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The Embers
A once-charmed family is forced to confront the devastating tragedy that struck it years ago in this fiercely tender tale of betrayal and reconciliation It’s the fall of 2007, and Emily Ascher should be celebrating: she just got engaged to the man she loves, her job is moving in new and fulfilling directions, and her once-rocky relationship with her mother, Laura, has finally mellowed into an easy give-and-take. But with the promise of new love Settling into old comes a difficult look at how her family has been torn apart in the many years since her brother died. Her parents have long since divorced, and her father, Joe, a famous actor and playwright who has been paralyzed with grief since the tragedy, carries the blame for his son’s death—but what really happened on that winter night? Why has he been unable to clear his name, or even discuss that evening with Laura and Emily? As spring looms—and with it Emily’s wedding in the Berkshires and an unveiling of Joe’s new play—each Ascher begins to reevaluate the events of long ago, finally facing the truth of his or her own culpability in them. Moving between past and present over the course of sixteen years, The Embers is a skillfully structured debut novel of buried secrets and deep regrets that crush a family while bonding its members irrevocably.
291 pages, Hardcover
First published June 23, 2009
9 people are currently reading
423 people want to read
About the author
Hyatt Bass
1 book3 followersHyatt Bass wrote, directed, and produced the film 75 Degrees in July, which was released in 2006. The Embers is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
June 16, 2017
I really love the cover for this, but unfortunately the story itself didn't live up to it. The book started off really slow, and there were some time jumps that really confused me and made everything a bit muddy. There was closure at the end, but by that point I didn't really care - and I also thought the ending was a bit predictable. The characters I just didn't care for at all, and overall I'm sad to say that the emotion I felt the most whilst reading this book was boredom.
July 3, 2009
I really didn't enjoy the characters in this book; however, the plot was good. A family torn apart by infidelity of the husband/father brought back into the home because his oldest son is ill. There is a lot of animosity between all the family mambers and Thomas the ill son is the only one who can or will confront it.
Thomas does die and it is only revealed how later in the book, yet his family all live seperate lives and unbalanced because Joe (the husband/father) will not answer questions about his son's death. Joe leads the most dysfunctional life once a very talented, popular playwrite-actor, now living in a seedy hotel; very lonely and drunk.
The book ends with some mending in the family after Joe becomes ill. I really didn't have or see closure with the family as a whole. This left me wanting more from the book. I felt like I was just left hanging and wondering if the family completly discussed Thomas's death and were they reconciled.
A good plot, that fell flat for me in the end, I really didn't care for any of the characters. They all seemed selfish and a bit lacking in character. A decent read though and I would read this author again-it wasn't a bad book for a debut novel.
Thomas does die and it is only revealed how later in the book, yet his family all live seperate lives and unbalanced because Joe (the husband/father) will not answer questions about his son's death. Joe leads the most dysfunctional life once a very talented, popular playwrite-actor, now living in a seedy hotel; very lonely and drunk.
The book ends with some mending in the family after Joe becomes ill. I really didn't have or see closure with the family as a whole. This left me wanting more from the book. I felt like I was just left hanging and wondering if the family completly discussed Thomas's death and were they reconciled.
A good plot, that fell flat for me in the end, I really didn't care for any of the characters. They all seemed selfish and a bit lacking in character. A decent read though and I would read this author again-it wasn't a bad book for a debut novel.
July 20, 2009
Some of the writing is confusing, some of it painfully real. Some of the characters are flat, some are achingly real and so are their foibles. Sometimes you want to slap the characters in the face, eh, most of the time you want to do that actually. I often found myself a little lost when jumping forward and backward in time. Then there is the matter of the "changed-often-for-no-discernible-reason" pronouns that make some of the sentences/passages extremely hard to follow. One moment it is "her father" and in the next sentence it would be "their father". Might have been the author trying to communicate possession and emotion via pronouns, however, it doesn't come off at all. Poor editing job on that.
It is rather frustrating that the explanation of what happens to Thomas is barely touched on. Most of it you have to put together yourself which seems odd as it is a major life turning point for the characters. But, a lot of the family stuff rings truer than true. Bass is great at dialogue - fantastic of catching the nuances of difficult conversations - and you really find yourself as a fly on the wall in these character's lives. Most of the time it is a difficult place to be but you can't leave either.
