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At the Hairdresser's
Penguin Specials are designed to fill a gap. Written to be read over a long commute or a short journey, they are original and exclusively in digital form. This is a poignant novella from Anita Brookner.'I rather hope I shall die at the hairdresser's, for they are bound to know what to do. At least that is what I tell myself.'Solitude is a familiar burden for Elizabeth Warner. She lives in a basement flat near Victoria and leaves the house only to go shopping and to have her hair done - until a chance encounter at the hairdresser's brings unexpected change. At the Hairdresser's is a deeply moving, unflinchingly observed story about trust and betrayal by one of the greatest writers of contemporary fiction.
36 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2011
42 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Anita Brookner
60 books664 followersAnita Brookner published her first novel, A Start In Life in 1981. Her most notable novel, her fourth, Hotel du Lac won the Man Booker Prize in 1984. Her novel, The Next Big Thing was longlisted (alongside John Banville's, Shroud) in 2002 for the Man Booker Prize. She published more than 25 works of fiction, notably: Strangers (2009) shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Fraud (1992) and, The Rules of Engagement (2003). She was also the first female to hold a Slade Professorship of Fine Arts at Cambridge University.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
November 21, 2021
I love stepping back into Anita Brookner’s world, being reminded of her incredible ability to tease out the horrors and joys of solitude and ageing in prose that is sometimes chilling, sometimes comforting, always precise. This, published as part of the Penguin Specials series of novellas and other short works, is the story of 80-year-old Elizabeth Warner. Divorced, with no children, her friendships having fallen away, Elizabeth rarely ventures out of her flat, her only reliable excursions being shopping and visits to the hairdresser’s.
Keeping up appearances is part of my ethos, even if it is too late now to look for reciprocity or appreciation. I rather hope I shall die at the hairdresser’s, for they are bound to know what to do.
On this particular visit – which comes the morning after a vivid dream about her long-lost friends and the lives they all dreamed of having – Elizabeth is introduced to Chris, a somewhat shady character who runs a ‘car service’. In short order, she becomes reliant on the company of this young man, and the reader is sure to feel this situation will not end well. Yet ultimately, there are unexpectedly positive side effects, and a happy sense of liberation for Elizabeth.
That was my epic discovery: pure selfishness as an infinite resource.
TinyLetter | Linktree
Keeping up appearances is part of my ethos, even if it is too late now to look for reciprocity or appreciation. I rather hope I shall die at the hairdresser’s, for they are bound to know what to do.
On this particular visit – which comes the morning after a vivid dream about her long-lost friends and the lives they all dreamed of having – Elizabeth is introduced to Chris, a somewhat shady character who runs a ‘car service’. In short order, she becomes reliant on the company of this young man, and the reader is sure to feel this situation will not end well. Yet ultimately, there are unexpectedly positive side effects, and a happy sense of liberation for Elizabeth.
That was my epic discovery: pure selfishness as an infinite resource.
TinyLetter | Linktree
August 1, 2016
Pengiun Shorts are digital short stories meant to be read during a commute or a bus ride.
This short story by Anita Brookner is about an elderly lady; Elizabeth Warner and her biweekly appointment at the hairdresser. The characters are painted with a realistic brush. The author flashbacks to the past, and shows us the present.
A very realistic story that makes you think and ponder about the life we live.
This short story by Anita Brookner is about an elderly lady; Elizabeth Warner and her biweekly appointment at the hairdresser. The characters are painted with a realistic brush. The author flashbacks to the past, and shows us the present.
A very realistic story that makes you think and ponder about the life we live.
June 17, 2023
Love love love.
May 28, 2018
Good grief, I have a real knack for choosing stories that don't help my current spirits. In this evocative but unremittingly sad story, we meet eighty-year-old Beth, who lives in defiant independent in a basement flat near Victoria. Her solitary state is partly a matter of choice: she asserts, with a prickle, 'I am not lonely except in company.' And yet there's a smack of wishful thinking behind those words. With a broken marriage behind her, without children and with no close friends or neighbours, Beth passes her days with a strict schedule of books and visits to the local hairdresser's, where she finds a measure of company and liveliness. But one morning she wakes having had a dream of her two girlhood friends, which causes her to revisit her past and her present situation.
