Rating: 
Summary: An amazing journey of illumination
Review: When you mention the most exciting and promising writers of the younger generation, most people don't mention Ehan Hawke. And that's a shame. They should. The Hottest State, while an enjoyable freshman work, is nothing compared to the raw and profound provocative tour de force that is Ash Wednesday. Let's face it, I, like most of you, had my doubts coming in to this one. To say that those doubts have been erased and replaced by assurances of grandeur would be the understatement of the year. While he most positively should have won the Oscar for his sublime effort in Training Day, Ethan Hawke deserves equal kudos for this telling tale of enigmatic Jimmy Heartsock and his pregnant girlfriend Christy. Hawke emits such intangible, yet very real, intensity and cathartic power that lead to Jimmy's self-discovery through a trying and arduous epiphany. Folks, we're seeing Ethan Hawke at his best - don't kid yourself. If you haven't read this, then you, my friend, are missing out on a voyage into profundity. 5 Big Stars from Robert Jackson. And that's the 411.
Rating: 
Summary: Yay! A good book.
Review: Ethan Hawke wrote a good book about love, the fear of losing that love, and then coming to realize what both of those things mean to a person. Thoughtful insights into becoming a parent, also. Plus, as an Ohioan, I love to read things or hear things that mention my state (we're bored here in Ohio, okay?!). Jimmy and Christy are full characters, and the split narrative is effective and, I believe, necessary to feel and understand their complexities as separate characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Ash Wednesday
Review: It is always intriguing to see talented artists dabble in other artforms that they generally are not associated with. Ethan Hawke is an author who seems to be on the verge of writing something with extreme talent and precision, but yet, he falls. He's good, but he's not great. The potential is definitely there, and reading "The Hottest State" and then this, one can see the progression upwards, the more unification of story, character, and theme. I find it to be somewhat incredible that he can capture the mindset of a young man and a young woman on a life changing road trip so passionately. His vivid imagery, his understanding of both genders seems almost uncanny; his understanding of the viewer, the one who watches all the action as opposed to acting is wonderful. Hawke has the ability to write well, and he does write well, but I feel as if there is always something missing reading his work. He understands the craft enough in order to write something with grand substance, and I think he would be a wonderful poet; however, I feel that within the next few novels (if he continues) he will find his voice and style, and perhaps not write so angrily all the time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read--Do Not Miss This One!!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: A Really Good Novel
Review: Ash Wednesday, written by Ethan Hawke, is an amazing novel that captures the passion of love and marriage between a bright young couple. It's about a young sergeant in the military (James Heartsock) (a.k.a. Jimmy) and his beautiful pregnant girlfriend (Christy Walker) who travels from New York to Texas where Christy's family resides. Christy has decided to leave Albany and head home to Houston to prepare and settle for a new life with her future child regardless if Jimmy comes along on not. She gives Jimmy the chance to either come with her or stay behind with the military. Jimmy has to decide whether he prefers his position in the military or Christy who is pregnant. It's a time where he needs to make the biggest decision that could forever change his life. Finally, he makes the decision to choose his lover over his post, leaving the military behind. Everything was going really well until they got married in Ohio before reaching Texas. Shortly after their marriage, they encounter their most crucial time of life in New Orleans during their honeymoon in which they could lose their baby. The doctor tells them that the baby might be dead because the baby has no heartbeats, which should be quite clear at 20 weeks. Christy doesn't want to believe that the fact that her baby could be dead. Therefore they leave this hospital in search for a better hospital in Houston. On their way to Houston, a cop pulls them over for speeding and arrests Jimmy for AWOL from the military while Christy is taken to a hospital in Houston. In the end, Jimmy's actions result into a dishonorable discharge but fortunately Christy returns back to him with a smile on her face. After reading only a few pages from Ash Wednesday, I became interested in Ethan Hawke's style of writing because it'll throw surprises that you'll definitely like. His fascinating style of language was what caught my attention in the first place. His words show how realistic people would talk and interact with each other. I would recommend this remarkable novel written by this author who is also an actor for it shows how it deals with the reality of life. The story carries one into another world that involves passion,..., youth pregnancy, marriage, family, and the start of parenthood. Through this book, I have learned to a great extent of the values of family and love. If you're someone who loves to read about romance and family, you'll completely find Ash Wednesday a novel to remember.
Rating:
Summary: On the road across the U.S.
Review: "Ash Wednesday," by Ethan Hawke, is a novel about a young couple: soldier James Heartsock and his pregnant girlfriend Christy. They go on a journey that takes them from Albany to New York City, to Ohio, and to other places in the United States. But this young couple is on an emotional journey as well as a physical one. The talented Hawke has really impressed me with his work in film (particularly his stunning performance in the film "Training Day"), and with this novel he proves his talent as an American storyteller. Hawke had me gripped from his powerful opening chapter, in which Heartsock has to perform a difficult military task. Hawke's writing is marked by vivid descriptive language and intriguing characters--a number of his minor characters have almost mythic qualities. "Ash Wednesday" is a story of family ties and disruptions. A key theme of the book is growing up and making the transition to adulthood, and accepting the responsibilities that go along with this transition. Along the way Hawke raises a number of religious and spiritual issues. He deals with such issues as faith, ritual and grace; he seems to be asking if they are still relevant today--whether they can still bring meaning and joy to life. This is a thoughtful and moving novel.