It is rather frustrating that the explanation of what happens to Thomas is barely touched on. Most of it you have to put together yourself which seems odd as it is a major life turning point for the characters. But, a lot of the family stuff rings truer than true. Bass is great at dialogue - fantastic of catching the nuances of difficult conversations - and you really find yourself as a fly on the wall in these character's lives. Most of the time it is a difficult place to be but you can't leave either.
February 23, 2010
I really enjoyed reading this book, and I was pleased to have been selected as a first reader for it. The characters' complexities made it difficult for me to say whom I liked and did not like. They all seemed to be basically good, but as their deeds were revealed in the course of reading, I bounced around between liking them and being angry at them. The plot was great at surprising me. I kept thinking that I knew what was going to (or already had) happened, and I kept being wrong. It was well written and challenging to the reader. I was forced to reevaluate my opinions on what the words "good" and "bad" really meant in conjunction with the people in the story. It really made me think about what my qualifications are for how I identify people, and for how the pigeon-holes we use can so easily be incorrect. I would very much recommend this book to anybody.
September 7, 2010
This book reminded me very much of "The Gathering" by Anne Enright. It explores relationships within a family just as Enright's book does and both book's are very well written, with beautiful language.
It is sad to read and watch the Ascher family fall apart, and as you read you want the characters to work things out and remain the happy family they seem in the early part of the book. I thought how sad that the death of one of the family members just seemed to bring about the collapse of the entire fragile family, but the key part here is that the family was fragile before Thomas's death.
I loved the ending of the book and while it is sometimes difficult reading, getting to the end is very worthwhile!
It is sad to read and watch the Ascher family fall apart, and as you read you want the characters to work things out and remain the happy family they seem in the early part of the book. I thought how sad that the death of one of the family members just seemed to bring about the collapse of the entire fragile family, but the key part here is that the family was fragile before Thomas's death.
I loved the ending of the book and while it is sometimes difficult reading, getting to the end is very worthwhile!
August 21, 2009
What a unique book! It took me a little bit of time to get into the novel but once I did I was hooked! I especially liked the flaws of each character and how they played off one another. I don't want to give anything away but I really liked how the author worked in the "relationship" between the father and Ingrid - a girl he meets at a hotel. I also liked that you didn't find out the details surround the son's death until the end.
May 22, 2009
I believe this is a good book. Well written (especially the dialogues). I can’t say that I sympathize with the characters (except for very few, certain moments), but there is something absurd and at the same time totally plausible about the story that makes it very believable as real life. It’s not hard to read and the author, as a universal narrator, does a very good job.
September 6, 2009
Great first book by new author Hyatt Bass. The theme of the book really
digs into the notion that there is nothing that happens to a child that does not implicate the parent in some way. An interesting and complex book about familial relationships, good and bad, strong and weak, and how at the end, it is always about forgiveness.
digs into the notion that there is nothing that happens to a child that does not implicate the parent in some way. An interesting and complex book about familial relationships, good and bad, strong and weak, and how at the end, it is always about forgiveness.
July 7, 2009
Story Overview
Emily Ascher is getting married. Like many brides, she has pre-wedding jitters. After all, her parents' marriage was volatile and ended in divorce. And Emily has some ghosts haunting her (not literal ghosts...this book is grounded in reality!) -- especially that of her beloved brother Thomas, who died 16 years earlier. By planning to hold the wedding on the site where Thomas died, Emily finds herself remembering what her family used to be, who she used to be, and how things can fall apart even when so much love is present. Estranged from her playwright father Joe -- who she idolized as a child -- and still tentative with her mother Laura, Emily is reluctant to make a commitment to the man she thinks she loves but who doesn't seem to provide the kind of fireworks she was hoping for.
Emily's mother Laura thinks she has moved on with her new marriage. But the prospect of seeing her ex-husband Joe at the wedding makes her more nervous that she thinks she should be. And when Emily confides that she is having cold feet about the upcoming wedding, Laura tries to find a way to reach out and make things right. However, everything she seems to do ends up going wrong and being misinterpreted by Emily. Unwilling to lose another child, Laura tries to find a way to help her daughter without alienating her and to finally make peace with the past that keeps calling to her.
