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Hairstyles of the Damned

3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 · rating details · 3,457 ratings · 357 reviews

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.

Paperback, 270 pages

Published September 1st 2004 by Akashic Books/Punk Planet Books (first published January 1st 2004)

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Mar 28, 2010 Thomas rated it 2 of 5 stars

"Hairstyles of the Damned" is about Brian Oswald, a guy in high school who is growing up punk. At first he's a sort of needy and whiny character who is in love with his best friend, but as time passes in his harsh high school he must learn to be tough and act like a punk. He meets people, does drugs, listen to cool punk music, and gets a girlfriend or two along the way.

Um, yeah. I kinda strongly disliked this book, :/. I mean it wasn't the worst thing ever but I felt like I could have just used...more

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Dec 17, 2007 Jason Pettus rated it 3 of 5 stars

(My full review of this book is much longer than GoodReads' word-count limits. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

So a big confession before anything else -- that I went into this book really wanting to like author Joe Meno. And of course part of why I want to like him is because he's a Chicago writer, one of the more high-profile writers in Chicago right now in fact, who has won the prestigious Nelson Algren award in the past and who us...more (My full review of this book is much longer than GoodReads' word-count limits. Find the entire essay at the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com].)

So a big confession before anything else -- that I went into this book really wanting to like author Joe Meno. And of course part of why I want to like him is because he's a Chicago writer, one of the more high-profile writers in Chicago right now in fact, who has won the prestigious Nelson Algren award in the past and who used to do a column for the legendary zine Punk Planet, who is now a well-liked professor at Chicago's Columbia College and is single-handedly shaping an entire new generation of Midwestern authors. Plus I want to like Joe Meno because I'm acquaintances with a couple of people at Punk Planet Books, the newish publishing company who put out Meno's 2004 novel Hairstyles of the Damned; and not only that, but am acquaintances with a couple of people at Akashic Books as well, the more established small press that helped Punk Planet Books come into being. Plus it's a book about Chicago, set in the city, ostensibly covering the same period of time as my own youth, and supposedly full of pop-culture references to my own youth, so really how could I not be looking forward to reading it, and of becoming a fan of Meno's?

Which is why I suppose what I have to say in today's essay is so disappointing, because now after reading Hairstyles myself I actually feel kind of let down; I mean, don't get me wrong, it's certainly not a bad book, but it's also certainly not as good a book as I was expecting from a guy with his kind of background cred (and whose book has sold a whopping 80,000 copies as of the writing of this essay). It's merely a so-so book, in fact, a maudlin fictionalized memoir about the city's southwest side in the late '80s and early '90s, which contains diamonds in the rough to be sure, but ones that are unfortunately surrounded by a lot of pabulum and pastiche. Much of it, to be frank, feels like it could've been written by any anonymous youngish angsty author, with the manuscript filled with the kinds of "top-ten list" indie-rock gimmicks that felt hackneyed even when Nick Hornby was using them in 1995. Why yes, he says, as a certain amount of you now roll your eyes, this is one of those "indie-rock novels" that have become so popular among a certain crowd since the mid-'90s or so, which you should be prepared for before starting; that if you disdain breathless exclamations about how a punk show can singlehandedly and permanently change a person's life, you need to stay the hell away from Hairstyles and do it fast. And this should come as no surprise, of course, coming as it does from Punk Planet Books (duh), born from the ashes of one of the most respected indie-rock publications in history; when the small press first started up, in fact, I'm sure such a manuscript seemed like something right up their alley, the kind of novel they had been created to publish in the first place.

But there are problems with the "indie-rock novel" format, serious literary problems that...(less)

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Oct 22, 2007 Kristin rated it 3 of 5 stars

I truly wanted to love this book because I read The Boy Detective Fails Again by Meno first. I adore that book--it's one of my favorites. This one was disappointing, to say the least.

The first 200 pages were filled with a lot of teenage-boy angst and the nothing that is a high schooler's life. Many of my favorite books are books within which nothing really happens, so this wouldn't have phased me if the "nothing" that happened actually seemed to be moving toward "something," or seemed to be spea...more

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Dec 01, 2009 Leo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Unlike most of the other reviewers, I had not heard of this book or Mr. Meno before, and had no expectations going into it.

