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70th out of 271 books
—
207 voters
The Hottest State
by
Ethan Hawke
When William meets Sarah at a bar appropriately called the Bitter End, he is a few months short of his twenty-first birthday and about to act in his first movie. He is so used to getting what he wants that he has never been able to care too deeply for anyone. But all of that is about to change. And it is Sarah--bold and shy, seductive and skittish--who will become William'...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
October 27th 1998
by Vintage
(first published October 1st 1996)
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Jul 01, 2008
Morgan (Turbo)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
romantics and fans of Ethan Hawke
I've read another of Ethan Hawke and thought he was good. So when I saw this book in the free box I couldn't just pass it up laughing that an actor actually thinks he can write too(like I could at a Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis novel). Quite contrary, Hawke has a writing voice that is simple, direct, and sometimes ingenious. Check out one of his character's resolutions: "I want to never waste energy degrading someone else. Also, I want to try not see life as a competition. If I can do these two t...more
An incredibly visceral, raw wound of a book, perfectly detailing everyone's experience of obsessive, passionate love that ends badly.
'I loved that stupid girl so much', he says. If you can't identify with that statement on some level, you have no heart...
A great debut from a promising author, who has far surpassed expectations as an actor/writer/artist.
A quick read that's very easy to pick up again, even if it has the effect of giving you an ear to ear grin at the start and ending with you feeli...more
'I loved that stupid girl so much', he says. If you can't identify with that statement on some level, you have no heart...
A great debut from a promising author, who has far surpassed expectations as an actor/writer/artist.
A quick read that's very easy to pick up again, even if it has the effect of giving you an ear to ear grin at the start and ending with you feeli...more
It's been months since I read a novel. I was quite surprised how good of a writer Ethan Hawke is. I read this in one sitting, hence I judge it a good read. Got it from the local thrift book store for only Php 20.00 (around 50 US cents) and hoarded it for idle reading time.
Narration was good. I loved the characters. And there were pretty good quotable lines in it. An easy yet insightful coming of age read.
"He said that he didn't think anyone was stupid, that it was remarkable the kind of things...more
Narration was good. I loved the characters. And there were pretty good quotable lines in it. An easy yet insightful coming of age read.
"He said that he didn't think anyone was stupid, that it was remarkable the kind of things...more
Surprise, surprise, surprise. Ethan Hawke can write, well. His debut novel perfectly captures the essence of being young and in love and then the pain of breakup. I felt deeply those little moments of first falling in love, the uncertainty and self doubt as you wonder what is it about me that she sees. Am I good enough, are we good enough. The story changes dramatically as their relationship turns. When Samantha decides that she isn't really ready for a relationship, Will's reaction is unhealthy...more
I like Ethan Hawke as an actor. He’s quite understated, yet intense. Sensitive and self-aware. And he surely has playing the broody, conflicted man/boy down. Those character-centric qualities are ever-present in his first novel, The Hottest State, though they certainly don’t translate as well through his words as they do through his performances.
I must admit I was intrigued to read this because I had read most negative reviews of it. Why that piques my interest, I couldn’t say. I don’t typically...more
I must admit I was intrigued to read this because I had read most negative reviews of it. Why that piques my interest, I couldn’t say. I don’t typically...more
Ethan Hawke will break your heart. The Hottest State chronicles one year in the life of young, dashing William Harding: aspiring actor and charming lover. When he first meets Sarah, a girl unlike any he's ever seen, he knows from the beginning that he's a goner. She's beautiful. She's elusive. Every little thing she does strikes William greatly. The passion the two share, the chemistry; it's all so surreal, that even he can't believe it. He knows right then and there, that she is the one, that s...more
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I read this such a long time ago, when it first came out. It's a novella, not a novel, per se. The characters felt familiar and the angst of William loving someone who didn't even know if she "liked" him half the time much less "loved" him gave the piece an honest vibe.
However, the lack of details throughout left me frustrated. Sarah is a nanny yet never seems to work, though she still manages to afford a New York apartment. William is an actor. He's successful enough to make a living at it, yet...more
However, the lack of details throughout left me frustrated. Sarah is a nanny yet never seems to work, though she still manages to afford a New York apartment. William is an actor. He's successful enough to make a living at it, yet...more
While Hawke is a good writer, this book contained too much language and sexuality for me. Instead of a "coming of age" novel, I kept wondering why it wasn't in the romance section of my library.