Emily's father Joe is distant and an alcoholic. His promising career skidded off-track after his divorce from Laura and Thomas's death. He seems to have lost his muse and compass in life. Unwilling to reveal the depths of his pain to either Laura or Emily, Joe suffers alone -- being cantankerous and difficult whenever he is in contact with Emily. His guilt over what happened to Thomas and his unwillingness to divulge his part in it to Laura or Emily keeps Joe from being able to let this pain go. But a trip to a small town to write about an inn for a lifestyle magazine (a "pity" assignment) ends up forcing him to face some of the demons from his past, realize the depths of his drinking problem and begin to face what happened to his family.
My Thoughts
The Embers is a perfect title for this book as it really is about the Ascher family sifting through the embers of the fire that destroyed their family. The novel moves back and forth between the past and the present as each surviving Ascher struggles to come to terms with the tragedies that ripped their family apart. Make no mistake, the family had problems aplenty before Thomas's death, but there seemed to be a promise of hope and reconciliation that is completely destroyed after Thomas dies. Yet a small spark refuses to be extinguished, and it is this spark that must be dealt with before Emily can fully enter into her marriage with a happy heart.
This is a Hyatt Bass's first novel, and I was impressed. She does a good job of providing a glimpse into the minds of all the Aschers and the transitions between the past and the present are well-done. For me, Joe was the most intriguing and confusing character. And Emily was hard to empathize with as well. All the members of the Ascher family end up so damaged (with the possible exception of Laura) that you really ache for them to find some peace and just talk with each other! Unfortunately, I think this is a very accurate depiction of dysfunctional family dynamics. Sometimes, the people you most need to talk to are the people you end up pushing away. Again and again, the Aschers turn away from each other -- unwilling to dig up the past. But you do have to face the past if you want to make a future, and the road leading the Aschers to reconciliation and peace is well-written and convincing.
This isn't a happy book but an emotional look at one family's implosion and how the road to reconciliation, forgiveness and peace is not an easy one.
My Final Recommendation
If you are looking for a thoughtful examination of family dynamics, this book would be a good choice. Although it is not an easy or light read, I think it is worthwhile -- especially if you are dealing with family issues of your own. It might help you to realize how the past affects your present and that reconciling the events of your past may help you to move forward with an open heart. I look forward to seeing what else this first-time author has to say.
Emily Ascher is getting married. Like many brides, she has pre-wedding jitters. After all, her parents' marriage was volatile and ended in divorce. And Emily has some ghosts haunting her (not literal ghosts...this book is grounded in reality!) -- especially that of her beloved brother Thomas, who died 16 years earlier. By planning to hold the wedding on the site where Thomas died, Emily finds herself remembering what her family used to be, who she used to be, and how things can fall apart even when so much love is present. Estranged from her playwright father Joe -- who she idolized as a child -- and still tentative with her mother Laura, Emily is reluctant to make a commitment to the man she thinks she loves but who doesn't seem to provide the kind of fireworks she was hoping for.
Emily's mother Laura thinks she has moved on with her new marriage. But the prospect of seeing her ex-husband Joe at the wedding makes her more nervous that she thinks she should be. And when Emily confides that she is having cold feet about the upcoming wedding, Laura tries to find a way to reach out and make things right. However, everything she seems to do ends up going wrong and being misinterpreted by Emily. Unwilling to lose another child, Laura tries to find a way to help her daughter without alienating her and to finally make peace with the past that keeps calling to her.
Emily's father Joe is distant and an alcoholic. His promising career skidded off-track after his divorce from Laura and Thomas's death. He seems to have lost his muse and compass in life. Unwilling to reveal the depths of his pain to either Laura or Emily, Joe suffers alone -- being cantankerous and difficult whenever he is in contact with Emily. His guilt over what happened to Thomas and his unwillingness to divulge his part in it to Laura or Emily keeps Joe from being able to let this pain go. But a trip to a small town to write about an inn for a lifestyle magazine (a "pity" assignment) ends up forcing him to face some of the demons from his past, realize the depths of his drinking problem and begin to face what happened to his family.