When Beth is caught in the rain at the hairdresser's, one of the girls introduces her to Chris, who runs a car service for elderly ladies. His brightness, youth and enthusiasm bewitch Beth, who discovers that her heart hasn't yet entirely withered away. This cheerful young man becomes an answer to the yawning void in her life. But do we run the risk of building castles in the air around charming people who appear suddenly in our lives? Can such idealism be sustained? For all her assertions of satisfaction, Beth's loneliness is so vividly present that it's almost another character, darkly clawing at the corners of the page, and when events cast a new light on her new friend Chris, she is finally nudged into wondering whether it's time to make a stand and change her life. Deeply moving as a picture of isolated old age, tragic, and enough to make one start casting worried glances in the mirror. And yet, the story is so affecting precisely because Brookner is so clever, insightful and articulate.
When Beth is caught in the rain at the hairdresser's, one of the girls introduces her to Chris, who runs a car service for elderly ladies. His brightness, youth and enthusiasm bewitch Beth, who discovers that her heart hasn't yet entirely withered away. This cheerful young man becomes an answer to the yawning void in her life. But do we run the risk of building castles in the air around charming people who appear suddenly in our lives? Can such idealism be sustained? For all her assertions of satisfaction, Beth's loneliness is so vividly present that it's almost another character, darkly clawing at the corners of the page, and when events cast a new light on her new friend Chris, she is finally nudged into wondering whether it's time to make a stand and change her life. Deeply moving as a picture of isolated old age, tragic, and enough to make one start casting worried glances in the mirror. And yet, the story is so affecting precisely because Brookner is so clever, insightful and articulate.
August 19, 2022
It’s quite amazing just how much author Anita Brookner has packed into this short story….how many themes she touches on.
The isolation and loneliness that can affect older people….the casual, unintended ageism of younger generations who fail to see their future selves in those they are somewhat patronising towards.
The sadness of lost friendships, and the corrosive elitism of those who’s successful lives have turned them into thoughtless snobs.
Mostly though, this book is about how loneliness can make someone reliant on the company of those she’s paying to provide a service, looking to them for the human contact she craves, how it makes an elderly woman too trusting, turning a blind eye to something that’s plainly not right, because it has also brought her some enjoyable company.
It’s certainly a sad sort of story, but also a story that isn’t entirely without the hope of there being a light at the end of the tunnel.
The isolation and loneliness that can affect older people….the casual, unintended ageism of younger generations who fail to see their future selves in those they are somewhat patronising towards.
The sadness of lost friendships, and the corrosive elitism of those who’s successful lives have turned them into thoughtless snobs.
Mostly though, this book is about how loneliness can make someone reliant on the company of those she’s paying to provide a service, looking to them for the human contact she craves, how it makes an elderly woman too trusting, turning a blind eye to something that’s plainly not right, because it has also brought her some enjoyable company.
It’s certainly a sad sort of story, but also a story that isn’t entirely without the hope of there being a light at the end of the tunnel.
July 9, 2014
Penguin shorts are a series of short, original and cheap reads available only in digital form. It is good to see a major publisher embrace the ebook and I have been impressed with those I have read so far in terms of quality, attention to detail and the excellent authors available.
This short story, by Anita Brookner, is a moving and touching tale of an elderly lady living on her own. Elizabeth had a brief marriage, a much loved job as a librarian and a young friendship with Mary and Julie, who went on to marry and have children. Now she is isolated and alone - venturing out only to do her shopping and to visit the hairdressers twice a week. It is through the hairdressers that she meets someone who changes her life...
It is hard to review this without giving away the plot and I would hate to do that. It is enough to say that Anita Brookner paints a picture of Elizabeth that is both realistic and sympathetic and writes a story which will make you think.