Rating:
Summary: Great Actor, Very Good Writer
Review: Ethan Hawke has always been a strong actor in such movies as Dead Poet's Society, Reality Bites and Training Day. I was a little skeptical about giving this book a try, but I'm glad that I did. It was a very compelling story about a young couple trying to get started in a world that wanted to throw obstacles in their way, right and left. Relationships aren't easy, love isn't easy and marriage is flat-out HARD. More books need to paint this picture. The characters were interesting and multi-dimensional. I'm looking forward to reading The Hottest State in the next few months.
Rating:
Summary: I could read it over and over
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the roller coaster these two characters paved. I liked how the author weaved the story through different lenses. I feel like I was understanding who Ethan Hawke wanted us to believe these people were and what the fiber of them was. Many pages wanted to make me cry, but fortunately a few lines later I would be made to laugh.
Rating:
Summary: Manically engaging
Review: Ethan Hawke pulled me along with his story in Ash Wednesday, the same way that Jimmy in the story carried Christy to the altar, she already pregnant with his child: by a flood of words. Every turn of the bus that Christy rode alone toward Houston, every turn of Jimmy's stoned thoughts, leads straight into a loud remembered party or childhood moment, then right out again. It's like taking every third exit off the interstate through a huge city, only to get right back on the entrance ramp without stopping. The chapters in Hawke's story alternate between the voice of Jimmy - maybe AWOL, but really just extending an official trip - and his girlfriend Christy. Both of them make regular digressions from the main story, Jimmy more often and at higher speeds than Christy, whose stream of consciousness is less verbose and pontificating than Jimmy's. Jimmy cusses his way through pseudo-logical argumentation, proclamations, self-justifications and unnecessarily harsh self-criticism (good fodder for later self-justification, no doubt). He relishes exclaiming about Christy's "dynamite ass" and her "great big tits," as well as her "long queenly fingers." Jimmy is convinced that her beauty, intelligence, and grace put her way out of his league. Christy thinks nearly the same thing. She is out of Jimmy's league, but not for the same reasons as Jimmy states. It's just that Jimmy is immature. He doesn't know what he wants. She doesn't either, Christy admits, but she's not trying to live her life otherwise. Christy only knows that, after one failed marriage already in her young life, she isn't willing to chance it again. Even though she's pregnant with Jimmy's child - BECAUSE she's pregnant with Jimmy's child - she wants to go back home to Houston, alone, and...and she doesn't know what, after that. These two voices aren't as distinct as they might be. Both take frequent detours in their individual narratives to recount memories; they are both quite aware of the tight rhythm of sex that shapes their young lives; they both speak rapid-fire most of the time; and they are both being driven toward a distant point in their respective personal histories - Christy to her childhood home in Houston, and Jimmy to his marriage to Christy. Their journeys are reckless and lonely, and they only accompany one another like two cars racing down a highway together, side by side, nearly touching all the time, actually touching and bumping and scraping together frequently, and veering wildly away from one another at several rough spots. It's a crazy ride for both, and a wonder that there isn't a fatal crackup right at the start - the most dangerous and critical time of a journey. Hawke's pace and pen don't let up; he carries us along with these two young, fragile beings, scraped up and agile, dizzy and resolute, lonely and hanging on to each other with care and tenacity. If the reader holds on, too, it's worth seeing where these two lovers race and careen to and, maybe for a moment, come to rest.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel of Surprising Sincerity
Review: Like most people, I was skeptical about Ethan Hawke's integrity as a writer. Nevertheless, I bought this book for my sister for Christmas because she had liked his other book, The Hottest State. Before I was going to give it to her, I decided to read it, at least so we could discuss it when she read it. I have to admit, I was greatly pleased and excited, not only about the skill of his writing, but the integrity and the content of the story he was telling. He writes a dual narrative between a couple on the verge of becoming something or nothing. The narrative never becomes confusing and each are given strong voices of their own. There's no attempt at giving one character or the other silly little mannerisms of speech to clue us in on who they are. I've read reviews that said the characters are 'unlikable' and I'd have to agree in the sense that they don't always do the right thing. Of course, I wonder how many of us would come off as likable characters. The truth is, the characters are young and pondering the issues that face so many of us as we embark on a maybe not so bright future. Issues of fate, god, commitment, parenthood, and failure are all significantly contemplated. But, the best thing about this novel is that it is a novel of questions that never gives any answers. Because, who ever has the answers to any of these things? The motive is, however, to ask the right questions and find suitable, inspiring reasons to believe in something. God, fate, love, marriage, yourself. I would recommend this book for it's thought-provoking narrative and it's flowing stories of two separate lives embarking as one.
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