Praise for Hyatt Bass and The Embers
“The Embers is the sort of novel I’m always hoping to find–from the first page, I was transfixed. Hyatt Bass’s lyrical story of a broken family is, in a word, stunning. The Embers is the best book I’ve read in a long time.”
Amanda Eyre Ward, author of How To Be Lost and Love Stories in This Town
“Ten minutes into The Embers, I was completely hooked. Each member of this struggling family is portrayed with so much empathy and intelligence. The pacing is excellent, and the prose is exact. Reading it was a thought-provoking pleasure.”
Laura Moriarty, author of The Rest of Her Life and The Center of Everything
“What is more powerful a place than the family? It’s the center of our lives, and the crucible of our experience: The Embers, Hyatt Bass’s lovely first novel, asks questions that only the family can answer, and delivers truths that only the family contains.”
Roxana Robinson, author of Cost
“A riveting narrative. . . Bass’s excavation of a complex familial labyrinth is an elegant testament to the beautiful mess that is family.”
Publishers Weekly
“This heart-wrenching debut novel from filmmaker Bass (Seventy-Five Degrees in July) crisscrosses 16 years of one family’s life, weaving a tender tale riveting in its realism. In the fall of 2007, bride-to-be Emily Ascher should be deliriously happy but instead is coping with many doubts and dilemmas. While confident of her love for her fiancé and now enjoying an easier give-and-take with her mother, Emily still faces an uneasy relationship with her father. Joe, a once-famous playwright and actor, is still carrying the burden of guilt for the tragic death of Emily’s brother, Thomas. As the nuptials approach, this struggling, splintered family picks up the pieces, and they all go on with their lives. Bass’s well-paced, nuanced family saga is as engrossing as it is empathetic. Sure to appeal to readers who enjoy such family dramas as Judith Guest’s Ordinary People. “
Library Journal (starred review)
“A moving tale about grief’s tenacious hold and the road to redemption.”
People Magazine (“Get Set for Summer” pick)
“A very assured and beguiling debut novel”
Ben Dickinson, Elle.com (One of Elle.com’s “Top Ten Smartest, Sizzlingest Beach Reads”)
“Bass . . . is a sensitive observer of family dynamics, of the way people can fail to really see the ones they love. . . . The Embers [is] contemplative and psychologically attuned.”
Laurie Muchnick, Bloomberg.com
“First novels shine too. In filmmaker Hyatt Bass’s The Embers, newly engaged Emily and her parents finally begin coping with the death of Emily’s brother.”
Barbara Hoffert, The Phoenix, “The Best in Summer Reading
“A riveting examination of a high-profile clan and its fall from grace … The Embers builds like the fire its title conjures, glowing a little, then suddenly bursting into sparks of narrative that make it nigh on impossible to put down … The Embers will inspire readers to examine their own judgments about those they love, and perhaps give someone another chance. Bass is a new author with an old soul, and a talent worth tending.”
Joy Tipping, Dallas Morning News
One of InStyle Magazine’s Top 5 Beach Reads for Summer 2009.
“Just fabulous … I was caught up in these characters from the very first page until the very last.”
“If you love family dramas, then this book is for you. The way it unfolds is perfect, it keeps you guessing until you say ‘OH!'” Girls Just Reading
“Bass is the rare kind of storyteller whose lush, elegant prose keeps pace with her riveting page-turning plot.”
Julie Klam (from A Year in Reading at The Millions)
“… so expertly written, concise and descriptive that it’s hard to believe that this is Hyatt Bass’ debut novel … I’m giving The Embers a rating of 9.5 out of 10.”
“You know a book has you right where it wants you when you just want to get through your ordinary routine of a day to curl up with it. That is The Embers in a nutshell.”
“Hyatt Bass has created a new and vibrant addition to the genre with her tightly knit story … The Embers is a fantastic little book.”
“My favorite part of this book was the way that Bass created her characters … I found them to simply be real, if somewhat dysfunctional, and I thoroughly enjoyed The Embers.”
“Its otherworldly tone, along with realistic dialogue, allowed me to throw myself completely into the novel … This book has the potential to become a New York Times Best Seller.”
Flamingnet Young Adult Book Blog
“The Embers is a sharply written, remarkable novel that keeps the reader completely engulfed in the story and its characters from beginning to end.”
Amy Steele, Herald de Paris