My Thoughts
The Embers is a perfect title for this book as it really is about the Ascher family sifting through the embers of the fire that destroyed their family. The novel moves back and forth between the past and the present as each surviving Ascher struggles to come to terms with the tragedies that ripped their family apart. Make no mistake, the family had problems aplenty before Thomas's death, but there seemed to be a promise of hope and reconciliation that is completely destroyed after Thomas dies. Yet a small spark refuses to be extinguished, and it is this spark that must be dealt with before Emily can fully enter into her marriage with a happy heart.
This is a Hyatt Bass's first novel, and I was impressed. She does a good job of providing a glimpse into the minds of all the Aschers and the transitions between the past and the present are well-done. For me, Joe was the most intriguing and confusing character. And Emily was hard to empathize with as well. All the members of the Ascher family end up so damaged (with the possible exception of Laura) that you really ache for them to find some peace and just talk with each other! Unfortunately, I think this is a very accurate depiction of dysfunctional family dynamics. Sometimes, the people you most need to talk to are the people you end up pushing away. Again and again, the Aschers turn away from each other -- unwilling to dig up the past. But you do have to face the past if you want to make a future, and the road leading the Aschers to reconciliation and peace is well-written and convincing.
This isn't a happy book but an emotional look at one family's implosion and how the road to reconciliation, forgiveness and peace is not an easy one.
My Final Recommendation
If you are looking for a thoughtful examination of family dynamics, this book would be a good choice. Although it is not an easy or light read, I think it is worthwhile -- especially if you are dealing with family issues of your own. It might help you to realize how the past affects your present and that reconciling the events of your past may help you to move forward with an open heart. I look forward to seeing what else this first-time author has to say.
September 13, 2009
I really enjoyed the way the authors wove together the story of this family by telling the story through the present and through flashbacks.
I liked that all the way through the novel, the story wove through twists and turns, some expected some unexpected. It's a haunting story of Emily, who is trying to come to terms with her brother's death, her mother's emotional distance, and her playwright/actor father's ego and alcoholism all as she prepares to get married. It is well written and well thought out... something you don't often find these days in a novel. I highly recommend it.
I liked that all the way through the novel, the story wove through twists and turns, some expected some unexpected. It's a haunting story of Emily, who is trying to come to terms with her brother's death, her mother's emotional distance, and her playwright/actor father's ego and alcoholism all as she prepares to get married. It is well written and well thought out... something you don't often find these days in a novel. I highly recommend it.
Read
December 4, 2009I pre-ordered this novel as I was eager to read the debut novel from the indie filmmaker I admire ("79 degrees in July")
I was deeply moved by this book. I loved the subtleties of the characters and the fact that the writer doesn't flinch at looking at their flaws. Complex characters with soul. Very real. There's a quiet beauty to the tone and a wry sense of humor that keeps the novel from getting too heavy.
I was deeply moved by this book. I loved the subtleties of the characters and the fact that the writer doesn't flinch at looking at their flaws. Complex characters with soul. Very real. There's a quiet beauty to the tone and a wry sense of humor that keeps the novel from getting too heavy.
August 19, 2009
Not an earth shattering book but I enjoyed it anyway. A look at how a family struggles with a death of a child/brother. More importantly how lack of communication between a parent and a child can effect a child for years to come. Makes you think about how those first relationships help to form who we are and how we break free of them.
August 13, 2009
I didn't get very far in the book. I don't know if I was just distracted or what but I could not get into it. It was very slow to me. I'm going to try again at a later time and see maybe if I can get into then. As of right now, I wouldn't recommend it.
November 18, 2009
Depressing as hell, made me cry my eyes out.
Dont read while pregnant.
On the other hand it is well written and i didnt see the end coming, so i guess it is worth reading, if you feel like crying or fighting with a family member :)
Dont read while pregnant.
On the other hand it is well written and i didnt see the end coming, so i guess it is worth reading, if you feel like crying or fighting with a family member :)
January 3, 2010
I absolutely loved this book. It was sad, well-written, thoughtful and real. I loved how it went back and forth between past and present to unfold the story of how a family suffers after the son dies. The level of description was fantastic.
