Hairstyles of the Damned (Punk Planet Books)
by Joe Meno
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Book Summary Information
Author: Joe MenoEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-09-01
ISBN: 188845170X
Number of pages: 278
Publisher: Akashic Books
Book Reviews of Hairstyles of the Damned (Punk Planet Books)
Book Review: Do Black Doc Marten's Really Reflect Up?
Summary: 5 Stars
I found out about this book when I heard Joe Meno on NPR. I was excited that there was a book about a punk rocker at Chicago's Brother Rice High School since I also graduated from Brother Rice and was a punk rocker, so I ordered it immediately. (Of course there are differences: the people in the book graduated around 1991 and I graduated in 1977.)
First of all, as some of the other reviewers point out, this book's setting, Chicago's Southwest side, seems to be one of the main characters in the book. I grew up there and for that reason reading the book was a nostalgic experience. It is fun reading a book set exclusively in places you've been. Also, Meno inserts a lot of music into the book, much of which I am familiar with, so that was enjoyable.
When I heard Joe's interview with Scott Simon my impression was that he was an articulate, intelligent, sensitive individual. When I began reading the book I wondered if that was the same guy - I was frustrated because the first person narrative was in a loose, conversational tone. It was like totally in the teen vernacular, I guess. Okay - that last sentence was an imitation of the style. At first it drove me crazy but eventually I realized he was using the language style to capture the world of his subjects similar to Jay McInerny's Story of My Life.
The main character and narrator, Brian Oswald, is pretty inconsistent. At times he seemed like a decent guy, at other times he seemed despicable. At times he was a wimp, at other times he was a tough guy. He runs a gamut from confused and disenfranchised to insightful and self-confident. This is a portrait of the typical teen-ager as a confused young punk rocker. (Actually Brian Oswald makes a gradual transformation in the book from a heavy metal dude to punk rocker.)
Another frustrating detail: after thirty-five chapters he starts again at chapter one, and one the main characters (Gretchen) is absent. Then twenty-three chapters later we get another chapter one, so the book seems to start three times.
I started to think, "What is this? Just a bunch of half finished junk from his notebooks?" But I also found myself thinking about the book and the characters while I wasn't reading it, and looking forward to reading it each night. In other words the book grew on me and I will tell you all that despite the books apparent sloppy style it is a coherent work with a beginning, middle, an end - and a point. All the loose ends, including the Gretchen situation, were resolved. This book's disorganized structure and narrative is part of the presentation of the world as seen by a high school student - and I found it to be an interesting world. I recommend this book with the warning that although it is a good book it will drive you crazy.
One last point: I can't help comparing this book to the other popular book written about going to Brother Rice High School: Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? That book came out while I was still at Brother Rice and was locally admired. There was even a musical written based on the book that must have ran for ten years at a local theater. It's still running for all I know. The books are much different, however. The main difference is that Meno's book is much less sentimental. He doesn't seem to be as syrupy about Brother Rice as Powers was. I liked Joe Meno's book. I think I can relate to it, maybe, a little better than I can to John Powers.
Summary of Hairstyles of the Damned (Punk Planet Books)
Hairstyles is an honest depiction of growing up punk on Chicago?s south side: a study in the demons of racial intolerance, Catholic school conformism and class repression. It is the story of the riotous exploits of Brian, a high school burnout, and his best friend Gretchen, a punk rock girl fond of brawling.
Joe Meno won the 2003 Nelson Algren Literary Award and is the author of Tender as Hellfire (St. Martin?s, 1999) and How the Hula Girl Sings (HarperCollins, 2001). His online fictional serial, The Secret Hand, is published through Playboy Magazine. His short fiction has been published in TriQuarterly, Bridge, Other Voices Washington Square, and has been broadcast on National Public Radio. He lives in Chicago, and he is a columnist for Punk Planet magazine.
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