A review by magnimius
A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke

emotional funny reflective medium-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

3.5

i think it's a wonderful exploration of fame, but it explores too long and provides, comparatively, very few findings. i think the notions of shame and "cancelling" are interesting coming from the perspective of a celebrity, and it is a voice that is needed, but the commentary feels very surface level at times. the characters are fleshed out well, and extremely nuanced, but the overarching plot lost me about 45% of the way in. it felt like a chore to read through near the end. i think it's a good debut, but not my cup of tea. here's to improvement eh? 

EDIT:
Upon revisiting this, I think I connect with this slightly more. My prior criticisms still stand for the most part, but my perspective on shame has changed. Bumping this up from 3 to 3.5