[CQE]⇒ Libro Hairstyles of the Damned Punk Planet Books Joe Meno 9781888451702 Books

Hairstyles of the Damned Punk Planet Books Joe Meno 9781888451702 Books

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Hairstyles of the Damned Punk Planet Books Joe Meno 9781888451702 Books

fantastic writing and such a compelling voice. feels like a very authentic experience. the characters (and especially the main one) are complex and flawed and endearing. all around, imho, a wonderful coming-of-age story about a very introverted guy coming into his own at that crucial period that is the end of adolescence and the very beginning of adulthood.


Tags : Hairstyles of the Damned (Punk Planet Books) [Joe Meno] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div>Included in <B>MTV.com</B>'s These 17 Music-Themed YA Books Could Be Your Life <BR><BR>A selection of the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program.<BR><BR> Meno gives his proverbial coming-of-age tale a punk-rock edge,Joe Meno,Hairstyles of the Damned (Punk Planet Books),Akashic Books,188845170X,Literary,Chicago (Ill.);Fiction.,Punk culture;Fiction.,Teenagers;Fiction.,Canada,FICTION Coming of Age,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction General,Fiction-Literary,GENERAL,General & Literary Fiction,General Adult,Gift Books:Gift Books:Literary Fiction:MusicPopular CultureArt:Chicago:Joe Meno:Punk Planet Books:punk rock:young adult,Humour collections & anthologies,Modern fiction,Punk culture,SOCIAL SCIENCE Popular Culture,TRAVEL United States Midwest East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI),Teenagers,Chicago

Hairstyles of the Damned Punk Planet Books Joe Meno 9781888451702 Books Reviews

Let me start off by saying that I am involuntarily biased in my review of this story. This book is written about the place I grew up, and while I know longer live there, I was still able to ride down all of those blocks and visit all those places the narrator describes.

Now aside from the trip down memory lane, what made me enjoy this book so much was the realistic protagonist. I love the way he struggles with all of the trials and tribulations a lower-middle class young adult male is going to deal with, how he comes to some very harsh realizations about how to improve his life, and then finds himself making the same poor decisions. You can't help but feel sorry for him and at the same time be kind of proud of him for still making the progress he does.

Now be warned - this book is not for the faint of heart. If the inundation of sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll will be too distracting in what is otherwise a great story, just pass this up. Otherwise, you are likely to be offended. If not, clear out the next couple of hours, because this is a book that (outside of a bit of redundancy in the middle of the book that quickly picks up halfway into part two) becomes hard to put down.
Great book. Captures the early 1990s well. I laughed a lot, reading this book. The protagonist, Brian, figures out a lot about how to manage teenage stresses.
I only bought this book because it was on the 20% rack at Barnes and Noble, and it had a cool cover. But I'm so glad I did. I didn't grow up punk or in Chicago, but I still related to the struggles these kids faced in trying to (not so) simply grow up. It's one of those books that you want to read cover to cover in one day. I loved the unique writing style and voice. It's hard not to fall in love with these characters. It made me laugh out loud, and it, at times, made me want to cry. Most of all, it left me thinking. I highly recommend it.
This book changed my life as a teenager, and continues to change my life every time I re-read it, which has been about 17 times as of current date. If you love punk rock, crass humor, young love, and life lessons, you'll love this book. Mr. Meno has a way with words that most authors don't. It doesn't take much to fall in love with this story and with the author.
Lest anyone begin to pigeonhole this book with 'young people fiction' or try to make it a punk rockers' anthem, let me just get in a quick two cents worth. I am a gray-haired 50-year-old teacher of high school English. I am not Joe Meno's mom or auntie or nana (though I'm hoping they are ever-so-proud of him). I heard Joe's interview with Scott Simon on NPR and ordered the book the same day. (When it arrived, my 87-year-old mother read the first few pages and then put it down like the cover was inked in acid. "That book has the F word on every page!" Boy, did she miss out by not reading it!) I have to say, my adolescence took place during the '60's--different music, similar issues. Meno captures and distills on the page those ever-so-frustrating and at times enraging moments in the teen years when we all want to scream, "I'm not an S.O.B.!"--especially those of us who were weird loner people with few friends. Right on. This is not a novel for a generation or a culture, it is a novel which will speak to those for whom enduring high school was tantamount to running a gauntlet made up of bloodthirsty, jeering peers and adults. Don't tell my principal, the schoolboard or that certain faction of adults who feel they must control what young people read I will pass this book on--secretly--to my students. It will be like, you know, subversive.
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.
fantastic writing and such a compelling voice. feels like a very authentic experience. the characters (and especially the main one) are complex and flawed and endearing. all around, imho, a wonderful coming-of-age story about a very introverted guy coming into his own at that crucial period that is the end of adolescence and the very beginning of adulthood.