Customer Reviews

The Hottest State: A Novel

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

Ok. I 'll fess up. I knew absolutely nothing about this book before I read it, short of the fact that the author was the cutie who made both me and Robin Williams misty-eyed by shouting "Oh Captain, My Captain!" on top of a school desk. So I guess that Ethan, the actor was the source of the attraction to Ethan, the author's first novel -- Mr. Hawke was the reason that I began reading and the reason that I didn't quit reading after the first ten pages.

Because it was tempting to quit in the beginning. Actually, I put the book down several times, tired of the main character's relentless descriptions of women's breasts, (I'm not a prude, but too many breast comments get old, ineffective, and extremely, well, creepish), tired of his obvious intentions to be "deep" all the time, and tired of giving Ethan the chance to have his stuff read just because he's a star. Reality Bites.

But then I read on, haunted by that green heart on the cover which beckoned me to try again. And, really, I'm glad I did. Although at the beginning I thought I was in store for some overrated Gen X babble, Ethan did have some good ideas. Some of his passages were moving and right on, actually, as he traced a relationship from its magical start to its heart-wrenching finish.

The book also seemed highly autobiographical, (the main character is an actor, dropped out of college his first year to pursue an acting career), which made it fun, too. Obviously Ethan took the tried and true hint to "write what you know." Now, ladies and gentlemen, we know Ethan Hawke's a breast man, too.

All kidding aside, this first novel was an easy read, and worth a look at. Ethan can write, and with a first try like this one, hopefully we'll see more of him in the future.

I was very impressed with Ethan Hawke's writing ability. I thought he wrote a very creative, genuine story. Sad and depressing (would make a good Oprah pick if she picked books about males), but undoubtedly a real love story. Honestly, I was only interested in this novel because I'm a fan of Ethan Hawke, the actor. Now, having read his debut novel, I'm a fan of Ethan Hawke, the writer. A believable, bittersweet, desperate tale about William Harding, who falls in love with an unconventional girl named Sarah after four days together and becomes completely wrapped up in her in the most unhealthy way. This novel is not for the weak of heart. Would make an excellent movie.

Here's a universal truth: at least once in our lives every one of us has fallen in love with the wrong person. And we have fallen in love despite the fact that we knew perfectly well that s/he meant trouble. This usually happens when you are young, at a time when it is almost impossible to reconcile hormones with common sense. There's nothing new here: Shakespeare already dealt with this in Romeo and Juliet, and lots of other authors did it before him. This is the single one thing that Hawke does well in this novel: Portray how incredibly reckless young people are with their lives in the name of "love". If it weren't for the fact that kids in their 20's are never going to listen to anyone, this should be mandatory reading.

William, who turns 21 in the novel, falls in love/lust with Sarah, who is E-X-T-R-E-M-E-L-Y messed up. William gets all head over heels about her, and it becomes obvious very quickly that this story is going to have a bad ending. Sarah has so much rotten baggage that you can chew it in every page. Hawke is a powerful writer in that he is able to elicit strong emotions from the readers. I wanted to slap Sarah over the head so badly! I wanted to tell her: enough with the bull! Then, i would turn around wanting to do the same thing to William. I could almost understand the amounts of devastation that William causes when upset (one more sign of the power of testosterone). He destroys kitchen cabinets, his hand, and even drops his contacts on the floor when they feel uncomfortable!

Some of the writing is very exaggerated and staged. If Hawke makes William speak like that because William is an actor, then OK. However, the climate in some of the situations was not conducive to remembering lines of any kind, so i go for the affectation option. The end of chapter 12, where William tells Sarah: "I've been you, and i know that you suck", must be one of the most unfortunate sentences in XX century American Literature. At the same time, Decker's resolutions for the New Year in Chapter 20 are very wise ("[...] never waste energy degrading someone else. Also, i want to try not to see life as a competition.")

So, this novel is interesting, easy and fast to read, does a fairly good job at portraying how you can over-dramatize a peanut when you're in your early 20's, but at the same time fails to deliver good quality writing, falling for too many cliches.

Ethan Hawke keeps your attention, and then looses it. The language was cosmic along with the dialogue, but something's missing. The writing style is unadorned with several repeated phrases. Character development was a bit weak. Hawke's comical and clever, but he's an actor, not a writer. A job well done of portraying a young man who's stupid and in love yet focuses not enough on the story line. William, a 21-year-old actor from NYC was just getting his feet on the ground when he meets Sarah, a neurotic, self-doubting, extremely messed up girl. He falls in love with her instantly but she backs off because of her insecurities. William goes through dramatic times with Sarah trying to make her love and stay with him. But can he? Throughout the story you want to slap the characters for being so over exaggerated. The hottest state seems to be missing a plot. It's a romance gone badly with the reader left with no answers on why. When you get to these parts you read on anticipating answers only to find out there aren't any. You expect an intense scene in the end and you're left with nothing but wanting an actual ending. Hawke has talent, just needs to reform his skills. It was however quick and easy reading.

