Ash Wednesday (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I WAS DRIVING a '69 Chevy Nova 370 four-barrel with mag wheels and a dual exhaust..." (more)
Key Phrases: Father Matthew, New York, John Starks (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sure he can act (and direct), but can he write? Readers and critics remained undecided after the publication of Hawke's first novel, The Hottest State, but most will respond with an encouraging "yes" to his enjoyable second novel, which melds believable youthful introspection to a catchy road-novel plot. Jimmy Heartsock, AWOL from the army, and his pregnant girlfriend, Christy, are the young couple caught between love and disillusionment whose path to self-discovery is punctuated by passion ("This girl had a friggin' fireball for a heart") as well as endearing quirkiness. Jimmy is posted in Albany, N.Y., and waffling in his affections, when Christy gives him an ultimatum: she's going home to Texas and he can either come with her or forget about seeing her again. Taking the biggest gamble of his life, he decides to make the drive with her in his old Chevy Nova, risking dishonorable discharge. Christy, who is afraid to face who she is ("Good morning, fear.... You are my oldest friend") and only feels calm when she is moving, steps on her own path to self-renewal after meeting a blind man on a bus who speaks of change and the possibility of transcendence through God. The two protagonists must each learn to step out of themselves, find "gratitude in the face of loss or suffering" and submit to a love that is attuned to reality before they can find a home with and for each other. Hawke's text at times reads raw, but the novel's conversational tone, dual first-person narration and, above all, direct exploration of the simple truths of life and love make this a worthwhile tale and an honest one, sufficient to make most readers look forward to Hawke's next.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Hawke again departs from the silver screen to bring us this story of AWOL Jimmy and his pregnant girlfriend, who are heading home in a souped-up Chevy Nova to try to straighten out their lives.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (June 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375718850
• ISBN-13: 978-0375718854
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #635,722 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read--Do Not Miss This One!!, December 27, 2002

By	Adam Carter - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ash Wednesday (Hardcover)

I do not deem it necessary to re-hash the plot--since many of the other reviewers have already done so--but also because the plot is not what makes this book great. What worked in this story is mainly the characters. They were real and they were interesting, but what really made the characters work was the point of view. With two main characters, most authors would have gone with an omnicient point of view. Hawke chose to alternate between the two character's first-person points of view, which allows the reader to know the private thoughts and feelings of both characters. When other authors try this technique it usually doesn't work because the reader cannot tell the difference between the speakers, but in this book both characters are so distinct in their personal "voices" that you can always tell which one is speaking. I didn't exactly fall in love with the characters from the beginning, but they kind of grew on me and I found myself wanting to know--even CARING--about what happened to them. In the end, I was satisfied with this book and glad that I had read it. I also enjoyed Hawke's first novel, The Hottest State, and if and when there is a third, I will be sure not to miss that one either.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A REALISTIC, POIGNANT STORY, August 4, 2002

By	Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Ash Wednesday (Hardcover)

What happened to actor/director/author Ethan Hawke between "The Hottest State" (1996) and his second novel "Ash Wednesday"? He became a writer of note.

Hawke has fashioned a realistic, poignant story of two lovers, young lovers who must, of necessity, find themselves or lose each other.

Staff Sergeant Jimmy Heartsock, a rather capricious Kent State dropout, has gone AWOL. He's also gone AWOL from Christy, his pregnant girlfriend, who issued him an either or - either come home with me to Texas or we're over. When Jimmy opted for the "or" she boarded a bus for the Lone Star state, after whispering, "You make me sick....People have always told me about this feeling, but I've never had it. It's awful." She spoke these words with "empty eyes, as if it were already two years later."

While he is impulsive and immature, with drugs as "the most invigorating thing" in his life, Jimmy is given to introspection. After some mental reassessment he decides to go after Christy. He catches up with her, and they begin the cross country trip in his `69 Chevy Nova.

It is during this journey that the pair reveal themselves to each other and to the reader through an interesting strategy - the use of dual first person narrators. It is very effective. As Hawke said in an interview he thought this was simply the natural way to tell his story of two lovers.

"I think there's a value to having a dual perspective on a story," he added.

There is value, indeed, as readers are privy to both the thoughts and words of Jimmy and Christy as they come to realize what is important in life and love.

- Gail Cooke

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Actor, Excellent Writer, December 19, 2002

By	"flying_raven" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ash Wednesday (Hardcover)

In his second novel, Ash Wednesday, Ethan Hawke tells the story of Jimmy and Christy, two twentysomething lovers who are on the brink of a quarter-life crisis as problems and consequences are thrown into their faces. Christy is pregnant, and Jimmy is AWOL from the Army after an "all around bad day" where he, while strung out on drugs, has to tell a mother that her military son was killed. They embark on a road trip where they each go back to their home towns, see their parents (Jimmy has only has flashbacks of his father, who committed suicide), get married, and face consequences for Jimmy's absence without leave from the Army.

This book is heavy with dialogue, which is, in my opinion, a good thing. One line of dialogue can tell more about a character than pages and pages of a narrator's description, and Hawke definitely has an ear for it (possibly from all those scripts he's read?)These characters are complex, and so real. You believe them as real people, possibly someone you might know in life, and you are dying to know what happens to them next.
This is one of the best books I have read all year.