A Bright Ray of Darkness
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-02-04 04:17:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ethan Hawke
- ISBN：9780385352383
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Editor Reviews
12/07/2020
Hawke （Ash Wednesday） dramatizes the struggles of a Hollywood actor whose marriage has just ended because of his infidelity in this uneven roman à clef。 Thirty-two-year-old William Harding is best known for having cheated on his wife， superstar singer Mary Marquis。 As Harding adjusts to the end of their marriage and to sharing custody of their two young children， he simultaneously prepares to make his Broadway debut—he’s been cast as Hotspur in a new production of Henry IV （a role Hawke himself played in 2003）。 Harding struggles with mastering the role as part of a company including Virgil Smith， a legendary thespian regarded as Laurence Olivier’s heir， who’s playing Falstaff。 Even as Harding tries to come to terms with Mary’s having moved on to another man， he holds out irrational hope that she’ll attend one of his performances。 Harding’s relationship with his kids is underdeveloped， but Hawke’s behind-the-scenes look at staging a Shakespeare play provides the highlights， particularly his descriptions of the cartoonishly imposing Virgil （“Virgil was crawling to his position like a homeless madman， muttering to himself， with his dresser following， trying to give the fat man his belt and sword”）。 Hawke deserves credit for plumbing the dark depths of his doppelgänger。 （Feb。）
Reviews
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Ron Charles
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Finally， a novel about the travails of a successful White guy！ What could pull the heartstrings of our afflicted nation tighter than a story of brief， emotional setback suffered by a handsome movie star？Ethan Hawke has got a lot of nerve。But he’s also got a lot of talent。The actor and director， who made his screen debut at 15， has published several books during his acclaimed Hollywood career， and he recently produced and starred in a spectacular TV adaptation of James McBride’s “The Good Lord Bi Finally， a novel about the travails of a successful White guy！ What could pull the heartstrings of our afflicted nation tighter than a story of brief， emotional setback suffered by a handsome movie star？Ethan Hawke has got a lot of nerve。But he’s also got a lot of talent。The actor and director， who made his screen debut at 15， has published several books during his acclaimed Hollywood career， and he recently produced and starred in a spectacular TV adaptation of James McBride’s “The Good Lord Bird。”But Hawke is also known as the man who cheated on Uma Thurman and offered loutish excuses about the sexual needs of great men like Martin Luther King Jr。， John F。 Kennedy and him。Now， some 15 years after all that cosmic embarrassment， Hawke has published a novel called “A Bright Ray of Darkness。” It’s about a young movie star who got caught cheating on his stunningly gorgeous wife。 This recycled gossip is tiresome， but what’s most irritating about “A Bright Ray of Darkness” is that it’s really good。 If you can ignore the author’s motive for creating such a sensitive and endearing cad， you’ll find here a novel that explores the demands of acting and the delusions of manhood with tremendous verve and insight。 。 。 。 To read the rest of this review， go to The Washington Post:https://www。washingtonpost。com/entert。。。 。。。more
Philip
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My girlfriend got me an advanced copy from her job at Oblong Books。Excellent messy novel with bits of zen wisdom thrown in
Robbie Claravall
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Are you washed in the blood of the lamb？
Jim Hanks
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William Harding is a celebrated Hollywood actor whose personal life has become a tabloid mess。 He seeks solace in his first passion - the theatre - to begin a run in Henry IV。 What follows is a brilliant character study， full of sensitivity， humour， and the love of acting。 William's brittle insecurities come to the fore as we see a complicated man behind his fame。 The behind the scenes of the play show us a wonderful cast of characters。 All of the usual camaraderie， backstabbing， and pettiness a William Harding is a celebrated Hollywood actor whose personal life has become a tabloid mess。 He seeks solace in his first passion - the theatre - to begin a run in Henry IV。 What follows is a brilliant character study， full of sensitivity， humour， and the love of acting。 William's brittle insecurities come to the fore as we see a complicated man behind his fame。 The behind the scenes of the play show us a wonderful cast of characters。 All of the usual camaraderie， backstabbing， and pettiness are here in abundance as the actors life is laid bare。 I really enjoyed this beautifully written book。 。。。more