June 18, 2009
This book wasn't what I expected based on the review. It was heartwarming and touching. Some parts seemed a bit disjointed but over all I enjoyed reading it.
June 27, 2009
Just finished last night. Loved it! Actually made me cry which books rarely do.
August 16, 2009
Very interesting with a twist. A mystery of sorts and a great insight into the roles of family members after a tragedy.
May 22, 2018
This was a pretty good book except for 1 or 2 parts. The story of a family that just would not communicate with one another and blamed one another for everything. I found myself wanting to scream at the book "Stop that!, Tell him (her)!, You bit.. (bast...)". But I couldn't because I was just reading a book. I will say it had one of the most beautiful endings ever.
September 14, 2019
I was going to say that these whining, self-pitying characters were so boring that I couldn't even enjoy their suffering. Then I got to thinking, maybe that was the point? I don't know.
March 21, 2020
É um 3,5 arredondado para 4.
December 17, 2020
This book was ok. But I didn't see the point in it. Never really figured anything/anyone out.
December 20, 2020
The plot developed over two timelines. The characters, however, demonstrated no development. Personally I wanted to know more about the Mom & Dad and what drove their personality flaws.
December 9, 2010
THe Ember's first peaked my interest with it's plot synopsis which really did not capture the novel's essence with it's very superficial description. I felt like the description misrepresented the actual story. Here you will find more of an internal family drama exploring the complicated relationships we have with those closest to us, while trying to find our way back to the present through the past. Here it is done as the chracters relate over a tragic event in their past. They find as much as we try to keep the past at bay, it will forever be linked to our present and here is where The Ember's tries to fuel it's fire.
Emily is a young women with cold feet on the verge of an uncertain marriage. As she deals with the scars and uncertainties of the past and two parents still lost in the tragedy of her brother's death but in denial about dealing with it, questions about what she really wants in the future begin to push her and her fiance apart. As the story progresses it revolves around the effects of the tragedy on each family member, each trying to fix their mistakes of the past or reconcile with it.
As we learn more about their pasts, the perspectives juggle around and land with the father as main narrator/character for the bulk of the story, when it seems Emily will be the main voice from the start of the novel. At first they all go back and forth but then there are long periods of the book with the father's story dominating. I found myself hoping to return to Emily's perspective. This set up is confusing and doesn't allow you too feel for the characters or get to know them. Not to mention the father is not a likeable character in any way, I couldn't stand him and prayed for him to fade to the background. Truly all the characters lacked depth and were not easy to like or be interested in for the most part. Emily has the most potential but she is sent to wait in the wings for a large part of the novel. I found them to be static and didn't believe they were real people with stories to tell, too predictable.
Honestly I had to force myself to continue reading this book, hoping for it to get better. The writing had it's shining and interesting moments but not too many. I finished it, as I rarely give up on a book, but wish that I hadn't wasted my time. Bass needs to focus more on her characters and plot, to match that up with her great writing style.
The premise of the novel is good but it is lost on the internal battles of the main characters which never get too deep. I was not compelled to continue to read by desire but merely to know if that "a ha!" moment would eventually come. It did, with a predictable minor twist that was easily figured out unconsciously, with her father having a friendship with a young girl who ends up being only a representation of Emily as a young girl, existing only in his mind This is his effort to fix his mistakes with her in the past.
Overall I couldn't relate to the plot or characters of this novel. It was a boring look into the one dimensional, self centered struggles of a family stuck in the past and unable to relate to one another. The Ember's sparks the interest of the reader superficially but burns out quick.+
Emily is a young women with cold feet on the verge of an uncertain marriage. As she deals with the scars and uncertainties of the past and two parents still lost in the tragedy of her brother's death but in denial about dealing with it, questions about what she really wants in the future begin to push her and her fiance apart. As the story progresses it revolves around the effects of the tragedy on each family member, each trying to fix their mistakes of the past or reconcile with it.
