I do like his acting, but also his writing style

There've been some lines which he still utters in different interviews from time to time. Who knows why!

But the conversation between Chance and Cristy on virginity and womanhood was phenomenal; it may almost make one forget that the writer of the novel is a male.

Powerful and engaging text, an interesting pattern of writing, and a journey on the highway by a botch-up car to sort out a screwed up relation; overall, a solid reading material to have a devastating fun.

This was my first experience listening to an audio book which I only did because it was read by the author. He did an excellent job in differentiating the voices without making it seem too much like a performance.

The book feels old fashioned, like it’s set in the 60s or something, but it isn’t. It’s just a very classic story that can happen any time I guess. Jimmy and Christy are both kind of idiots but it seems like they need each other. I definitely cared for both of them. Hawke writes women very well. His writing is funny and soulful. He balances long, poetic descriptions with stark and crude dialogue. It was fun listening to him bring his story to life.

"People can mean so well and want the same end results and still miss each other by such a cavernous margin. When we fell in love it was like I could only see the gorgeous top part of Jim, but now with the introduction of adversity I could only see his ugly pulsing sinewy underside. I knew they were both true, but I could never see them both at the same time."

I so badly want to not to want to give Ash Wednesday a 5/5 just because it's written by Ethan Hawke, my ultimately revered indie film King. But goddam knowing who he is as an artist, and as a huge fan of his films, I just couldn't help it.

One main reason I tried so hard to convince myself that it doesn't deserve a 5 star rating is that this novel disregards the golden rule, "Show, not tell," when it comes to writing (and filmmaking). And also simply because the whole premise of the story is just plain boring: Two complicated lovers pregnant with their first child, driving across the US as they take the biggest leap in their relationship.

But you see, that is what's on the surface, and that's where I got it wrong. Their driving across states is not just driving for no reason. And a story is never boring with very much unlikeable, but also complicated, intricately layered and ironically eccentric characters. One couldn't just fit them in a box for their sprawling philosophy and stupidly profound éxchange of dialogues. Which reminds me of characters played by Hawke and Julie Delpy with director Richard Linklater in the Before Trilogy (which I *adore* religiously).

Maybe it's just me, but I enjoyed how Ethan wrote the alternating POV of our two main characters, Jimmy and Christy, in a specific parts of the story where it would highlight their vulnerability the most.

It also got me wondering whether or not the tone and stance of characters throughout the book reflect Ethan's core beliefs and values on a more personal level rather than him as a writer simply drawing fiction from other people's real life experiences independent of his own. I'm romanticizing the idea that I got to see him eye to eye, subtly peering in through his mind and soul, just by reading this book. Or maybe I'm just being inappropriately nosy.

Anyway, nothing much really goes on throughout the book. It's a character driven story (and a character study, if you're into that kind of stuff) instead of hooking readers in for a spectacular storyline. Overall, I understand that this novel won't be everyone's cup of tea. But I find Ash Wednesday like a cerebral film on a crisp 200 page-novel format. I freaking loved it.

And yes, if it were a movie I want Richard Linklater to direct it.


