Rating: 
Summary: Fun, quick read, but ...
Review: ...I didn't think this collection of stories was as witty or well-written as Joe College or Election. Don't get me wrong -- I did find it to be good for a quick, light read, and there are some funny moments. While it's worth the time and money, I'd pick up some of Perotta's other work first.
Rating: 
Summary: At Last, A Voice For My Generation...
Review: ...That is, specifically, guys who grew up and came of age in the American suburbs during the 1970s. I also recommend "The Wishbones," especially to anyone who has ever played in a working band.
Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: A touching book about a boy named Buddy, growing up in New Jersey. He tries to fit in, and moves from innocence to young adulthood, and discovers things about others and himself.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, not great, Perrotta work.
Review: Bad Haircut consists of stories about Buddy in the 70's. We begin with him at about Jr. High age and going all the way through High School and into college. The tales of Buddy are often funny and sometimes bittersweet. While each story is its own, there is some weaving between them -- certain characters get mentioned, certain places are repeated, etc., but it doesn't become the same story told again and again. If you're a kid from the 70's, I think you would appreciate this book. Even if you aren't, the stories are timeless, but certain references would be lost on you. I wouldn't let that deter you from reading it, however. It was a time when a kid could walk around the town late at night without any trouble -- it's those kinds of differences that I write of. This is a quick read and really entertaining. Perrotta is also the author of Election, which was made into a movie -- if you're familiar with that and liked the movie, then I think giving Bad Haircut a try is worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: Great collection of stories!
Review: Bad Haircut consists of stories about Buddy in the 70's. We begin with him at about Jr. High age and going all the way through High School and into college. The tales of Buddy are often funny and sometimes bittersweet. While each story is its own, there is some weaving between them -- certain characters get mentioned, certain places are repeated, etc., but it doesn't become the same story told again and again. If you're a kid from the 70's, I think you would appreciate this book. Even if you aren't, the stories are timeless, but certain references would be lost on you. I wouldn't let that deter you from reading it, however. It was a time when a kid could walk around the town late at night without any trouble -- it's those kinds of differences that I write of. This is a quick read and really entertaining. Perrotta is also the author of Election, which was made into a movie -- if you're familiar with that and liked the movie, then I think giving Bad Haircut a try is worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: Unaffected Stories About Growing Up
Review: Even though I didn't grow up in New Jersey in the 1970s, or even the US for that matter, I nonetheless found this series of ten short stories set in that time and place to be extremely enjoyable. The stories feature a kid named buddy, who is kid in the opening story and graduates by the end. Perotta skillfully avoids the cliché pitfalls that threaten any writing about adolescence. There are fights, racism, drugs, booze, football, electric guitar, learning to drive, death, and of course, heartbreak. There's nothing affected about the writing, which is simple and straightforward. If you like this, check out Chris Fuhrman's The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys.
Rating:
Summary: an accurate portrayal of a working class town
Review: Having grown up in a working class metropolitan NY town and having experienced adolescence in the '70s for me this book read like a documentary of my home town during that era. Perrotta's unvarnished depiction of the issues, priorities, and social stratification (working class, lower professional class, black, white) was strikingly familiar. The author accurately and convincingly speaks with the voice of such people in depicting their pedestrian lives. Perotta's characters are normal, sympathetic, and unremarkable. He effectively represents the wisdom acquired from day to day life and offers touching and apt insights on the lessons acquired through everyday interactions and typical, normal, human behavior. The book is warm, wise, unpretentious; it reflects common sense and is thought provoking.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad Haircut is Bad!
Review: I feel like I'm not reading the same book as everyone else! Where is the magic and genius all the reviewers and critics say they're finding in this book? I find it painfully dull. Maybe it's because I didn't grow up in the 70's. I'm being forced to read this for school. One of my friends agrees with me and thinks it's horrible. Another says he enjoys it because the events happen in a town right next door to where we live.
Frankly, I don't care if the book takes place here or on the moon! I'm not going to label it 'bad' without giving my reasons. But here they are: The chapters are too long. I know, I know, each is an individual story. But still, they just don't entertain, excite, or intrigue me. All right, the comments about Rudolph the reindeer were pretty funny. But other than that I'm skimming through and waiting for it to end.
The stories are just...boring. Redundant. They mimic the same 'teenage problems' other books deal with. I'm forced to read all these 'coming of age' novels, but I'm tired of it. I KNOW what's it's like to grow up. I AM growing up. And I don't really want to read any more about someone else I don't care about, thanks. You'd think this book would be cool. I mean, I have a friend whose father is best pals with the author! Normally I'd be saying, "How cool is that?" But this book is just...disappointing. I can't see how it is evocative or anything else the critics called it.
Rating:
Summary: Teachers: high school discussion source
Review: I liked Bad Haircut so much I took it to the English Department chair and recommended that many of the vignettes therein would serve as an excellent topics for discussion, especially in "lower level" and "problem" classes. In my lofty position of SUB, I saw a lot of less relevant and less interesting material given to students. If you teach English, Special Ed, ESL or maybe Social Studies you should check out this book. Oh yes. The English lady never read it. Snob.
Rating:
Summary: Good, not great, Perrotta work.
Review: I really enjoy Tom Perrotta as an author, having stumbled upon "The Wishbones" by accident and enjoying it so much that I read "Joe College" and "Election" in rapid progression thereafter. This novel, written as a series of short stories detailing different events as Buddy, the protagonist, grows up in Cranwood, NJ. The novel introduces us to an 8-year old Buddy as a Cub Scout and leaves us when Buddy comes home from college before he ends his teenage years. There are many funny moments throughout. For example, the "weapon" Buddy chooses to take to the race riot made me laugh aloud. There are also many poignant snapshots of disappointment and maturity, such as the one provided by the "bad haircutter". Despite all of this, I left the book feeling that I never really got to know Buddy that well. Sure, he seems like your average kid who has hopes and fears and experiences more than his share of peer pressure, but other than that, who is he?
|