What I deem to be positive about this book are its attention to racial tension in the main character's environment, its lack of sugarcoating of what teenage kids are really like: full of mistakes, pettiness, and insensitivity towards others visibly portrayed through the uses of non-PC words many teenagers often utter ("gay," "retarded," "faggot," "slut," "fatty," etc.), and...more Unlike most of the other reviewers, I had not heard of this book or Mr. Meno before, and had no expectations going into it.

What I deem to be positive about this book are its attention to racial tension in the main character's environment, its lack of sugarcoating of what teenage kids are really like: full of mistakes, pettiness, and insensitivity towards others visibly portrayed through the uses of non-PC words many teenagers often utter ("gay," "retarded," "faggot," "slut," "fatty," etc.), and the moral ambiguity of the characters. The fact that Brian Oswald, the main protagonist and narrator of the novel, is at times highly repulsive and not really a "model" teenager was very realistic, and made his personal tribulations that much more effective in resonating in me. Because none of us are always good, because none of us are always right, we make mistakes, and we ultimately possess both good and evil in us that, in turn, make us human and not always proud of this fact---this was the strongest point of the book for me. There were also a few passages that were beautiful in their roughness of the narration, such as Brian's moments with his father.

The negative sides were its ultimate lack of determination to drive its main point home at the end (which, I thought, was that despite all of our shortcomings, we must press forward to make positive changes), and its surprising lack of unconventionalities. While I could certainly see that it was a book aimed at a very specific demographic (i.e. white teenage suburban youth into so-called "alternative" subcultures), I feel that Mr. Meno traveled into a very well-worn road with this book. It wouldn't be such a stretch to say that it's in the same vein as another book I enjoyed, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, as they both are coming-of-age tales of white, hetero-male youths. While it honestly portrayed more ugly aspects of reality than Perks ever did (making fun of "fat girls," calling weak kids "faggots" and putting them down, labeling promiscuous girls "sluts," uncensored portrayals of white nationalism, etc.), it lacked any form of remorse or vindication for those wrongs. It merely stated, never quite pointed to the "why" or the "how" to change them, with the exception of brief passages on "why the black kids were so angry."

Perhaps I'm expecting too much of what is essentially just another YA novel, but given that it is aimed at "alternative youths" and published by an extension of the now-defunct progressive zine, Punk Planet, I feel that these are fairly reasonable hopes.

Despite all this, I found myself engaged in the book, and enjoying it for the most part.(less)

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Jul 10, 2008 Hannah Messler rated it 3 of 5 stars

Imogen liked it so I liked it (coz I am a convictionless little bastard most of the time when it comes to Art and can easily be swayed in any ol' goddamn direction or other by any ol' goddamn random-ass espousal or denunciation from someone I love or loath). But I think I wouldn't have otherwise. Mainly coz of how I am also MEAN and tend to have the least room in my heart for that which reminds me most ably of myself.

Certainly there were parts where the narrator's voice was angsty in pretty inte...more

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Sep 14, 2007 Alika Yarnell rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Punk-rock misfits who don't give you the juicy details

Shelves: fiction, hipster, teenage-angst

I enjoyed reading this book, but it felt a little simplistic to me. Meno uses language throughout that is very typical of a teenager (like, I mean, maybe, etc) which is fine and doesn’t really bother me but I could see some people getting annoyed. It’s a definite voice technique and if you stripped that away, what would you have? But I like the way the chapters are very short and just move from scene to scene. And the kid is overall very likable. And there’s some good points to be made about tee...more

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Jan 12, 2009 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

Any book that assaults your dad with Misfits lyrics and pranks the school bully with photos of kitty cats with X's on their eyes and pleas to be kind because "everytime you're mean one of us dies" is pretty much one of the greatest punk high school kid coming of age stories ever.... "I ain't no Goddamn son of a bitch!"

