Ethan Hawke, More Than You Think You Know

I’ve always wanted to read an Ethan Hawke book. I guess it was the bit of teenager still left in me. I first saw Ethan on the big screen in Dead Poets Society and I found him captivating. In adolescent-jive that means I found him drool worthy. I did however tend to get him mixed up with Chris O’Donnell on a regular basis. 

I know very little about the mysterious actor. Ethan Hawke, I do recall, used to be married to Uma Thurman, he was fantastic in Before Sunrise, and then he did some weird movies and I lost track of him, but there was still something in me that occasionally thought “I want to read an Ethan Hawke book.” 

His first book, I spied on the shelf of a Barnes and Noble back in the 90’s and I was intrigued, but too poor at the time to shop for anything outside of the bargain isle. Still, the book has haunted me. I could see it’s cover of dripping green in my mind from time to time, and I wondered what was written inside.

Almost twenty years later, I was driving back after an awfully long road-trip when the book once again popped into my brain. It was a sweltering August day. I was traveling endlessly down the winding roads of Oregon when I started thinking, once again, about Ethan’s book The Hottest State. The overwhelming feeling to look it up had me pulling off onto the shoulder of the road right there, whipping out my Kindle and googling (in the Kindle way) for Mr. Hawke’s novel. Dammit, The Hottest State wasn’t available for Kindle, but it seemed that Ethan had another book out and it was available. The book was called Ash Wednesday.

Sometimes you find yourself pulled by that wonderful unknown force, the entity compelling you, and in that moment you know that you are walking down the path that you are one-hundred percent meant to be on. This was the overwhelming sensation I felt tugging at me when I clicked my little Kindle buy button. I was so lost in that single moment that I didn’t even take the time to read the synopsis. I was about to enter the world of Ethan Hawke utterly blind. I don’t think that I was entirely sure what I was about to get myself into. 

Halfway through page one I realized that the writing was spot on, the voice distinct, the character disturbing and that was all I needed. I was now on this crazy journey with Jimmy and Christy, and their cat Grace. I forgot about Ethan, I forgot about teenage drooling, and I was submerged in the fantastic, sometimes less than pretty, life of these two main characters. I felt like a voyeur sitting in the backseat of Jimmy’s Chevy Nova and the greatest part was Jimmy and Christy had no idea I was there with them. That is a true testament to how real the writing is.

Go get this book, you won’t regret it, and when your done devouring it go get yourself a copy of The Hottest State. I’ve already got my copy coming from Amazon, can’t wait!!!! 

BTW, what's your favorite Ethan Hawke movie? Leave it in the comments below or on Facebook. :)