As we learn more about their pasts, the perspectives juggle around and land with the father as main narrator/character for the bulk of the story, when it seems Emily will be the main voice from the start of the novel. At first they all go back and forth but then there are long periods of the book with the father's story dominating. I found myself hoping to return to Emily's perspective. This set up is confusing and doesn't allow you too feel for the characters or get to know them. Not to mention the father is not a likeable character in any way, I couldn't stand him and prayed for him to fade to the background. Truly all the characters lacked depth and were not easy to like or be interested in for the most part. Emily has the most potential but she is sent to wait in the wings for a large part of the novel. I found them to be static and didn't believe they were real people with stories to tell, too predictable.
Honestly I had to force myself to continue reading this book, hoping for it to get better. The writing had it's shining and interesting moments but not too many. I finished it, as I rarely give up on a book, but wish that I hadn't wasted my time. Bass needs to focus more on her characters and plot, to match that up with her great writing style.
The premise of the novel is good but it is lost on the internal battles of the main characters which never get too deep. I was not compelled to continue to read by desire but merely to know if that "a ha!" moment would eventually come. It did, with a predictable minor twist that was easily figured out unconsciously, with her father having a friendship with a young girl who ends up being only a representation of Emily as a young girl, existing only in his mind This is his effort to fix his mistakes with her in the past.
Overall I couldn't relate to the plot or characters of this novel. It was a boring look into the one dimensional, self centered struggles of a family stuck in the past and unable to relate to one another. The Ember's sparks the interest of the reader superficially but burns out quick.+
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2011
The premise is promising: former wild-child daughter of divorced parents is about to marry.
Emily Ascher decides to have her wedding on property in upstate New York that once held a family retreat from big city living. She recalls the times she spent growing up here and reminisces about the brother she lost to a devastating disease. Through a series of flash-backs we are meant to learn of the inner workings as well as the dysfunctionality of this family. The bait being dangled before us is that there is a comfortable, if not rosy, conclusion to the story.
Turns out this is the story of Joe Ascher, playwright, actor, man-about-town. This character is the pivotal person in the lives of each of his family members and we learn of things mainly through his point of view. It is Joe's actions that have brought daughter Emily and ex-wife Laura to the strained relationship they now share - mutual tolerance of each other. Both, however, blame Joe for the death of Thomas (son and brother) almost fifteen years earlier.
The use of flashbacks in this story was somewhat disconcerting to me. I felt jolted each time the scene shifted as there was not even the slightest segue from one time frame to another. Keeping in mind the author's experience as a screenwriter I felt that the chapters worked almost like the shifting scenes one would see in a televised drama.
Each of the characters is full of promise. Emily, as the once rebellious daughter of divorced parents, has become the so-called rock of the family - now a lawyer with a brilliant career about to marry a man who is the extreme opposite of her somewhat flamboyant father; Laura, as the long-suffering wife who lives in the shadow of her semi-famous philandering husband until she boots him out the door; Thomas, the true glue of the family who is diagnosed with lymphoma at an early age. Unfortunately, none of these characters was given any depth or complexity even when they interacted with each other.
My favorite character was Ingrid, a young woman that Joe meets while on writing assignment. Sadly, we learn at the conclusion that while she was based on someone Joe sees through the hedges, everything we learn about her is purely fiction made up by Joe.
A rushed ending, shallow characters, and nothing to define what `the embers' truly are earn this novel an average rating from this reviewer.
Emily Ascher decides to have her wedding on property in upstate New York that once held a family retreat from big city living. She recalls the times she spent growing up here and reminisces about the brother she lost to a devastating disease. Through a series of flash-backs we are meant to learn of the inner workings as well as the dysfunctionality of this family. The bait being dangled before us is that there is a comfortable, if not rosy, conclusion to the story.
Turns out this is the story of Joe Ascher, playwright, actor, man-about-town. This character is the pivotal person in the lives of each of his family members and we learn of things mainly through his point of view. It is Joe's actions that have brought daughter Emily and ex-wife Laura to the strained relationship they now share - mutual tolerance of each other. Both, however, blame Joe for the death of Thomas (son and brother) almost fifteen years earlier.
The use of flashbacks in this story was somewhat disconcerting to me. I felt jolted each time the scene shifted as there was not even the slightest segue from one time frame to another. Keeping in mind the author's experience as a screenwriter I felt that the chapters worked almost like the shifting scenes one would see in a televised drama.