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Oct 19, 2007 Rose rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: punks!

damn! i really like this book. a sort-of love story from the pov of a sort of metalhead-punk rock boy at a catholic boys school, the 'fat' girl he's in love with, his assorted friends getting high and drinking shitty beer in the basement, divorcing parents, and generally coming of age.
there are two moments that I especially love, his describing a girl as something like 'mean and sour looking, like she'd just make out with you because she's bored' and his feeling after going to his first small-c...more

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Jan 25, 2009 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: coming-of-age, ennui, generation-x, high-school, realistic, relationships, young-adult-fiction, punk-scene, angst, chicago, 1980s, 1990s, borrowed-from-the-library

I have the weirdest sensation that I’ve already read this…This was entertaining and kind of fluffy high school relationship stuff. You’ve seen all of these characters before, and they’re not all that distinguished here, but Joe Meno does really have the language down, and the sense of time. If you grew up in that era, you’ll feel right at home…and maybe anyone growing up at all would be able to relate to the constant flow of profanity that doesn’t even have any real purpose except to pepper your...more I have the weirdest sensation that I’ve already read this…This was entertaining and kind of fluffy high school relationship stuff. You’ve seen all of these characters before, and they’re not all that distinguished here, but Joe Meno does really have the language down, and the sense of time. If you grew up in that era, you’ll feel right at home…and maybe anyone growing up at all would be able to relate to the constant flow of profanity that doesn’t even have any real purpose except to pepper your language because you want to sound different. We did this, too.

It has that same sort of hazy feel to it…like not much is happening, not much is going on – very GenX, we are so BORED with it all. And there’s this pain, too, of wanting people and having your first experiences with desire and longing, and the first relationships, or encounters. It’s pretty well done.

Brian Oswald is a high school kid, and his best friend is the somewhat chunky, Gretchen who’s into the punk music scene (or at least the look and the most popular music). Brian realizes he has a huge crush on Gretchen, but she’s so not interested in him. She wants the older and more daring and dangerous Tony Degan (who’s in his early twenties but still in high school or still hanging around with the high school crowd). They don’t have much to do or anywhere to go really – except the local food joints, driving around and listening to music in Gretchen’s car. We all did these things. The lovely displaced youth that we are. Brian starts out as kind of a heavy metal kid and gradually evolves into the real punk scene. This is all about his experimentation, finding out who he is and what he wants to be, trying out all sorts of different styles and people and groups. He drifts a bit, but the central theme is this experimentation with everything. The growing up bit. Definitely resonates with me.

Gretchen is a size 12, which last time I checked, could be considered a medium. She’s always going on about what a disgusting cow she is, so maybe she feels big, but she isn’t. This annoys me. It could be just who Gretchen is, but if it’s the author, he just has no idea about size. None at all. Girls reading that who are a size 12 or larger will think, omigod, I’m Huge! Or maybe not. Not an accurate perception. I hate books about fat girls, because they’re all inevitably about how the fat girl wants to be thin. There are no jolly fat people in novels under the age of 60. (less)

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Dec 13, 2008 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2005, coming-of-age, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 15, 2013 Payton Gallagher rated it 5 of 5 stars

As a teenager myself, I survey a collection of reviews on this book by people who are obviously well out of high school and feel slightly depressed. I could connect with it on so many levels, and I understand that his depiction of adolescence is outstanding and frankly crystalline. In a review I'm writing for school at the moment I include how I can understand that most adults would probably not appreciate this book, as they no longer hold as much appreciation and understanding of life as a teen...more

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Dec 04, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Brian is a high school outcast with complex relationships with friends and family. His parents are on the verge of divorce, he has a crush on his best friend who is in love with another guy, and he is the target of some bigger classmates. By far one of the most enjoyable elements was the author’s use of music to convey emotions and thoughts. It added a lot of spice to an otherwise very common theme. Many share the alienation and anger that Brian experiences, however, I have no doubt that it woul...more

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May 15, 2012 Sb rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a good, entertaining read. Although somewhat young reader genre, this book can easily appeal to older readers. It reminded me quite of my high school years, and better yet from the perspective of a male, which was something I did not have. It was well written and an easy, intriguing read.

The only real issues I had with the book is one, at the end the author is talking about the movie, Night of the Living Dead and he's talking about how the people died. He said the [I quote] "white ch...more

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Jan 26, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: y-a

I read this book a few years ago. I remember loving it. I want to re-read it someday but at the moment, my copy is back in Canada. :(

“‘You never know. That’s the trick, Brian. You never know which times are going to be important until later.’
‘Yeah,’ I said, feeling more weird each fucking minute. ‘I guess.’
‘That’s why you shouldn’t worry. You should just be happy when you can.’
‘That sounds good, Mr. D.,’ I said. ‘Listen, I think I’m gonna head home. I’ll call Gretchen later.’
‘Brian?’ Mr. D. whi
...more

