periods - if it's done well, this effect can really make a huge impact on the reader. The Embers is an example of this - I never felt lost or confused while reading the book, even though it was jumping between time periods and different characters' points of view. I really can't say enough about Hyatt Bass here - she truly has put together a stunning debut, with flawed but (sadly) realistic characters and an interesting, fast-moving plot. There was a lot I loved about the book, even though I'm having a difficult time articulating the specifics right now. :) Just know that I couldn't put it down, and I am anxiously awaiting something new from Ms. Bass!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful first novel, May 14, 2009

By 

lisatheratgirl "lisatheratgirl" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Embers: A Novel (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

This book made me really glad I joined the Vine program. A story about a family is usually a winning plot line: either the family is dysfunctional, or seemingly perfect, and then a crisis or tragedy strikes. Either the family pulls together and makes it, or is torn apart. Some of these stories have become classics, like Judith Guest's Ordinary People. In this story, we learn at the very beginning that there has already been tragedy. Thomas, the son, has died, and Joe and Laura, the parents, are now divorced. I don't give spoilers, you can read those in some of the other reviews here. This family had problems even before these major events. Emily, the daughter, was flunking out of school, using drugs, and having an affair with a man 20 years older. Even after she straightens out and goes to law school, she has trouble getting along with her mother, accusing her of meddling, trying to make decisions for her, and putting her down. As a daughter, I often felt the same way, but Laura, the mother doesn't understand. These are not her intentions at all. Emily is engaged and Laura is remarried, both to really nice guys, but they have to get past their pasts to be happy. Joe is an actor and a playwright and his life is seemingly going downhill. This book is good for a reading group, given the questions raised. Is Joe to blame for his son's death? Does Laura think so? Does Emily think so? What are the meanings of the title? Who is Ingrid? Is she a real person? Is she how Joe imagines Emily at a younger age? Does she represent Emily? The book made me think, and analyze the characters and plot. It was never boring. The backstory never got in the way of what was happening in the present. Highly recommended.