PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Hairstyles of the Damned is the ultimate coming-of-age story for the underdogs. It is almost as if it was written just for me. The book was like my bible for many years. Although I was in my 20’s the book still won my heart. I was the weird kid growing up, everyone made sure I knew that. relate to the entire book and it took me to a time of growing up and how it felt like to be a bully target. We all knew the feeling of having just one or two friends, we all got beat up together.
Synopsis
Hairstyles of the Damned is the story of Brian Oswald, a seventeen year old boy growing up on the south side of Chicago in 1990 and 1991. Brian is very much a typical adolescent boy, trying to fit in and trying to stand out at the same time. With few friends and a lot if enemies and issues at home. Brian dreams of his his best friend Gretchen, who shows a little interest. Brian tries his hardest at living a cool life.
My Opinion
There is nothing not to love about this book. I relate mostly to the mom and dad in different rooms but I didn’t get tootsie rolls like Brian. The style is definitely a look back at the early nineties. We were still feral, the last of our kind. Everything. I rooted for Brian the entire time, wishing he could get his mind together. However; he’s a teenage boy and we all know what we wanted back then.
The early nineties were a totally different time from today’s post-9/11 world when our parents became overbearing and the entire world became uncomfortable.
Hairstyles of the Damned sends us back to what we loved, like a little safety net—being a dorky kid who loved punk rock and my skateboard. It was rough, you were scared walking down the hall and crying yourself to sleep. The only advice we got from our parents was to be violent back. Those words are trash. If you hit one, three more would show up. I learned that lesson quickly when I finally fought back. I was thrashed and tortured. But I kept going, I kept waking up in the morning ready to learn. I convinced myself I was strong and I am still here.
In The End
Hairstyles of the Damned is a book I suggest to everyone who had a hard time in school. Everyone that doesn’t know their strength this is a book of good memories. Great bands, cool characters, and so much more. A world of mix tapes and basement concerts. You slowly see Brian’s life fit into place.
You will cheer him on the entire time. It’s a book I still own over twenty years later. You can find copies in paperback and audiobook on Amazon. You won’t be disappointed.
Cheers to all the underdogs that inspired this book, it changed my life for the better