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May 01, 2011 Jessica rated it 1 of 5 stars

I read this book because the Gaper's Block book club selected it to be its first title, so I thought I'd read it in case I decided to go to the discussion. Turns out the discussion was scheduled at the same time as my guitar class, so I didn't go, but that might be just as well because I didn't think much of the book, anyway. It's written in the same confessional, rambly style as The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Catcher in the Rye, but I couldn't find anything likeable about the narrator...more

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May 04, 2010 Susan Helene Gottfried rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: rock-fiction

When I finished reading Joe Meno’s Hairstyles of the Damned, I had two thoughts. First was that this book belongs on my list of rock and roll fiction. The mix tapes, the way these characters connect to music and allow it to define their identity make this a slam-dunk to be included on the list.

My other thought wasn’t quite so charitable. You see, I recently read The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington, and these two books were quite similar. The themes of young boys in puberty, beginning to navigat...more When I finished reading Joe Meno’s Hairstyles of the Damned, I had two thoughts. First was that this book belongs on my list of rock and roll fiction. The mix tapes, the way these characters connect to music and allow it to define their identity make this a slam-dunk to be included on the list.

My other thought wasn’t quite so charitable. You see, I recently read The Secret Fruit of Peter Paddington, and these two books were quite similar. The themes of young boys in puberty, beginning to navigate the mine field that is girls, alienation from the parents (or was that in Snow Angels?)… Even Booklist, the venerated book review source, said, “This is worthy if familiar stuff.”
That sums it up, I think.

Except Hairstyles did something the other two I just mentioned failed to: evoke a strong sense of nostalgia. The afore-mentioned Snow Angels was even set near West of Mars. You’d think that would awaken some feelings.

Not like Hairstyles did. Even though I’m a bit older than these characters, I still smiled at the haircut Brian quested after. I recognized the mosh pits of old. The lazy, languid afternoons, hanging out on the hood of a car. This was my life, to a degree. Not so much that I saw myself exactly, but enough that I was right there all over again. Those college years had been good to me. They were again as I read.

One thing Hairstyles had that Peter Paddington lacked that truly needs to be mentioned is the way in which we got to watch Brian change. He made progress in life. He lost some of his awkwardness, especially with the girls. Meno wasn’t afraid to let this character grow and change and be someone else at the end of the book. As a result, at times, you can’t help but root for Brian when things are going well. You can’t help but groan when he’s a lunkhead. But you don’t give up on him; Brian’s a survivor. You can tell that early on.

I wish I’d read this before Peter Paddington. I’d have done nothing but rave about it. But like my experience with Cecil Castellucci’s Beige, this one suffers from the shame of coming in second.

Pick it up. Tell me what you think. (less)

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Dec 15, 2008 Amanda rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: angsty folk

Recommended to Amanda by: gibbie

Shelves: read-in-2008

For being written by a creative writing professor, this book is overwhelmingly stereotypical. The rebel girl who dyes her hair pink; the twenty-something who can't get away from high school; the boy with his constant erections and lascivious thoughts who really just wants some confidence. And everyone hates their parents (who likewise have stereotypical issues). While I agree that we all go through a lot of the same things in adolescence, sometimes I just wanted to slap the narrator and yell ge...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Darcus rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It had me interested from the very first page. It's a different type of book than I would normally read, but hey, sometimes when you read out of your comfort zone, you find awesome books! This was definitely one of those cases. I'm sad that I borrowed this novel from a friend my mine and my husbands. I may possibly buy this book in the future.

Hairstyles of the Damned is an honest, real look at adolecense and the trials and tribulations that a teenager goes through in daily li...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Alissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brutally honest and real. Meno wastes no time in skirting around life issues like sex and violence. Readers are in Brian's mind, which is not always a happy place: it's full of babble and rambling, swearing, and lusting. His voice is real, even though at times you'll wish it was fake.

The book is jampacked with emotion, and Meno's writing style is what enables this. Sentences have no pauses, often stringing down the page with Brian's thoughts. It's rushed and seemingly random. But it characteriz...more

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Nov 03, 2010 Very rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, hipsteria, great-title, xy, ya, own, bought, the-90s, screwy-teenagers, first-person, colorful, iffy

Earlier this year, I decided to stop buying books. Instead, I would check them out of the library and only buy copies of the ones I really loved. But this book and its intriguing title made me break that rule. I read the Amazon excerpt and really thought I would like it, but the library didn’t carry it. So… I went to Barnes & Noble and read even more of it. I liked the beginning so much that I had visions of it becoming My New Favorite Thing. I decided to take a chance and buy it.

