A Bright Ray of Darkness

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Hawke's first novel in nearly twenty years is a bracing meditation on fame and celebrity, and the redemptive, healing power of art; a portrait of the

Ethan Hawke, whose acting career has combined celebrity wattage with indie integrity, brings hard-won experience to his latest literary endeavour ... [A] wild ride of a book ... Written with real fire & originality. Not many novels combine scenes of lying semi-conscious by a motel toilet with thoughts on the perfection of the iambic pentameter.' Metro Ethan Hawke is an author. Yes, yes, yes, I know he's actually an actor. A very fine actor. A twice Oscar-nominated actor (he has two Oscar nominations for writing, too). But he is also, without doubt, an author. That's about as good a compliment as you can pay to anyone switching crafts like this. He's an artist, if you will. This is no vanity project; it's a proper, high-quality novel. Explores the demands of acting and the delusions of manhood with tremendous verve and insight…the work of an author who knows every aspect of the profession from the inside… Hawke is a genius at conjuring the hush of the auditorium, the thrill of live actors, the magical sense of a performance moving through time. He’s written a witty, wise, and heartfelt novel… a deeply hopeful story… Bravo.” Where do you find stories like THAT? Right. National Enquirer and on the cameras of the nearest paparazzi. Film star William Harding is fed up with having his personal life examined in public. The protagonist of this novel, the first in five years from Hawke (best known for his acting role in Richard Linklater's Before trilogy), is also disgusted at the ways in which he has allowed his marriage to collapse around him. His debut Broadway role offers him a chance at redemption and turns this bracing book into a considered meditation on the evil of celebrity and the demanding yet restorative power of theatre. * New Statesman *Hawke spends a lot of time delving into the scenes of the protagonist on stage and the rest of the time ruminating over his broken marriage and how to handle his two children. So much of this story sounds autobiographical. What I read online, he takes parts of his life and implants it into the book. I couldn't shake the feeing of what was real and what wasn't..

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.” Ethan Hawke is a true writer and his duality as an artist is skilfully reflected in A Bright Ray of Darkness . Hawke circles, descends, and crawls into his characters skin. Grimy shadows pass over the footlights, into the bowels of the theatre, where a struggling actor, perhaps mirroring the writer, seeks the vine of redemption, and claws his way into becoming. Bright Ray is a riveting work.' PATTI SMITH

Eppure, come scrive il poeta: “preferiremmo andare in rovina piuttosto/ che mutare/ morire piuttosto nella nostra paura/ che salire sulla croce di ogni giorno/ e lasciar morire le nostre illusioni”.