Each of the characters is full of promise. Emily, as the once rebellious daughter of divorced parents, has become the so-called rock of the family - now a lawyer with a brilliant career about to marry a man who is the extreme opposite of her somewhat flamboyant father; Laura, as the long-suffering wife who lives in the shadow of her semi-famous philandering husband until she boots him out the door; Thomas, the true glue of the family who is diagnosed with lymphoma at an early age. Unfortunately, none of these characters was given any depth or complexity even when they interacted with each other.
My favorite character was Ingrid, a young woman that Joe meets while on writing assignment. Sadly, we learn at the conclusion that while she was based on someone Joe sees through the hedges, everything we learn about her is purely fiction made up by Joe.
A rushed ending, shallow characters, and nothing to define what `the embers' truly are earn this novel an average rating from this reviewer.
July 26, 2011
3 1/2 stars. I picked this book up because when The Hungry Season came out, a couple of reviewers made comparisons between the two. And it was truly fascinating to see a book so similar to my own in premise -- it almost felt like we were both given the same writing assignment: write a novel about a family in the aftermath of the loss of one of its teenage children. Make the dad a struggling writer! It's incredible how many similarities the books share...and the fact that they were both likely being written simultaneously.
What I enjoyed most about this novel was the father character, Joe...a formerly famous playwright who first lost his son and then his entire family as a result. His character was so vivid, I could almost hear him breathing on the page. I think the depiction of Thomas, the son who has passed away, was also satisfying. However, the other characters did not resonate as loudly for me. I didn't really care for Laura, his wife, and I found myself with little sympathy for Emily. As a result, I felt myself reading quickly through their sections, waiting to get back to Joe.
I also felt like some of the plot was revealed in a way that deflated its impact. We'd hear the revelation in the present tense and then get the actual flashback scene dramatizing it.
I loved the twist, which I won't reveal...and I actually found the last few chapters of the novel to be engaging and beautiful.
I will certainly look for more novels by this author.
What I enjoyed most about this novel was the father character, Joe...a formerly famous playwright who first lost his son and then his entire family as a result. His character was so vivid, I could almost hear him breathing on the page. I think the depiction of Thomas, the son who has passed away, was also satisfying. However, the other characters did not resonate as loudly for me. I didn't really care for Laura, his wife, and I found myself with little sympathy for Emily. As a result, I felt myself reading quickly through their sections, waiting to get back to Joe.
I also felt like some of the plot was revealed in a way that deflated its impact. We'd hear the revelation in the present tense and then get the actual flashback scene dramatizing it.
I loved the twist, which I won't reveal...and I actually found the last few chapters of the novel to be engaging and beautiful.
I will certainly look for more novels by this author.
September 4, 2011
Some gifts, like some books, are harder to love than others, and not as the result of the quality of the writing. In fact in The Embers, Hyatt Bass’s debut novel, she writes in eloquent, if at times dense, detail about the Ascher family, Joe, Laura, and Emily, a family that is broken one day in late winter when one makes a careless mistake that costs the life of another. That in itself is so hard to live with through the pages and what little is said about this tragedy between the members of the Ascher family afterward only serves to drive them farther apart. But then some years later, there’s an opportunity for a reunion; the occasion is a wedding, to be held at the very site where the tragedy occurred, where a beloved son and brother lost his life. You might want to put this story down given the nature of the calamity, the tangle of blame, the frustration of missed communication, but you can’t. You’re going to have to find out about that wedding. How will it work out? How can this family that lost so much possibly come back together at what must be for them the hardest place on earth? There is potential for a tidy, convenient ending, but matters of forgiveness, of the human heart, are seldom tidy. The Embers is a good read, as honest to the very end as it is unflinching in its portrayal of human nature in all its welter of contradiction and striving for love and connection.
August 30, 2012
You know a book has you right where it wants you when you just want to get through your ordinary routine of a day to curl up with it. That is "The Embers" in a nutshell. What is so enthralling about the book, however, is not what happens. The plot takes a backseat to the four main characters. "The Embers" is purely a character study, plain and simple.