I am a little disapointed in all the bad press this book has gotten. I was impressed with it since the first time i saw it in a bookstore, when i flipped through the pages, read one paragraph, and knew that I'd love it.
Granted, I most likely picked it up because it was "the" Ethan Hawke, and if he wasn't "the" Ethan Hawke it most likely wouldn't have gotten the attention it has and I would have never read it, but I feel that his being "the" Ethan Hawke has also kind of made it harder for critics to swallow it. Which is a bummer because really, it's a great book.
Their are two things I loved about this book. One, his writing is unpretentious. He reminds me a lot of Hemmingway in his refreshing lack of detial. You don't get the feeling he's trying to prove he's a writer to the whole world by using as many descriptive words as he knows in every paragraph. The story moves along. It's an easy read, but that's a good thing.
The other thing I like, and this is most important, and really, the one thing I feel he deserves heaps of praise for, is he gets it right! He gets right on how it feels to be 20, stupid and in love. Or even better, in like, confused, and full of lust. Ethan Hawke brilliantly lays out a story (you do get the feeling that it's a little autobiographical) with such insight it's impressive. I'm jealos of his abilaty to create such a insightul portrait of a young man. This is one book that gets it right on.

I must admit that I bought this book partly because I love Ethan Hawke as an actor; that's what caught my eye initially. The summary sounded good, so I bought it. I couldn't wait to get to the end of the book to see what happened, it enthralled me. I am an emotional person, and I felt things right along with William. Ethan Hawke didn't use a lot of big fancy words, or long-winded descriptions. The way love at first sight is, how the non-so-perfect person you love is completely perfect in your eyes, the pain and sorrow and longing from being apart, and breaking up. Unfortunately I don't get to read as often as I'd like, but my time was definitely not wasted, and neither was my money. I loved this book!

I'm a big fan of films like Dead Poet's Society, Reality Bites, and Before Sunrise, so I picked up this book. Ethan Hawke proves himself a competent writer in this first novel. His narrative persona is observant, believable, smart, and honest. He understands young love, and how a young guy thinks. In this story of a goodlooking young actor (who I think is perhaps Hawke's alter ego), we meet 21-year-old rising big-shot actor William who falls for a nobody, and she's the kind of girl he doesn't usually go for (she's not pretty). Yet he totally falls in love with her personality and intellect. There's just something about her. But there are plenty of bumps in this relationship, and it doesn't work out. I recommend this to young and old who like to read about the romantic loves and disappointments of young people.

David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

This book was written with raw emotion and the pain of someone who suffered through a REAL relationship. It's something we have all dealt with and Ethan Hawke puts it into words beautifully. I read this novel from start to finish without putting it down. I hate to put the lable "love" story on this book, because it is more of a "life" story. It has wonderful character connections, realistic situations, and a general feeling of "I've been there" to it. I encourage anyone who's ever said they don't like to read to pick up this book.

Ethan Hawke captures very well the emotions that cascade from a young man who falls in love and has his heart broken. We never fully understand what attracts William to Sarah, and I don't think William does, either. But that is what happens when you fall for someone; someone asks what it is you love about this person, and you are left saying everything and nothing at the same time. From a cold, objective standpoint, it was clear that both William and Sarah needed to grow up before they could be in a grown-up relationship. Perhaps if they had met five years later, they'd live happily ever after. But that doesn't make William's heartbreak any less real, and his reactions to the breakup, I think are realistic, for the most part. After I finished the book, I cried, not only for the characters, but for my own lost loves that, even after 12 happy years of marriage, still haunt my dreams from time to time.

To be perfectly honest, I might have enjoyed this book more if I didn't know who wrote it, but then again, probably not. I had a hard time getting through it because the characters seemed very one dimensional and unrealistic. They never seemed like people really are, at least not any people I know.

They spent a lot of time talking about breaking up, but I never understood why they were together in the first place. They never had a full conversation, yet the reader is supposed to believe that they were in love. They didn't really even seem to like each other or have much fun together so it made sense to me that the relationship was doomed. I didn't care about either of them because I never felt like the author gave us enough insight into who these characters were, what was important to them, and WHY they insisted on behaving like imbeciles.

William seemed obsessed with sex and Sarah's physical appearance (big stretch). He also seemed a bit too self congratulatory over the fact that he was an attractive man falling for an overweight, "goofy" girl. And she wasn't much better. She never said one funny or interesting thing and I couldn't understand what either saw in the other. He was a selfish, childish, brat who would yell and swear and break things, (even if they didn't belong to him), when he didn't get his way, and she was a cold, insecure, manipulative baby who would pout and withhold sex when she felt he wasn't giving her what she wanted.

I would have enjoyed it more if the characters had had some depth and if the plot had had some emotion and body behind it. I think it had potential to be a much better book and I was disappointed that it wasn't. It felt too much like a venue for the author to show off how manly, yet sensitive he is even though he's an actor.

I wouldn't recommend it, but if you're morbid curiosity is peaked by the author's picture on the back, saved your $10.00 and check it out at the library. I'm glad I did.