The blistering story of a young man making his Broadway debut in Henry IV just as his marriage implodes—an utterly transfixing book about art and love, fame and heartbreak from the acclaimed actor/writer/director.

A bracing meditation on fame and celebrity, and the redemptive, healing power of art; a portrait of the ravages of disappointment and divorce; a poignant consideration of the rites of fatherhood and manhood; a novel soaked in rage and sex, longing and despair; and a passionate love letter to the world of theater, A Bright Ray of Darkness showcases Ethan Hawke’s gifts as a novelist as never before.

Hawke’s narrator is a young man in torment, disgusted with himself after the collapse of his marriage, still half hoping for a reconciliation that would allow him to forgive himself and move on as he clumsily, and sometimes hilariously, tries to manage the wreckage of his personal life with whiskey and sex. What saves him is theater: in particular, the challenge of performing the role of Hotspur in a production of Henry IV under the leadership of a brilliant director, helmed by one of the most electrifying—and narcissistic—Falstaff’s of all time. Searing, raw, and utterly transfixing, A Bright Ray of Darkness is a novel about shame and beauty and faith, and the moral power of art.

A four-time Academy Award nominee, twice for writing and twice for acting, ETHAN HAWKE has starred in the films Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, Gattaca, and Training Day, as well as Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise trilogy and Boyhood. He is the author of Rules for a Knight, The Hottest State, and Ash Wednesday. He lives in Brooklyn with his four children and his wife.

Zoe Kazan is an actor and writer. Since 2006, she has acted in many plays on and off-Broadway, including in two productions directed by Ethan Hawke. Her film and TV acting credits include: Revolutionary Road, The Exploding Girl, The Big Sick, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, HBO’s Olive Kitteridge and The Plot Against America, as well as the upcoming She Said. Zoe also wrote and starred in the 2012 film Ruby Sparks, and co-wrote (with her partner Paul Dano) the 2018 film Wildlife. As a writer, Zoe’s produced plays include Trudy and Max in Love and After the Blast. She resides in Brooklyn.