Drew
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5+ out of 5， I was almost ready to give it a 6 and call it one of my all-time faves except for a few really truly glaring moments of mediocre prose。But holy moly。 This book is astounding in its ability to capture the visceral realities of being onstage and performing， particularly Shakespeare。 The story is that of a typical White Male Fuck-Up Novel: 32-year-old movie star has slept with someone not-his-wife， and his wife （a Gaga/Beyonce-level pop star） is now leaving him as the tabloids tear him 5+ out of 5， I was almost ready to give it a 6 and call it one of my all-time faves except for a few really truly glaring moments of mediocre prose。But holy moly。 This book is astounding in its ability to capture the visceral realities of being onstage and performing， particularly Shakespeare。 The story is that of a typical White Male Fuck-Up Novel: 32-year-old movie star has slept with someone not-his-wife， and his wife （a Gaga/Beyonce-level pop star） is now leaving him as the tabloids tear him apart。 And he's making his Broadway debut in an almost-four-ish-hour HENRY IV。The way Hawke writes William's performances， the way he engages with the text and depicts so cannily how it feels to be onstage and have the world in your hand -- the way that the world， in fact， recedes as you step fully into the character， the way that your scene partners can respond to you and change what it is you are doing for the better。。。 gosh， it is something spectacular。 And then the rest of the book， the moments outside of the theater scenes， are mainly one-on-one interactions or conversations between William and other people: other actors， his former best friend， women he picks up。 There's definitely some male fantasy stuff happening re: the women in this book and there are problems to pick at this -- but also， the relationship particularly between William and the woman playing Lady Percy speaks to a depth of understanding about showmances that people outside of the theater can't ever really comprehend。I don't know what to say except that I could ramble on forever。 This book spoke searingly， brighly and darkly， right to my core。 I loved it， flaws and all， just like I still （it turns out） love the theater。 。。。more
Chris Haak
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I had never read a novel by Ethan Hawke （I only know him as an actor and director）， so I was curious to find out if he could really write as well。 Luckily he can。 'A Bright Ray of darkness' is an honest novel about a film actor who's now doing a Shakespeare play on Broadway and about his marriage falling apart。 He feels insecure about acting and guilty and disgusted by himself for making a mess of his marriage。 A very enthralling novel about acting， theatre， Shakespeare， love， marriage， sex， div I had never read a novel by Ethan Hawke （I only know him as an actor and director）， so I was curious to find out if he could really write as well。 Luckily he can。 'A Bright Ray of darkness' is an honest novel about a film actor who's now doing a Shakespeare play on Broadway and about his marriage falling apart。 He feels insecure about acting and guilty and disgusted by himself for making a mess of his marriage。 A very enthralling novel about acting， theatre， Shakespeare， love， marriage， sex， divorce， parenthood and growth。Thank you Random House and Edelweiss for the ARC。 。。。more
Kristen Beverly
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Ethan Hawke's newest novel is a deep exploration of the philosophical thoughts of a sensitive man。 It's about an actor， William， who is performing in Shakepeare's Henry IV on Broadway。 He typically does movies， but he's determined to show that he's a "real" actor with real depth。 But at the same time， his marriage is falling apart。 From the rehearsals to performances to the teardown， we see William in the show and learning in life。 It's no doubt that Ethan Hawke has real talent as a writer - my Ethan Hawke's newest novel is a deep exploration of the philosophical thoughts of a sensitive man。 It's about an actor， William， who is performing in Shakepeare's Henry IV on Broadway。 He typically does movies， but he's determined to show that he's a "real" actor with real depth。 But at the same time， his marriage is falling apart。 From the rehearsals to performances to the teardown， we see William in the show and learning in life。 It's no doubt that Ethan Hawke has real talent as a writer - my only question now is how much is fact and how much is fiction？？ I doubt we'll ever truly know。 But it's a fantastic read that gave me a lot of food for thought。 。。。more
Danny Hensel
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Interview with Ethan Hawke coming to Weekend Edition Sunday in a few weeks。
Kim McGee
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