This short story, by Anita Brookner, is a moving and touching tale of an elderly lady living on her own. Elizabeth had a brief marriage, a much loved job as a librarian and a young friendship with Mary and Julie, who went on to marry and have children. Now she is isolated and alone - venturing out only to do her shopping and to visit the hairdressers twice a week. It is through the hairdressers that she meets someone who changes her life...
It is hard to review this without giving away the plot and I would hate to do that. It is enough to say that Anita Brookner paints a picture of Elizabeth that is both realistic and sympathetic and writes a story which will make you think.
September 28, 2018
Can't really decide it I liked this book or not. It was well-written and had some interesting moments but left me terrified of getting old
August 30, 2014
At the Hairdresser's is a short story narrated by Elizabeth Warner, an older woman living alone in a basement flat in London, who, stuck at the hairdresser’s one day when it is raining heavily outside, is driven home by a young man who runs a car service, Chris. Her experiences from then onwards cause her to decide to make some changes to her life.
The plot is very predictable, but Elizabeth’s musings on her past, and the ways it has influenced her present, are sharp, frank and often sad. It’s been said of Brookner that she writes the same book over and over again, with the same protagonists. This might be true, but because she is an expert at what she does, and because I am fascinated by her subject matter, I don’t mind, and will gladly return to reading her again and again.
The plot is very predictable, but Elizabeth’s musings on her past, and the ways it has influenced her present, are sharp, frank and often sad. It’s been said of Brookner that she writes the same book over and over again, with the same protagonists. This might be true, but because she is an expert at what she does, and because I am fascinated by her subject matter, I don’t mind, and will gladly return to reading her again and again.
December 25, 2023
I loved this last work, a novella by Anita Brookner. I think so far this is the most autobiographical story of hers I've read. It's poignant and reminds me how lucky I am to be with a partner and a daughter as I slide into my ahem "golden years."
March 10, 2020
The things we hold onto as we get old, beliefs, friendships...we rarely go out of our way at that point in life, and when we do we are bound to be disappointed. At the hairdresser's Elizabeth Warner is given the name of someone who will drive her to her appointments. She gets financially involved with a practical stranger and then money disappears and so does her driver. Quite an interesting sign-off for Anita Brookner - short story, maybe, novella, maybe. Something to hold on to. I miss her annual novels.
January 4, 2013
Fun! I like these Penguin Shorts
August 5, 2016
I always enjoy this author.
April 12, 2021
Brillant. Second reading, heading for abother.
January 25, 2017
Wonderful, bitter picture of an older woman who finds her freedom from fear after becoming the victim of a conman. Well worth reading.
January 22, 2021
I seem to have read an Anita Brookner novel once a year from around the early 1980s until 2006.image And none since then, which is perhaps understandable as she approaches her ninety line. I have been seeking her books amid brix and malta, but I spotted today this so called new-fangled ebook that seems to be the only source of her novella in 2011, possibly her last fiction as she enters what I have called ‘dream sickness’, as I have felt myself entering even at my mere age of 67…
She has been a major influence on me AND PLEASE CONSIDER GLANCING AT THE COMMENT STREAM BELOW WHERE I INTEND TO REAL-TIME REVIEW this relatively short but no doubt precious work…
nullimmortalis January 5, 2015 at 12:44 pm Edit
FIRST HALF
“My disappointment persists to this day, the only difference being that I no longer search for the impossible.”
This is told in Brookneresque immaculateness of clause and sub-clause, as an ageing lady-of-means – as well as meanings – has a dream of the once trio of self and two lady friends, long since drifted away from each other, mixed with observations on men that have crossed her path, including one unsatisfactory marriage, and now she also methodically hones reflection upon her telling but essentially cursory contacts with the girls at the hairdresser’s, until, her hair having just been set, it is spotted that it is raining hard and the girls call her a car service and a tall man driving it…
This whole first half of the novella is, for me and perhaps me alone, steeped in excused regret and studied dying falls: dream sickness supreme, acknowledged dreams as well as dreams that disguise themselves as real life. Or real life that disguises itself as dreams?
nullimmortalis January 5, 2015 at 1:37 pm Edit
SECOND HALF
“My most immediate disappointment was that my dream had been unreliable, and yet it had seemed so convincing at the time.”
