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erinastin's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve never been so invested in the woes of a rich white man in my life
abbyharrison's review against another edition
2.0
Hawke is a better actor than writer. This book is full of cliches and the way he writes every woman in this book makes me wonder if he is actually sexist.
Probably closer to a 2.5
Probably closer to a 2.5
gizzzyrodriguez's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
willjacks's review against another edition
5.0
I can't believe it, but I read this book in a day.
What got me hooked was just how much I thought of the protagonist as a complete #@*&. Yes he was going through an all-encompassing barrage of hate from strangers, but fact is, he cheated on his wife and never truly apologised. The first quarter of the book had me thinking the story itself would be sleazy and awful. You can imagine how much of a contrast this sounds to a typical 5 star review.
The tricky part about writing a review of this book, is that I don't want to simplify the characters, because they're all so complex for a novel with <250 pages. By about halfway through, you don't dislike William as a person. Instead, you begin to view him as a human being rather than a famous actor with 'the perfect life' who pissed his marriage away. You don't have to forgive his actions by the end, you just feel as though he's a naive kid stuck in a cycle of forever emulating the past actions of his egregious mother and absent father.
This man was a movie star married to a world-famous musician with a beautiful house and two kids. This is what many people dream their life could be. Fact is though, he hated it. Someone in the book mentions how the foundations of his marriage were crooked to begin with. When you literally live your dream life, but you realise how unhappy you are and begin to resent it, what do you do?
As a novel in which the characters are performing Shakespeare, the dialogue thusly became lengthy monologues. Ezekiel, The King, his mother, his father; they all have these interesting moments where they give William advice or talk about their experiences and they become Shakespearean monologues in their own right.
Making a largely despicable character in William utterly relatable made me think about my own guilt, my own naiveties. I was genuinely nervous for William before the first performance of Henry IV.
There's just so much to unravel with this book. I really wish that novels with double the length of this one had half of this book's depth. The fact that this author is a film actor who has performed multiple times in stage plays brings a level of authenticity that no typical author could ever replicate. I would never assume that Ethan (the author) sees himself as being William, but I can guess that many readers would since the parallels between him and his character are there. Maybe he does...
All in all, this was a lightning in a bottle moment.
Do we really have to like the protagonists of every book we read? How come TV shows can seamlessly pull off the hate-able hero trope (Sopranos, Breaking Bad) but novels get mixed receptions?
What got me hooked was just how much I thought of the protagonist as a complete #@*&. Yes he was going through an all-encompassing barrage of hate from strangers, but fact is, he cheated on his wife and never truly apologised. The first quarter of the book had me thinking the story itself would be sleazy and awful. You can imagine how much of a contrast this sounds to a typical 5 star review.
The tricky part about writing a review of this book, is that I don't want to simplify the characters, because they're all so complex for a novel with <250 pages. By about halfway through, you don't dislike William as a person. Instead, you begin to view him as a human being rather than a famous actor with 'the perfect life' who pissed his marriage away. You don't have to forgive his actions by the end, you just feel as though he's a naive kid stuck in a cycle of forever emulating the past actions of his egregious mother and absent father.
This man was a movie star married to a world-famous musician with a beautiful house and two kids. This is what many people dream their life could be. Fact is though, he hated it. Someone in the book mentions how the foundations of his marriage were crooked to begin with. When you literally live your dream life, but you realise how unhappy you are and begin to resent it, what do you do?
As a novel in which the characters are performing Shakespeare, the dialogue thusly became lengthy monologues. Ezekiel, The King, his mother, his father; they all have these interesting moments where they give William advice or talk about their experiences and they become Shakespearean monologues in their own right.
Making a largely despicable character in William utterly relatable made me think about my own guilt, my own naiveties. I was genuinely nervous for William before the first performance of Henry IV.
There's just so much to unravel with this book. I really wish that novels with double the length of this one had half of this book's depth. The fact that this author is a film actor who has performed multiple times in stage plays brings a level of authenticity that no typical author could ever replicate. I would never assume that Ethan (the author) sees himself as being William, but I can guess that many readers would since the parallels between him and his character are there. Maybe he does...
All in all, this was a lightning in a bottle moment.
Do we really have to like the protagonists of every book we read? How come TV shows can seamlessly pull off the hate-able hero trope (Sopranos, Breaking Bad) but novels get mixed receptions?
isaac_tee's review against another edition
4.25
This book completely shocked me. I listened to the audio version and was very happy when Ethan Hawke was the narrator. I knew next to nothing about him before reading this book and did not know what to expect. His writing, the themes of the novel, vivid scenes and conversations with characters sucked me in. Not to mention the fact that he, a very privileged actor, was able to write in a way that made me feel a tinge of sympathy.
sherry_shaji's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
stamouliswill's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I read this over the course of about 4 hours, and initially I was struck by how vulgar it all was, and how much I felt like it relied on shock value and debauchery to illustrate the spiral that William endures. By the end of it, however, it becomes a treatise on the power of the theatre, and the value that comes from losing yourself in a production, while also adequately capturing the depression that comes with it ending. This book left me feeling drained but appreciative in an oddly compelling way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Sexual content
lesleyann's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was really surprised with how much I liked the way Ethan Hawke writes. Some parts just blew me away !
I loveeeee unlikeable characters because they are fun to read about and interesting, and William, oh boyyyyy. He is soo unlikeable and self centered I actually laughed out loud at how absurd some of the things he said and thought are. I also loved how he had no idea he was the bad guy until a bunch of high schoolers booed him 😭😭 truly incredible and perfect for a man in his position. I would have rated it higher but I hated they way women were written and how one dimensional they are. I get that that's how William saw/used women in those moments but.... it was hard to read.
vlatka5's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
arye97's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm not convinced a single conversation between characters written in this book is at all how human beings actually speak to one another. It's very strange, everyone in his life has something philosophical to say and somehow they're all written like they're the same person, with similar intentions and desires.
It was interesting seeing the main character, William, realize he was infact the villain of his own story, and following his journey around accepting his situation was well done.
If anything, it's made me want to read Shakespeare.
3/5 Stars
It was interesting seeing the main character, William, realize he was infact the villain of his own story, and following his journey around accepting his situation was well done.
If anything, it's made me want to read Shakespeare.
3/5 Stars