From the actor, director, and writer Ethan Hawke: a piercing novel of love, marriage, and renewal. Jimmy is AWOL from the army, but--with characteristic fierceness and terror--he's about to embark on the biggest commitment of his life. Christy is pregnant with Jimmy's child, and she's determined to head home, with or without Jimmy, to face up to her past and prepare for the future. Somehow, barreling across America from Albany to New Orleans to Ohio and Texas in a souped-up Chevy Nova, Christy and Jimmy are transformed from passionate but conflicted lovers into a young family on a magnificent journey. Ash Wednesday is a novel of blazing emotion and remarkable grace, a tale that captures the intensity--the excitement, fear, and joy--of being on the threshold of the mysterious country of marriage and parenthood. Powerful, assured, large of heart, and punctuated by moments of tremendous humor, it represents, for Hawke the novelist, a major leap forward.

本书作者伊桑·霍克那略带忧郁气质的俊朗外表和他在《死亡诗社》、《训练日》(获奥斯卡表演奖提名)以及《日出之前》等经典影片中的表演，多年来在无数影迷的心中留下了难以磨灭的印象。这位会说流利的法语德语、擅长钢琴提琴、兼具偶像外形和演技实力的天才演员，其多才多艺和奋发向上一向被圈内同仁认同。除了为歌手写歌、创办剧团、携前妻乌玛·瑟曼执导《切尔西大墙》并获成功外，他在小说创作上展露的才华更让人对他刮目相看。继推出了第一部爱情小说《最炎热的州》后，又写下了这本广受好评的《圣灰星期三》。书中主人公对童年和父母的回忆，让许多读者联想到作者自身的经历，因而具有一定的自传色彩。