… as has been my dream of this book itself.
Betrayed by her past, as she reflects age as a ‘shipwreck’ upon herself from the sudden arrival, after fifty years without seeing each other, of one of those lady friends from the ‘dream’. But betrayed by the present, too, a shock to me as reader, so I won’t spoil it here. Safe to say, though, that the latter betrayal was a catalyst for good?
“But there comes a time when books let you down.” But is that books or ebooks, Anita?
end
She has been a major influence on me AND PLEASE CONSIDER GLANCING AT THE COMMENT STREAM BELOW WHERE I INTEND TO REAL-TIME REVIEW this relatively short but no doubt precious work…
nullimmortalis January 5, 2015 at 12:44 pm Edit
FIRST HALF
“My disappointment persists to this day, the only difference being that I no longer search for the impossible.”
This is told in Brookneresque immaculateness of clause and sub-clause, as an ageing lady-of-means – as well as meanings – has a dream of the once trio of self and two lady friends, long since drifted away from each other, mixed with observations on men that have crossed her path, including one unsatisfactory marriage, and now she also methodically hones reflection upon her telling but essentially cursory contacts with the girls at the hairdresser’s, until, her hair having just been set, it is spotted that it is raining hard and the girls call her a car service and a tall man driving it…
This whole first half of the novella is, for me and perhaps me alone, steeped in excused regret and studied dying falls: dream sickness supreme, acknowledged dreams as well as dreams that disguise themselves as real life. Or real life that disguises itself as dreams?
nullimmortalis January 5, 2015 at 1:37 pm Edit
SECOND HALF
“My most immediate disappointment was that my dream had been unreliable, and yet it had seemed so convincing at the time.”
… as has been my dream of this book itself.
Betrayed by her past, as she reflects age as a ‘shipwreck’ upon herself from the sudden arrival, after fifty years without seeing each other, of one of those lady friends from the ‘dream’. But betrayed by the present, too, a shock to me as reader, so I won’t spoil it here. Safe to say, though, that the latter betrayal was a catalyst for good?
“But there comes a time when books let you down.” But is that books or ebooks, Anita?
end
November 12, 2024
I rather hope I shall die at the hairdresser’s, for they are bound to know what to do.
I never knew what an Anita Brookner short story would look like, and now I do. A simple premise, the collision of two forces appearing unexpectedly in an elderly woman's life--one past, one present--jostling her into a change that seems, if you know Brookner's work, unlikely to lead to anything better. Nevertheless the hopeful turn is welcome. If the whole truncated endeavor is suggestive of Brookner's deteriorating energy near the end, that "fatal collision" toward which we're all, as she frequently reminds us, headed, cutting the narrative off at a high point (relatively speaking) feels like a kindness to herself and to the reader.
I never knew what an Anita Brookner short story would look like, and now I do. A simple premise, the collision of two forces appearing unexpectedly in an elderly woman's life--one past, one present--jostling her into a change that seems, if you know Brookner's work, unlikely to lead to anything better. Nevertheless the hopeful turn is welcome. If the whole truncated endeavor is suggestive of Brookner's deteriorating energy near the end, that "fatal collision" toward which we're all, as she frequently reminds us, headed, cutting the narrative off at a high point (relatively speaking) feels like a kindness to herself and to the reader.
August 10, 2018
A short story which is very wordy true to the author's style. Picks up and is less verbose after a few pages. Interesting read.
January 26, 2022
I'm not off put off by books people think are 'depressing' but this one got to me. At least it was very short.
July 15, 2022
I am glad I read part of this after reading The Elements of Eloquence. I don’t think Brookner need to read EoE as she has it down pat.
June 24, 2021
A short read about being elderly and making the most of it on your own .
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews