Ash Wednesday (Ethan Hawke, 2002)

I picked up Ash Wednesday some years ago in a charity shop, drawn by the fact the author is Hollywood star Ethan Hawke. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew he'd written a few novels and I thought they'd been well received. Ash Wednesday tells the story of Jimmy Heartsock and his pregantn ex/girlfriend/fiance/wife Christy over a period of a few weeks as they travel in his battered car around America. I suppose it's a love story, but the characters' love lives are pretty fucked up. Speaking as someone in a stable, long-lasting monogamous relationship where we rarely argue and certainly don't shout at each other, I find it hard to identify with such a troubled couple - I have a hard time working out why such opposites want to try to stay together, even with a baby on the way. 

I enjoyed the style of the novel - one chapter narrated by Jimmy, the next by Christy, so you get both of their points of view on their relationship and events that happen to them. Trouble is, the events are not very exciting. There's a basketball game, a reunion with family, a wedding. I never really began to care for any of the characters, thus I didn't care how things turned out for them. There was probably a lot going on in terms of what Hawke is trying to say about the state of American youth, both male and female, although despite getting to narrate chapters, Christy feels like a supporting player. I just didn't care that much to look much beyond the surface, as what was there didn't do much for me.