Despite having
already read one of his books (it was another short story collection), it has
been years so I approached Brock Clarke’s new book, The Price of the Haircut,
with a bit of mystery. I recall literally nothing from the last book of his I read,
and usually that is not a good sign. Thankfully, there are a few flashes of
genius in this relatively short (and quick book), with Clarke mining the
intricacies of daily life to speak about issues current to our time as well as
those that are timeless. A few times I was taken aback by what he had done,
much like a stuntman I assumed was doomed to fall flat on his face making a
clean and safe landing. Some of these stories are not perfect and some are not
even that good, but in most I was able to find a profound theme that made me
think, and even if I did not find that, I was at least entertained throughout. The
title story, which opens the collection, is one such brilliant piece of
writing. On the surface, it is a rather goofy story of a group of middle aged,
progressive men who visit a barber who charges $8 for a haircut and also,
through his supposed racism, is responsible for a series of local riots (and
not the police shooting of an unarmed black man). It is hilarious until you
think about, and it is a good mirror into the selfish motivations of people who
seek social justice. That plays out again in “The Misunderstandings”, about a
marriage in shambles after an infidelity that finds their pain and outbursts in
local restaurants becoming a sideshow attraction and a tool for social justice.
Clarke is really good at viewing people’s problems through a carnival-esque
lens of modern life, where people pretend to care but really don’t. Some
stories drag on, like a lot of the longer ones, but this is a solid collection
with a few hidden and enlightening gems.
Rating: 4/5
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