The Hottest State: A Novel (Paperback)

by Ethan Hawke (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Yes, it's "that" Ethan Hawke. Ethan Hawke the actor. In this slim debut novel, he tells a coming-of-age tale of a fairly unpleasant young actor from Texas named William who lives in Manhattan and is working his way through an ugly little relationship with a singer/songwriter named Sarah. William's parents married young and split up early and he's not too happy with the world at large. Sarah can't quite make heads or tails of her mother. The pair has sex in the bathroom and talks quite a bit about their relationship. It all has a certain ring of truth, but at this point it's probably safe to say that Hawke's movie agent will probably make a better living off the young actor/writer than Hawke's literary agent. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Player of confused but adorable Gen X Romeos in films like Reality Bites and Before Sunrise, Hawke, 25, is easily conjured up as a stand-in for 21-year-old William Harding, the disaffected narrator of this slim first novel, a boy-meets-girl, girl-dumps-boy saga set in a grungy New York of aspiring actors, writers and singers. That William, a college dropout and budding actor, falls fast and hard for Sarah Wingfield, who fronts a band, teaches preschool and is a bit "funny looking," comes as a revelation to him, given his history of using his good looks for quick sex. Sarah casts William's sexual yearnings?and his white trash boyhood?into sharp relief by reading Adrienne Rich, toting a list of rape statistics and refusing to sleep with him. Their doomed romance is intercut with William's memories of his parents' breakup, of talks with his best friend and of his overheated teen relationship with Samantha, who still flits in and out of his life. When Sarah suddenly, inexplicably rejects him after William returns from making a movie in Paris, he descends into self-loathing and homosexual panic?and trashes his apartment. His callow cynicism about women and his flattened out, '90s rendition of Holden Caulfield ("Samantha wanted to have sex. She wasn't doing me any goddamn favors") grow wearisome. But Hawke's emotionally raw account of a world inescapably contracted is oddly affecting and sure to make many a teenage heart go pit-a-pat. Paperback rights to Vintage; audio rights to Time Warner AudioBooks; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (September 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679781358
• ISBN-13: 978-0679781356
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (156 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #531,107 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good fall-back, you know, if the acting doesn't work out, December 8, 2000

By	Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars so dissapointed..., July 4, 2002

By	Martine M. Seide (Miami, Florida United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I rushed and ordered this book after seeing Actor Ethan Hawke on "In The Actor's Studio" with James Lipton on "Bravo". I enjoy watching Ethan in movies but his writing style is not to my taste. The phrases were short and plain. The author assumes that we should know why the characters do what they do...They get on a plane to Paris and spend most of their time in a Hotel...he is suppose to be shooting a movie there, yet it is never mentioned. The girl leaves him and the reader doesn't have a clear reason why? the charactors are stereo typed... I mean the starving artists in NYC story has been done many times before. I think his editor could have done a better job! the book was flat...the words too simple not creative at all...and when I was done, I was not impressed.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars true and unpretentious, June 28, 2002

By	joe koski (about right here) - See all my reviews

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.