I think Hawke could've done a better job by keeping the sexual stuff out and getting into the main character, William's, head more and expanding his charcter. I felt like the sex was a crutch and Hawke was avoiding something. (Hint, Hint! Books don't need sex to be interesting or sell!)
I loved his refer...more
I think Hawke could've done a better job by keeping the sexual stuff out and getting into the main character, William's, head more and expanding his charcter. I felt like the sex was a crutch and Hawke was avoiding something. (Hint, Hint! Books don't need sex to be interesting or sell!)
I loved his refer...more
i honestly really enjoyed reading this book. i can remember it being mid-90s and seeing ethan hawke on tv and thinking of how much i loved him in reality bites and my young hipster literary self wanting to read this. it's gotten lots of eh reviews. but i don't care, i liked it. i think i'll catch the movie, as well.
Ok - was NOT expecting to be profoundly moved by this book. But I was. Hawke seemed like he was staring straight into the most hidden parts of my consciousness. The way he described things like attraction, love, dysfunction, ect were just absolutely disarming to me.
It seems like we've all come up with euphemisms for how we are actually thinking about things like attraction and love, and Hawke takes those mechanisms and tears them down, using language that you've never eve let your mind use to de...more
It seems like we've all come up with euphemisms for how we are actually thinking about things like attraction and love, and Hawke takes those mechanisms and tears them down, using language that you've never eve let your mind use to de...more
When I saw this book at the library I picked it up, wondering if this Ethan Hawke was the actor... It was. So, I decided to read the book, just for fun and since I admire him as an actor I wanted to see if he was a terrible writer. Well, guess what, he is all but that. I was surprised about how much I loved this book. His writing is articulate and direct and while it is not difficult to read it is very interesting.
The Hottest State is a book that just completely holds your attention from the be...more
The Hottest State is a book that just completely holds your attention from the be...more
I like Ethan as an actor, but boy, what a whiner in this book! ugh! Every character was unlikeable, even the minor ones, and I was hoping that as they all randomly crossed paths with each other, that they'd all end up crossing an actual path together and getting hit by a bus. That would be the ending this book needed, because then they'd all get what they deserved. They all were so selfish and self-absorbed, and it's sadly what the so-called Generation X embraces as its definition. Not that I kn...more
[before reading:]
I read this book years ago, and remember liking it, but don't remember anything about it. So I wanted to pick it up again, because it seems like a quick read & I could use that right now!!
[after reading:]
Ethan Hawke writes heartbreak really, really well. Clearly he's been through his share. I loved the characters, and how real everything felt. The story ended on a note that rung true, as well. I truly appreciated the true-to-life-ness of this story. I'm not very coherent rig...more
I read this book years ago, and remember liking it, but don't remember anything about it. So I wanted to pick it up again, because it seems like a quick read & I could use that right now!!
[after reading:]
Ethan Hawke writes heartbreak really, really well. Clearly he's been through his share. I loved the characters, and how real everything felt. The story ended on a note that rung true, as well. I truly appreciated the true-to-life-ness of this story. I'm not very coherent rig...more
Dec 21, 2011
Michelle Lemaster
marked it as to-read
I have to admit it. I bought this book because I was feeling mean. Mean and cynical. When I saw Ethan Hawke's first book, with its lame-ass title, I couldn't help but pick it up (for a weighty $0.27 at the local Ecothrift). I bought it to read and make fun of. I bought it as a party conversation piece (You wouldn't believe what I have! Come check out my book by Ethan Hawke- aspiring author!). I certainly didn't buy it to be impressed. This is where what might figure that I'd have read it and say...more
Primo romanzo dell'autore, letto dopo "Mercoledì delle ceneri". Se avessi rispettato l'ordine di pubblicazione, forse non avrei letto il secondo, e sarebbe stato un peccato davvero.
