Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies

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Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies (Reprint) Pub. Date: 4/28/1997 Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated

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Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies (Mass Market Paperback) Pub. Date: 10/1/1995 Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
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Hardcover

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Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies (1st ed) Pub. Date: 1/28/2005 Publisher: Bridgeworks

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Overview

The first book by an author whose subsequent work has included Election (made into the film starring Matthew Broderick) and the Wishbones.

Tom Perrotta's highly acclaimed debut novel tells of the sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious adventures of a teenager growing up in 1970s New Jersey. "Moving . . . A convincing portrait of a time of life, illuminating all the profound cruelty and tenderness of adolescence."--Publishers Weekly.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Amid the current glut of '70s nostalgia, Perrotta has fashioned a moving cycle of stories that looks past the era's celebrated kitsch to still relevant social and cultural issues and the timeless mysteries of growing up. In 10 tales covering a period from the fall of 1969 to the summer of 1980, he follows the revelations of his narrator, Buddy, from his days as an eight-year-old Cub Scout through his return home from the first year of college. Set in the small New Jersey town of Darwin, these seamless, understated narratives find--in boyhood activities as ordinary as playing sports, riding a bike, taking driver's ed or going to the prom--insights into loneliness, societal violence, sexual identity, racism, mortality and much more. Perrotta eschews sentimentality and overt philosophizing, crafting in Buddy's voice a sensitivity to pregnant moments that remain unexplained and a knack for delicate, unobtrusive metaphor. Forgoing the easy irony of disco and vintage TV, he delivers a convincing portrait of a time of life, illuminating all the profound cruelty and tenderness of adolescence. (June)

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From The Critics

This collection of vignettes about growing up features a protagonist named Buddy. The era is the late Seventies, the place is semifictional Cranwood in northern New Jersey, and Buddy's age is pre-to late teens. No matter what the decade, growing up is growing up-painful, embarrassing, traumatic, bittersweet-and it is ably captured here. We read of Buddy's encounter with the Wiener Man, his first multispeed bike, and how friend Kevin finds a way to rip off his stepfather. As Buddy matures story by story, he moves on to his first encounter with racial hatred, time on the football team, loss of virginity, senior prom, and so on until he is ready for college. Buddy has struggled into the adult world. In the last story we find a nice young man who would be easy to like should we happen to meet him. Perrotta, a new, young, fresh writer, remembers how it was to be young and writes with humor and clarity. Recommended.-Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P.L., Tex.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780425159545
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
Publication date: 4/28/1997
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 240
Sales rank: 239,280
Product dimensions: 5.06 (w) x 7.88 (h) x 0.61 (d)

Meet the Author

Tom Perrotta

Hailed as "one of America's best-kept literary secrets" by Newsweek magazine, Tom Perrotta is a talented novelist and short story writer whose bitingly satirical works, such as Election and Little Children, lay bare the suburban experience.

Biography

That Tom Perrotta struggled into his early 30s to find success should come as no surprise to fans of his work. A Yale grad, Perrotta studied writing under Thomas Berger and Tobias Wolff before moving on to teach creative writing at Yale and Harvard. It was during this period that he began work on the stories that would comprise his first release, Bad Haircut. He had finished two more novels (including Election, which would prove to be his breakthrough book) before Bad Haircut was finally picked up by a publisher in 1994.

It wasn't until a chance introduction with a screenwriter that Perrotta finally moved into the public eye. The result of that encounter was the publication of Election (1998), which was made into the much-beloved film starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. At last, Perrotta was able to call himself a working novelist.

The theme of ordinary people trapped in lives they never imagined runs throughout Perrotta's novels. Success for his characters is always just out of reach, and the world is always just outside of their control. Characters that seem destined for success serve as foils to the true protagonists, constant reminders of the unfairness of life.

Which is not to say that Perrotta's novels are depressing. On the contrary, his razor-sharp observations of the human condition are often side-splittingly funny, and the compassion he exhibits in his writing makes even the most ostensibly unlikable characters sympathetic. Perotta does not create caricatures; his novels work because he has a basic understanding that life is complex, and everyone has a story if you take the time to listen.

Good To Know

Some fun factoids from our interview with Perrotta:

"My mother is Albanian."

"I don't eat eggs."

"My dog lived to the ripe old age of 18."

1. Hometown:
  
  Belmont, Massachusetts
1. Date of Birth:
  
  August 13, 1961
2. Place of Birth:
  
  Summit, New Jersey
1. Education:
  
  B.A. in English, Yale University, 1983; M.A. in English/Creative Writing, Syracuse University, 1988
2. Website:
  
  http://tomperrotta.net/

	The Wiener Man	1
	Thirteen	19
	Race Riot	41
	Snowman	59
	Forgiveness	81
	A Bill Floyd Xmas	99
	You Start to Live	117
	The Jane Pasco Fan Club	137
	Just the Way We Were	157
	Wild Kingdom	177

Customer Reviews

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Anonymous

Posted September 11, 2004

Perotta wins big with a kid from jersey

I am a kid from perotta's home town and could definatley relate to all of his tales about grownin' up. I have read the book more than twice, it holds special sentimental value to me as it might as well have been written by some kid who i used to smoke ciggarettes w/ at the little league field. As a young person, the truest light the book sheds on me is: not much has changed in garwood since the 70s. eventhough it might be more special to me than to someone who's not from nj, it still transcends, it is universal. And it could be on everybody's top 10 book list. Thanks Tom Perotta!!!!
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Anonymous

Posted May 6, 2003

Great for 70's Children...and Their Parents

Great, funny, and interesting stories ¿ you want to both laugh and cry. Mr. Perrotta is a bit older than me, but I could definitely recognize the 70¿s of my childhood in which his stories take place. I found this book almost by accident and am so happy that I did. It¿s all in this book ¿ race relations, first sexual encounters, living and growing with family. A truly wonderful read by an author I cannot wait to read again.
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Anonymous

Posted June 27, 2002

Outstanding!

Tom Perrotta's 'Bad Haircut,' is a book that touches the heart and tickles the tummy. You basically laugh and cry at the same time. This book gives you a simple over view of the simple, yet difficult things in life (in the seventies at least.) I loved it and would read it again and again.
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Anonymous

Posted November 21, 2000

Touching the Funny Bone Deeply

This is a fine book which is at times hilarious. It will make the reader laugh out loud. 'Bad Haircut' will resonate with both the children and parents of the 1970's while successfully both traversing and bridging the distance between childhood and adulthood. A touching and enjoyable tome that will be cherished and remembered for the pleasure it brings. I find this book funnier and more deeply felt than Perrotta's subsequent more recent work. I first read 'Bad Haircut' in the hardback small press edition released prior to the current paperback edition. As in the best short fiction Perrotta economically creates a world we inhabit for the brief time it takes to read these vivid stories.
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Anonymous

Posted November 18, 2009

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Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies

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Overview

All Available Formats + Editions

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview

Related Subjects

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

From The Critics

Product Details

Meet the Author

Tom Perrotta

Biography

Good To Know

Table of Contents

Rating Distribution

Perotta wins big with a kid from jersey

Great for 70's Children...and Their Parents

Outstanding!

Touching the Funny Bone Deeply