Rating: 
Summary: Great Actor, Excellent Writer
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: An Actor with Iron Guts
Review: I think it's mighty admirable of Hawke to put his reputation on the line by doing something he loves. I'm sure he's writing for the joy because he's a successful actor who doesn't need the pocket change. Let's give this guy some credit for putting out a real book, not some childrens book that other celebrities are doing. I do like his vivid descriptions of the characters and the background. His dialogue snaps along at a brisk pace. The plot is a little weak, but I did enjoy it, and that's the bottom line. I hope he writes another novel.
Rating:
Summary: Though I'd hate it, ending up reading it in one sitting
Review: Picked up the book and glanced through it, never expecting to like it. Ended up reading several pages and couldn't stop. Finally admitted to myself I was reading Ethan Hawke's book and enjoying it. Sat down to read it and couldn't stop. Makes me want to try his first book. P.S. Assume most of the negative reviewers of this book are guys. Think this is probably a chick book.
Rating:
Summary: Touching exploration of a complex relationship
Review: Jimmy (AWOL enlisted soldier) and Christy (his pregnant girlfriend) drive across the country in search of each other and themselves. Their stories are told through alternating chapters (one told from Jimmy's perspective, then one from Chirsty's), which patch together their experiences in the present (including a gripping scene in which pregnant Christy is trapped in a vicious Mardi Gras crowd) with their respective histories, both before and after they met each other (including their unique takes on each other's sexuality). As their journey continues, we learn more about them and how they perceive each other. Like Scott Gaille's similarly-styled The Law Review, Ash Wednesday explores philosophical themes of complex relationships. In the end, it is clear that their love, perhaps like all relationships, is its own unique mix of beautiful imperfections.
Rating: 
Summary: Thou Shall Not Read
Review: What an original plot Ethan Hawke has come up with: Two young people who were meant to be together and love one another for the rest of their lives just can't seem to get it together (what with all the obstacles thrown in their way), unless they make a serious effort. To make it really interesting(?), let's have the guy be AWOL from committments: his 'career'(The Army), his family, and even his religion. As for the girl - why she has 'committment issues' with men, due to her tattered relationship with her daddy, that she has yet to come to grips with. Throw in an unwanted preganancy and what do you have? A story that has been done many times before - only better from more capable writers (not to mention screen-writers, too). Sorry Mr. Hawke, don't give up your day job!
Rating:
Summary: A moving story of love and renewal
Review: Ethan Hawke's Ash Wednesday provides a moving story of love and renewal with the story of a man AWOL from the army who joins his pregnant girlfriend on a journey across America. In the process of getting to know their country they get to know each other and form the bonds which will make a strong family.
Rating:
Summary: Great Experience
Review: After reading The Hottest State, I was so keen to get onto Hawke's next novel that I was the first one to borrow Ash Wednesday from the local library! I spent the recent long weekend swinging in my hammock, reading the book - I could not put it down. As in The Hottest State, the characters gripped me and I loved going along for the ride with Jimmy and Christy. And I think the surrounding characters - Gordon, Jimmy's mother Miss Teen Ohio, Fat Chance, Christy's father - were developed well and added so much life to the story. In fact, Chance's lecture to Christy just before the wedding was one of the most powerful messages in the book! Having recently lost my mother to cancer and then getting married, I felt swept up by the layers in this novel - faith, death, love - and I was constantly putting the book down and talking to my new husband about the very introspective and realistic ideas Hawke expressed. Being Australian did not lessen my enjoyment of the novel, even though the Americanism of it is quite strong. I don't really understand the Texan bits eg why Jimmy thinks it should be one big gaol, but I got a good grasp of the carnivale scene in New Orleans. I'm always in awe of a good author - I think it's amazing that someone has got all that stuff inside them that they can channel and express so well - and I think Ethan Hawke should be very proud of his talent.
Rating:
Summary: A Very High school effort
Review: Having graduated from Oxford as and English major, I'm missing something. I thought the book was incredibly hard to read i.e. did NOT flow at all and was boring. It's obvious he has little background in English, no offense. The language just isn't fluid at all but very jutting. Maybe this is intentional, but his attempt to be "Hemingway"-like (I'm assuming) does not work at all. The sentences come too fast and if I had edited this work I would have combined numerous sentences and taken out unneccessary explanation and unneccessary words that make it jumbled and confusing. Honestly, sections of this if turned into a Freshman English class would get a C/D grade. I kid you not. What's insulting to me is the number of really outstanding writers, I mean terrific who will never get the financial backing of this guy cause of his celebrity. It's like someone picking up a paintbrush and painting something off the top of his head. It looks pretty and complicated, but learned painters know better and won't get commissioned. Too bad. I don't dislike the guy, think he's a fair actor (although many are better like Ed Norton, Phillip Seymour Thomas...etc..etc..the list could go on) and he's done a variety of things. I'm just a little hesitant that he considers himself a novelist. He's sort of a hack writer who sells books and that's what these book companies are looking at and they clearly know it--PROFIT. Because this sophomoric attempt is a little embarrassing and dare I say it...just unneccessary. Sorry, but that's my honest answer. I'm glad he's gotten some good reviews though. Everyone needs encouragement! Cheers.
Rating:
Summary: Food for thought and thinking
Review: Ethan Hawke takes the time to wonder aloud those thoughts we all ponder at one time or another in our lives. Insecure thoughts. Angry thoughts. Proud thoughts. Thoughts of love and desire. He takes all of these sentiments and ties them together into Ash Wednesday which is a ode to human growth and the joys and pains of it. This book is about a man and a woman growing together yet wondering if they should be elsewhere but in the end they feel their time together is worthwhile and stick it out. This is not a great book but it is a good book and one written by a man of depth and substance brave enough to speak his mind about the wackiness of the human condition.
Rating:
Summary: Emotionally Fulfilling!
Review: I am wondering if any of the negative critics of this book actually read it! I think Ethan Hawke did such a wonderful job doing what many authors in this day and age are forgeting: building deep descriptions and dialogues. These characters were totally relatable and touched my heart. I am going to purchase his first book now and eagerly await a third!
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