I paid goo...more

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Oct 19, 2012 oriana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012

So, hmm. Like I said down there in the comments chat I had with Samara, it's a really really good thing I was already in love with Joe Meno from reading The Boy Detective Fails and Demons in the Spring, because this book really wasn't that great. I mean, it was fine, and maybe it was a little more groundbreaking when it came out, but by now it's just kind of a stale / predictable coming-of-age story. It felt very real, and I believed in the characters and the plot, but that's because they're the...more

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May 31, 2012 Rochelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This book had a vivid, strong character at its heart from the get go, and it wasn't the narrator Brian Oswald. It was the girl, Gretchen, whom Brian sometimes lusted after and sometimes loved, but Meno chose to hang the story on Brian who is coming of age in every way, in Chicago's segregated blue collar South Side in the 90's. I think he was attempting a Catcher In the Rye meets Guns N Roses or Ozzie Osbourne. Close, but no chicken. However, what we did get was a wonderful tribute to punk rock...more

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Oct 29, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: eng-356-shelf-1

The story is set in the suburbs of Chicago. Brian is your average high school outcast that is trying to discover his own identity while fighting against the rules of his catholic school. The story pretty much just follows the growth of Brian through his passion for music and extremely diverse group of friends.
One thing that I must say is that Joe Meno's tone and voice in Hairstyles is perfect for young adults. With that being said, I wasn't extremely impressed with this book. I felt almost like...more

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May 04, 2012 Mikel rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Hairstyles" isn't my usual cup of tea in the least. It was given to me by a friend and has sat on my shelf for nearly two years. Finally, I picked it up--and could not put it down. It was very refreshing. Meno's voice, through his protagonist, Brian Oswald, is so very real. You read it like you're just hearing someone talk about their day and you just keep listening, chapter after chapter. You're never overwhelmed or overly-engaged. Just quick, loaded, realistic scenarios that paint a picture o...more

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May 27, 2009 Natalye rated it 3 of 5 stars

"Hairstyles of the Damned" -Joe Meno (2004)

For a work of fiction, this story reads much like a memoir, which is what I liked about it. The characters were interesting and developed in such an unconventional way, but I really liked the whole vibe I got reading this book, the references to mixtapes and the detail of what characters do and think and feel, good and bad. I admit the story began a bit slow, but about halfway through, the story caught up with itself and began to progress in a way that...more

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Oct 26, 2009 Jennifer A.M. rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a punk rock coming of age story about a shy high school junior named Brian Oswald with a crummy home life who is in love with (or thinks he is in love with) his best friend Gretchen, who continuously pines for a skinhead, white- power 20-something named Tony Degan. Gretchen is not stupid or racist, she also comes from a messed up home life. Her mother has died before the book begins and she is desperately looking for someone to love her and see her and pay attention to her. Brian's feeli...more

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Feb 06, 2013 Courtney Johnson rated it 2 of 5 stars

Hairstyles of the Damned is a book that I started, didn't really care for, but finished in hopes that it would get better.

It didn't.

I have to preface this review with the fact that I am a high school teacher who turned punk in high school myself. I still consider myself a punk, but an adult punk is definitely leagues away from high school punks. So the reason I was originally interested in this book is because... you know, there's just not a whole lot of books out there that focus on people like...more Hairstyles of the Damned is a book that I started, didn't really care for, but finished in hopes that it would get better.

It didn't.

I have to preface this review with the fact that I am a high school teacher who turned punk in high school myself. I still consider myself a punk, but an adult punk is definitely leagues away from high school punks. So the reason I was originally interested in this book is because... you know, there's just not a whole lot of books out there that focus on people like me. As it turns out, I am simply not the audience this book was written for.

On the upside, the book is well written. It reads like a confused, angry, 16 year old boy wrote it (complete with extraneous 'like's and 'you know's).

