A Bright Ray of Darkness: A novel

Ethan Hawke is becoming a new man. To reinvent himself, he has taken up a role in a new production. To reinvigorate himself, he parties with new friends. He even changed his name to William Harding, the name of the philandering protagonist in his first novel in nearly twenty years, A Bright Ray of Darkness. Hawke deftly reimagines himself as Harding weaving through parallel but opposite scenarios that Hawke himself faced in his early career. But whether or not this blistering novel is a form of self-therapy is up for debate. For one, there is neither redemption nor retribution for the hot, sticky affairs in which Harding charges head-first.

Hawke’s reflective personality and dubious charm invites the reader to revisit their old haunts and wares, in a genuine submissive display of exposing his own truths. Most men would be embarrassed to compare themselves to their parallel ego, but Hawke has a fondness for it, much as an actor might for the character they have chosen to play and whose soul they have pored through like a book.