Hawke apre una finestra sul modo dei sentimenti visti da un punto di vista maschile, con intensità e sincerità. La prima parte del racconto ha qualche luogo comune di troppo, ma la narrazione scorre liscia, senza intoppi. L'ho trovato comunque un po' superficiale, soprattutto rispetto a "Mercoledì...": un ritratto sch...more
Hawke apre una finestra sul modo dei sentimenti visti da un punto di vista maschile, con intensità e sincerità. La prima parte del racconto ha qualche luogo comune di troppo, ma la narrazione scorre liscia, senza intoppi. L'ho trovato comunque un po' superficiale, soprattutto rispetto a "Mercoledì...": un ritratto sch...more
A lot of people wouldn’t pick up this book after reading who the author is, and with great confidence, they would say that actors should just leave literature to writers. But this is no Paris-Hilton-esque novel of egotism. American actor Ethan Hawke is best known for his lead roles in “Reality Bites,” “Before Sunrise,” its sequel “Before Sunset,” and “Hamlet,” but he decided to make room for one more skill in his biography, and that is writing.
In his debut novel, he sketches the story of William...more
In his debut novel, he sketches the story of William...more
Mar 07, 2008
Taylor
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
lovers
Recommended to Taylor by:
my crush on Ethan Hawke
This was a lot better than I remembered it.
The story of a first love, supposedly fiction, but it reads too much like something that's intimately a part of his history, so I would say it has to be semiautobiographical.
William is a young Texan actor, recently moved to NYC. He's young (20), attractive and cocky, and has no trouble with ladies, at least as far as the bedroom is concerned. One night out he meets Sarah, seemingly his opposite, a shy woman who wants to be a singer. He's drawn to her qu...more
The story of a first love, supposedly fiction, but it reads too much like something that's intimately a part of his history, so I would say it has to be semiautobiographical.
William is a young Texan actor, recently moved to NYC. He's young (20), attractive and cocky, and has no trouble with ladies, at least as far as the bedroom is concerned. One night out he meets Sarah, seemingly his opposite, a shy woman who wants to be a singer. He's drawn to her qu...more
Pure literary sewage of the Generation X slacker milieu that one finds depicted in movies like the author's Reality Bites or by limited film director Kevin Smith. It is a simple story that masquerades as a complex, insightful, and pretentious one depicting the pathetic romance between a temper tantrum throwing Texan with mommy and daddy troubles and his girlfriend who won't sleep with him. The book does deserve at least one star for the complaints that it got for its depiction of women.
It's pretty much impossible to read a book by a Hollywood actor and not be conscious of it with every page. And clearly a good actor is not guaranteed to be a good writer (one who reads lots of good work, and can recognize it when he sees good writing, yes, but that's hardly the same thing). But Ethan Hawke puts together a very decent piece here. I particularly liked the first half of the book, which seemed to slide off the pages with a real sense of authenticity.
Picked this up from the ad hoc library in our laundry...mildly interesting, especially given the author's celebrity status. Has a rather autobiographical feel...young man struggles with his obsessive love for a rather wacko young woman, who, in the end, turns out to be rather ordinary.
Wouldn't really recommend it, but if you stumble across it and haven't got another book at hand, it's not a complete waste of time. How's that for damning with faint praise?!
Wouldn't really recommend it, but if you stumble across it and haven't got another book at hand, it's not a complete waste of time. How's that for damning with faint praise?!
just a few notes on this.
it wasn't terrible, it just wasn't consistently good. i really liked ash wednesday (but maybe i liked it at 21, and would hate it at almost 29) and this seemed in the same vein.
there are some really excellent turns of phrase and some great description, but i don't feel this book would get published now. the mid-90s sure were an excellent time to be ethan hawke.
mostly, i felt like the ending was weak. maybe that's why i'm feeling so deflated about it.
it wasn't terrible, it just wasn't consistently good. i really liked ash wednesday (but maybe i liked it at 21, and would hate it at almost 29) and this seemed in the same vein.
there are some really excellent turns of phrase and some great description, but i don't feel this book would get published now. the mid-90s sure were an excellent time to be ethan hawke.
mostly, i felt like the ending was weak. maybe that's why i'm feeling so deflated about it.
I thought the pace of this novel was excellent (200 pages in about 3 hours). While it lacked serious depth outside of the narrator/protagonist, I felt that it did a decent job at times of representing mid-nineties angst at adulthood. It basically reads like every Ethan Hawke part/movie from the 90's, which is not all that bad. For a first novel, it is good. Not great, but good.