I am certainly not giving anything away by stating that by page two, the reader knows that one of the four members of the Ascher family is getting married and one has died. Bass alternately juxtaposes the time periods of 1993 and 2007 to tell the stories of the wedding planning and the death. There is very little surprise in the novel and one is not waiting on the edge of the seat to see what happens. You already know what is around the corner.
The reader grows to care about each member of the family, even through all of their faults (and believe me....there are many). I felt happiness for Emily Ascher as her wedding was approaching, but tremendous sadness for Thomas Ascher as his death was imminent.
It is truly hard to believe that this is the debut novel of Hyatt Bass. The prose is at times beautiful and heartwrenching, the cause of laughter and tears. Spend a few days with the Ascher family, and you may appreciate your own just a little bit more.
MY RATING - 5
See this review on 1776books.net...
http://1776books.blogspot.com/2009/07...
I am certainly not giving anything away by stating that by page two, the reader knows that one of the four members of the Ascher family is getting married and one has died. Bass alternately juxtaposes the time periods of 1993 and 2007 to tell the stories of the wedding planning and the death. There is very little surprise in the novel and one is not waiting on the edge of the seat to see what happens. You already know what is around the corner.
The reader grows to care about each member of the family, even through all of their faults (and believe me....there are many). I felt happiness for Emily Ascher as her wedding was approaching, but tremendous sadness for Thomas Ascher as his death was imminent.
It is truly hard to believe that this is the debut novel of Hyatt Bass. The prose is at times beautiful and heartwrenching, the cause of laughter and tears. Spend a few days with the Ascher family, and you may appreciate your own just a little bit more.
MY RATING - 5
See this review on 1776books.net...
http://1776books.blogspot.com/2009/07...
June 14, 2010
Its cover makes it look sort of New Yorker-y and smart but it's really pretty fluffy and pulpy. It's got little shades of interestingness in terms of the theatre world the main character's dad inhabits and the plot questions that were only slowly resolved towards the end of the book create a sort of compulsory drive to know what happened. But I felt pretty jerked around by the narrative structure. It's like a mystery of information - but most of the information is information the characters know - it's just the poor reader that has to guess at what the big events in the past were. The author also tends to fake us out - first we think, "Ah this is it - this is how he died." - then "ha, ha, nope - it's this other thing clearly." "Nope, ha, ha, it's not that either. Gotcha!" The third time it happened, I nearly threw the book out the window.
The prose is pretty pedestrian. I feel like this is a soap opera novel for pseudo intellectuals. The characters are relatively thinly sketched and feel like Hollywood romantic comedy stock. She's uptight! She's not sure she loves him! Something terrible in her past! Will she get over herself to marry the man of her dreams? Tune in for the next installment of The Embers!
But you know - if you need a little pulpy death and romance, this will do just fine.
The prose is pretty pedestrian. I feel like this is a soap opera novel for pseudo intellectuals. The characters are relatively thinly sketched and feel like Hollywood romantic comedy stock. She's uptight! She's not sure she loves him! Something terrible in her past! Will she get over herself to marry the man of her dreams? Tune in for the next installment of The Embers!
But you know - if you need a little pulpy death and romance, this will do just fine.
April 3, 2015
In her debut novel, Hyatt Bass eloquently writes about relationships that drive us crazy, memories we never want to lose and what we only realize we cherish most when it is gone forever. The Embers delves into the heartbreaking and somewhat mysterious death of a son and brother which derails the bonds of everyone in the Ascher family. The storyline jumps back and forth from present day to fifteen years prior when Thomas Ascher is still alive. When The Embers begins, it is fall and Emily Ascher and her fiancé Clay are planning their fall wedding. Emily is a lawyer with a promising career. Emily’s mother Laura is remarried and runs a theatre school for teenage girls. Emily’s father Joe is a famous actor and playwright who partially blames himself for his son’s death. He and his daughter have a precarious relationship. Through descriptive and charged prose, Bass chronicles the Ascher family struggles revolving around a chronically ill teenager, the various familial associations through the years and a devastating death. How does what happened in the past relate to what is happening today? How has each family member changed? How is each family member handling the death of Thomas more than a decade later? The Embers is a sharply written, remarkable novel that keeps the reader completely engulfed in the story and its characters from beginning to end.
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