Bad Haircut: Stories from the Seventies
Dec 2012 · Macmillan + ORM
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6 reviews
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244
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About this ebook
From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Leftovers: "Darkly tender, simply written tales about growing up in the Garden State in the 1970s." — The New York Times Book Review
The ten rich stories here span from 1969 to 1980 and are linked by a single protagonist: Buddy, an adolescent suburban New Jersey boy who is truly seeing his world for the first time and already finding it both mysterious and lacking. Whether he's discovering that his mother actually knows—and has a history with—the man inside the battered foam hot dog costume; feeling the first glimmer that sex might actually be possible for him; or finding himself swept along on a prank gone very wrong, Buddy is a recognizable and relatable American boy in this collection by the author of Tracy Flick Can't Win, Mrs. Fletcher, and The Abstinence Teacher, among other novels.
Bad Haircut explores the themes that have fascinated Perrotta throughout his career: suburban rituals and mores; sports and religion; the cheerful cheesiness of American consumer life; public tests of manliness; and the moral dilemmas faced by ordinary people, parents, and teenagers alike.
"So sharp and sure in its description of growing up . . . Because this set of stories, like those of J.D. Salinger, are so based in the kind of truth that spans generations, no reference to a particular decade is needed." — Hartford Courant
"More powerful than any coming-of-age novel I've read recently." — The Washington Post
"[These] well-made, unpretentious stories are as tight as brick bungalows, plain and serviceable on the outside, radiant within, full of life's sorrow and wonder." — Booklist
The ten rich stories here span from 1969 to 1980 and are linked by a single protagonist: Buddy, an adolescent suburban New Jersey boy who is truly seeing his world for the first time and already finding it both mysterious and lacking. Whether he's discovering that his mother actually knows—and has a history with—the man inside the battered foam hot dog costume; feeling the first glimmer that sex might actually be possible for him; or finding himself swept along on a prank gone very wrong, Buddy is a recognizable and relatable American boy in this collection by the author of Tracy Flick Can't Win, Mrs. Fletcher, and The Abstinence Teacher, among other novels.
Bad Haircut explores the themes that have fascinated Perrotta throughout his career: suburban rituals and mores; sports and religion; the cheerful cheesiness of American consumer life; public tests of manliness; and the moral dilemmas faced by ordinary people, parents, and teenagers alike.
"So sharp and sure in its description of growing up . . . Because this set of stories, like those of J.D. Salinger, are so based in the kind of truth that spans generations, no reference to a particular decade is needed." — Hartford Courant
"More powerful than any coming-of-age novel I've read recently." — The Washington Post
"[These] well-made, unpretentious stories are as tight as brick bungalows, plain and serviceable on the outside, radiant within, full of life's sorrow and wonder." — Booklist
From the New York Times–bestselling author of The Leftovers: "Darkly tender, simply written tales about growing up in the Garden State in the 1970s." — The New York Times Book Review
The ten rich stories here span from 1969 to 1980 and are linked by a single protagonist: Buddy, an adolescent sub...
Ratings and reviews
6 reviews
Lauren Froio
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June 5, 2026
good book but was expecting more from this author his other books are mostly amazing especially his new one Ghost Writer
About the author
Tom Perrotta is the author of several works of fiction : Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, Election, and the New York Times bestselling Joe College and Little Children. Election and Little Children were made into critically acclaimed movies. The Leftovers and Mrs. Fletcher were both adapted into HBO series. He lives outside of Boston.
Tom Perrotta is the author of several works of fiction : Bad Haircut, The Wishbones, Election, and the New York Times bestselling Joe College and Little Children. Election and Little Children were made into critically acclaimed movies. The Leftovers and Mrs. Fletcher were both adapted into HBO se...
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