******

BTW this concludes my 2020 Reading Challenge aaaaaaaaahhhhh I'm so happy

Es sind Bücher, die die Welt grundsätzlich ändern, und werden sofort Klassiker. Der alte Mann und das Meer, Sünde und Schuld, Buddenbrooks, nur manche zu erwähnen. Außerdem sind es Bücher, die die Welt zwar nicht retten, sind aber wichtig und bereichen die Leser. Aschermittwoch von dem amerikanischen Schauspieler Ethan Hawke ist einer der Letzteren.
Hawkes zweites Buch ist ein nicht typischer Coming-of-Age Roman. Unsere Hauptcharaktere sind schon Erwachsene (Jimmy ist fast 30, Christy 26 Jahre alt), aber ihre Leben werden ganz anders aussehen, denn sie werden ein Kind bekommen. Die Beziehung, die bisher mal eine ganz normale jugendliche Romanze war (wovon man wahrscheinlich mehrere in seiner Jugend hat), wird ernst, das junge Paar muss wichtige Entscheidungen treffen, Verantwortung annehmen und erwachsen sein, damit sie auch gute Eltern werden können.
Aschermittwoch ist ein doppelter Ich-Roman: beide unserer Helden erzählen die Geschichte aus ihrer eigenen Perspektive. Aus diesem Grunde weiß der Leser ganz genau, was sie fühlen, wie sie auf verschiedene Situationen reagieren, und dass es für die beiden eine fast unvorstellbar schwierige Situation ist, ihre Leben in die richtige Bahn zu lenken.
Hawke schreibt nicht nur gründlich, sondern auch mit großem Einfühlungsvermögen und der Roman lässt einfach nicht nach: ganz genau bekommt der Leser auch zu spüren, was für einen riesen Kampf es ist für dieses junge Paar endlich mal verantwortungsvolle Erwachsene zu sein.
Die Prosa ist ein Meisterwerk: leicht zu lesen, und wie das Meer: auf der Oberfläche ist es ruhig und glatt, nicht mal eine winzige Welle bricht die Illusion, aber darunter ist unheimlich tief und reich von Gedanken und Aussagen.
Nein, Aschermittwoch wird kein Klassiker, dazu ist es zu stark auf ein Liebespaar konzentriert und erzählt nicht von der Mehrheit der Menschen, aber ein wunderbarer Roman, den zu lesen, ein absolutes Vergnügen ist.

Libro stupendo.

Tell me, how many Hollywood actors can write novels? Especially ones who are still active in movies? Especially if there is no co-writer beside his/her name?

Ethan Hawke (born 1970) has written two decent novels: The Hottest State (1996) and this book, Ash Wednesday (2002). When these books came out, I was not yet into heavy reading so these did not interest me. But a couple of years back, a member in our Filipinos group here in Goodreads favorably commented on these books so when I saw them in my favorite second-hand bookshop, I bought them right away. Then I realized that it will be Ash Wednesday tomorrow, March 9, 2011 so I finally opened and started reading this book open last Sunday night.

I am not really a Hawke’s fan. However, I liked him in Robin Williams-starrer Dead Poets Society (1989) where he played as one of the students and the first to stand up on the desk in the ending scene. Who can forget how he and the beautiful Julie Delphy talked endlessly but intelligently inside the train in Before Sunrise (1995) and again in Before Sunset (2004)? I also enjoyed watching him in the science-thriller Gattaca (1997) faking his inclusion in that training school where only people of superior genes live. However, what really caught my attention was when he sensitively read Fable of the Mermaid and the Drunks, one of Pablo Neruda’s featured poems in the movie soundtrack of Il Postino (The Postman) (1994). The young man has beautiful mind inside his equally beautiful head so it did not really come as a surprise when I saw that he has also authored two novels.

Ash Wednesday is a gritty love story between an AWOL soldier, Jimmy Heartsock and his girlfriend Christy. With his angst, Jimmy is half-Cauldfeld and with his Catholic beliefs, half-preacher. I thought I would like this character because it seems to be multi-dimensional but when I finally closed the book, it just did not make any imprint in my mind especially with the contrived ending where Jimmy decides to stay in the middle between the two obvious choices. The character of Christy makes more sense not only because she knows what she wants but once she makes a decision she goes for it no matter what the odds are. She does not vacillate unlike Jimmy who, despite being a military man, keeps on changing his mind, refuses to give up drugs, and goes fucking girls left and right.

However, Hawke’s storytelling has a distinct style: straightforward, cocky yet sincere. It does leave you with a feeling that you are taken for another ride just like after closing and finishing a Nicholas Sparks book. It is not at all mushy like how love stories normally are. Some lines are with sprinklers of Hawke’s own brand of philosophical musings that proves his sensitivity and self-awareness as a person. Good thing that those musings do not go overboard so as to give his readers the chance to have a little room for interpretation and draw out conclusions. Had it gone overboard, I would put a comment here that Hawke has that fondness to state the obvious. An example of this is that the book’s ending is set on an Ash Wednesday (time for reflection and prayers) which ends the Mardi Gras (time for merriment, booze, drugs) in New Orleans. Jimmy got incarcerated the eve of Ash Wednesday and got freed the following day which means that he is a new man and ready to face his responsibility as soon-to-be father and husband to Christy.

