Damned, Damned, Damned

Joe Meno broke a very important rule. When writing a semi-autobiographical novel, you're supposed to make the main character a lovable hero. He's gotta be fast and he's gotta be strong and he's gotta be larger than life, to paraphrase the old Bonnie Tyler song. But the teenage protagonist of Meno's new bildungsroman, Hairstyles of the Damned, is a truly amazing loser. Brian Oswald tries to steal from his friends, listens to bad music, and hangs around with Camaro-driving thugs who don't even like him. Worst of all, he's embarrassed to be in love with his best friend, the lovely pink-haired Gretchen, because she's fat. Boo! Hiss! What a turd. Some other writing rules Meno ignores are "Try to use fewer than 15 cuss words on each page" and "Don't write the way teenagers actually speak."

Laurent Yen

Joe Meno's wretched Hairstyles.

Details

Joe Meno reads Saturday night, Aug. 21, with Razorcake zine masterminds Todd Taylor and Mike Faloon, at 7

Admission is free

255-1534

ww w.needles-pens.com

Needles and Pens, 483 14th St. (at Guerrero), S.F.

Related Content

• Get Stoned with the Dead Milkmen's New Album, The King in Yellow
  October 13, 2011
• Bouncer: The Alternate Universe of S.F.'s Sausage Factory
  September 22, 2010
• 'Fuck Zoe Deschanel': 10 Great Quotes From SXSW 2011
  March 20, 2011
• Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em
  September 22, 2010
• Bouncer: Visiting fantasy worlds at the Sausage Factory
  September 22, 2010

More About

• Joe Meno
• Brian Oswald
• Bonnie Tyler
• Punk Rock
• Hair Care and Styling

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

It's a great book anyway. The reader winds up feeling deep, protective affection for Oswald, a latter-day Holden Caulfield, and for the lost little foulmouths who surround him. Meno's language, as the story unfolds, is rhythmic and honest, expressing things proper English never could. And you've got to hand it to the author, who pulled off a very good trick: The book is punk rock. It's not just about punk rock (despite its obsession with mix tapes and constant references to Minor Threat and the Misfits); it embodies the idea of punk -- it's pissed off at authority, it won't groom itself properly, and it irritates. Yet its rebellious spirit is inspiring and right on the mark.

Plus, Hairstyles has tons of attitude: "All the kids who had been geeks or fags or nerds or wastoids in junior high started dressing fucked-up when they hit high school ... now they would get pointed at and laughed at, but no one would fuck with them and so they didn't have to take anyone's shit ever again. Being punk meant having something to fight against." Long live rule-breakers. -- Hiya Swanhuyser