I was a little surprised by how well written the book was and by Ethan Hawke's talent. I thought the character and stroy development was strong and kept me engaged. If I have one complaint, it's the abrupt ending - it just didn't flow as well as the rest of the book. I'm not sure if this was intentional, but alas, it would not deter me from reading more of Hawke in the future.
"The love story of the 90s", was - I believe -what the review said, and yes, it does seem familiar somehow. The parties with strangers, the aimlessness of wandering through life with no idea what's going on or what one is doing there, whereever there may be.
But other than the fact that my 90s were pretty close to the characters nineties (minus the whole marriage and making movies thing), this book could be set at any time. It's a love story, and love, as we all know, is eternal.
Only, it's a ver...more
But other than the fact that my 90s were pretty close to the characters nineties (minus the whole marriage and making movies thing), this book could be set at any time. It's a love story, and love, as we all know, is eternal.
Only, it's a ver...more
I admire Ethan Hawke, he is such a fantastic author/actor. ''The Hottest State'' is a raw vision of a 21 year old who feels lonely, doesn't the path he has to follow in life and this girl Sarah changes his life. However, Hawke shows us how difficult love is and life itself reflected on a young boy who didn't know his father well and had a life full of difficulties.
Was this book even about anything? It was like an actor wanted to pretend he could write something deep and cerebral that only posh New York City dwellers could ever understand, only it came out crap. I just read this book yesterday and I already forgot what the protagonist's name was. And seriously, he hated condoms so much he would lose his erection? Lame.
i think i may have loved this when i was in my twenties and if i didn't know who ethan hawke is. not that i KNOW know ethan hawke. but.
a twenty year old in manhattan, and all of his angst. it could have been true. i remember a lot of the misdirected anger, the insecurity...
and twenty five years later, this was a nice, fast, barely nostalgic read.
a twenty year old in manhattan, and all of his angst. it could have been true. i remember a lot of the misdirected anger, the insecurity...
and twenty five years later, this was a nice, fast, barely nostalgic read.
Ethan Hawke is such an amazing author, especially for an actor whose primary job is to read words, not write them. I read this because it was written by Ethan Hawke, being a fan of his acting work. The story of a sweet love affair between William and Sarah was almost made into a film, directed and starring Ethan Hawke Himself, which I have yet to see.
I picked this up, expecting it to be the terrible attempt of an actor to enter another genre. I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually quite good, simple gritty voice and some real human insight. It felt very much like 90s teen fiction (which is what it was), and I think I would have enjoyed it more as a teenager.
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Ethan Green Hawke is a two-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, writer and film director.
In 1988, Hawke was cast in a role in director Peter Weir's Dead Poets Society; the film's success was considered Hawke's breakthrough. He left school and appeared in A Midnight Clear, Alive, Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, The Newton Boys, Great Expectations, and many other movies. In 2001, he...more
More about Ethan Hawke...
In 1988, Hawke was cast in a role in director Peter Weir's Dead Poets Society; the film's success was considered Hawke's breakthrough. He left school and appeared in A Midnight Clear, Alive, Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, The Newton Boys, Great Expectations, and many other movies. In 2001, he...more
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“Don't you find it odd," she continued, "that when you're a kid, everyone, all the world, encourages you to follow your dreams. But when you're older, somehow they act offended if you even try.”
—
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“It's kind of like this," Decker said: "You wake up in the middle of the night and you're dying for a glass of milk. So you stumble out of bed, stub your toe in the darkness, scream with pain, and limp your way to the refrigerator. You open it up and the light is brilliant. You're saved. Then you fold back the paper container, open up the milk, take a deep breath, and put it to your lips. Only --- yhrch! --- the milk is spoiled. Sure, you're bummed. You fold the thing close and put it back in the fridge. It's dark again. But as you're making your way to your lonely old bed, you think to yourself, Wait a minute, maybe that milk wasn't so bad. And I am still thirsty? So you do an about-face and go back to the fridge. The light warms you up again. You take a sip and yup, it's still spoiled. That, to me, is the fitting metaphor for most every relationship I've ever been in.”
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Feb 15, 2013 12:28pm