Despite those weak points, this is still a good read if you are looking for a fresher approach in telling a truthful kick-ass love story. I also had an easy time imagining the characters. I thought of Ethan Hawke as Jimmy and Uma Thurman (to whom he dedicated this novel) as Christy and any of those road-trip American movies and I can say that the book is movie-perfect. Too sad that the movie adaptation of his first novel, The Hottest State did not fly and Hawke is now 41 years old (too old to play Jimmy).

Still, the novelist Ethan Hawke can hold a candle for Nicholas Sparks, that one I can assure you.

So real! Jimmy and Christy could be the couple next door, your parents, or friends. As Jimmy and Christy travel to Texas they make choices, grow, and question their lives. Such a real, heartfelt book full of inspiration and hope.

Reminiscent of Before Midnight.

I enjoyed every minutes spent reading this book. I often feel hard to empathise with Jimmy and Christy sometimes but they're how real people are. That's the strength of this book; it describes each character so well and make it reasonable to understand their course of actions. Also, Hawke didn't leave any detail forgotten, like Grace the cat and the road trip views.

Also, I kinda see Christy in Gwyneth Paltrow's image for her classy gesture and beauty.

Powerful Gen X Road Trip Love Story

Ash Wednesday is one of my favorite books! I read it when it was originally published in 2002 and have picked it back up many times over the years. The story is fast-paced, engaging, and moving.

This is a beautiful and transformative Gen X love story that takes place during a very unexpected road trip that runs parallel to intense changes occurring for both our main characters. It's a story of growth, failure, faith, vulnerability, fear, healing, love, trust, renewal, hope, and above all, humanity. Our characters are flawed and entirely loveable.

These scenes in this book pop so much that you feel as if you are right there with the characters. The surprisingly honest, tender, and sometimes painful dialogue is unforgettable.

Ethan Hawke did an incredible job of portraying the broad spectrum of mental health during a time when these issues were not represented with compassion or understanding.

If you are looking for a love story that feels as if you are in the passenger seat next to the love of your life, rolling down the highway at sunset, listening to Wild Horses on the radio while holding your hand out the window to feel the wind, this is the book for you.

E bravo Ethan! Ho comprato questo libro dopo aver visto al cinema il film Boyhood. Linklater mi piace molto e, visto il bellissimo sodalizio che si è creato tra il regista e l'attore, in realtà mi aspettavo di trovare la sua influenza anche nel romanzo. Le aspettative si sono rivelate vere solo in parte, per questo è stata una piacevolissima sorpresa. Ci sono le sue elucubrazioni mentali, quella sorta di filosofia del quotidiano, quei personaggi un po' normali un po' sfigati, ma c'è anche una storia e la struttura di un vero romanzo. Le storie di Linklater in genere non hanno un inizio e una fine, sono "solo" vita che scorre, ma una cosa è il cinema, un'altra sono i libri. La sorpresa per me è stato notare la netta emancipazione dallo stile del regista. Emerge chiaramente la personalità di Ethan Hawke come vero scrittore, che lascia poco al caso e all'interpretazione personale, ma costruisce, pagina dopo pagina, una vera storia che, di fatto, sono i suoi protagonisti. Poi ci si può riconoscere o meno. Io ho sempre qualche difficoltà a immedesimarmi con gli scrittori americani, anche se ultimamente sto apprezzando proprio questo: il limitarsi a osservare, che secondo me è anche molto educativo… Comunque, per tornare al libro, ha un suo stile e una sua struttura, tutto molto coerente e naturale, senza troppe forzature. Sono molto contenta di averlo letto!