But as it turns out, as a teacher... that is also a huge downside. If I wanted to hear from confused, angry, 16 year old boys... I would just go to work. It also doesn't help that the main character is an asshole. I would feel better about things if he actually learned from his mistakes and made different choices in life, but he doesn't. He has a few revelations at the very end of the book but other than that, he is still rude, obnoxious, whiny, and just not a likeable guy. The other characters are cardboard - the only other character that has any depth at all is Dorie, but it turns out that she's just a dumb teenager too doing dumb teenage things. Gretchen, the narrator's love interest, is easily summed up as fat and has no self-esteem. Kim, the other friend in their trio, is hot but bitchy. Mike is a skateboard scam artist. Rod is a black nerd. I guess, for me, it's one thing to take those tropes and use them in a book but the point of literature is to EXPLORE those tropes. This just reinforces that jocks are jocks and nerds are nerds and punks are punks and stoners are stoners and although at the end I think the narrator is trying to say that maybe we should disregard all that... he does a pretty poor job of showing it.

The other thing that really turned me off is again a pro/con situation. Pro: it is written in a way that reminds me excruciatingly well of how stupid and awkward being a teenager was. Con: it was written a way that reminds me excruciatingly well of how stupid and awkward being a teenager was. Most of the book, the narrator Brian spends his time trying to 'do it' with girls. (I'm of the opinion that if you still say 'do it' then you're not mature enough to 'do it'.) Of course, he's completely awkward and fails a lot. He fails less in the second half of the book, but they're all still-awkward meaningless hookups that go nowhere. In any case, I spent the vast majority of my time reading this thinking, 'Thank God that part of my life is over.'

To sum up, I think that if you are an angry young preferably male teenager, this book might appeal to you. If you are an adult and happy to be one... this book is not for you.(less)

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Jan 25, 2012 Ada Gao rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-2012-advisory

Hairstyle of the damned is mostly based on the protagonist's point of view. The protagonist liked this girl called Gretchen that is not the most feminine girl in the world. Gretchen is a girl that likes to pick fights, and curses a lot. Even the protagonist does not know why he likes her but he just does.
i did not like this book that much because i did not understand what was happening. It seems like everything in there is repeating itself. Also i don't really like it because whenever they ar...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Larry Hoffer added it

I really enjoyed this book. If you've ever felt like you didn't fit in and/or struggled to find out who you are, then this book is for you. Some reviewers have called it a punk "Catcher in the Rye," but I don't think that's quite accurate.

Brian Oswald is a high school student at an all-boys Catholic school. His parents' marriage is falling apart, he hasn't had much luck with girls and he finds himself falling for his best friend, Gretchen, who iis very fond of beating people up. Brian struggles...more

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Jul 30, 2011 K. Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Meh. It was a quick read and a good summer read. It didn't make me think too much, and it evoked memories from HS. The plot lacked but the character development was solid. The author wrote from the perspective of a HS kid quite well. I wouldn't recommend it to most people, but if made mix tapes for girls/boys you liked and were always on alert for new band names, you might really really dig this book. It was recommended to me (thanks Chrissy!) - and I would read what she recommended next, but in...more

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About Joe Meno

Joe Meno is a fiction writer and playwright that lives in Chicago. A winner of the Nelson Algren Literary Award and the Society of Midland Author's Fiction Prize, he is the author of four novels, The Boy Detective Fails (Akashic 2006), Hairstyles of the Damned (Akashic 2004), Tender as Hellfire (St. Martin's 1999), and How the Hula Girl Sings (HarperCollins 2001). His short story collection is Blu...more

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Quotes from Hairstyles of the Damned

“I was a shy kid and I was afraid what i said sounded stupid, so I hardly ever saud anything. I was the third wheel. Fifth wheel? I was the fucking wheel you didn't really need, but I still hung around. I thought maybe my silence would one day impress somebody. As of yet, it hadn't done much for me.” — 3 people liked it

“Just because you have blue hair and fucked-up clothes doesn’t mean you’re better than everyone
else. Because you know what? You’re just conforming to someone else’s code. Even though you don’t
wear khakis or sweaters or whatever, but to me all you guys look the same. You think you’re so
individualistic, but you’re not. You guys—you and Kim and all the rest—you’re like anti-snob snobs.
But you’re just as mean as the preppy kids. You’re all just as fucking lame.” — 2 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22539.Hairstyles_of_the_Damned?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328698183l/22539.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22539.Hairstyles_of_the_Damned?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Hairstyles of the Damned by Joe Meno[/url]

Hairstyles of the Damned

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