Grouping Information

Book Cover Information

Hoopla Extract Information

stdClass Object
(
    [year] => 2018
    [artist] => Brock Clarke
    [fiction] => 1
    [coverImageUrl] => https://cover.hoopladigital.com/hbg_9781616208240_270.jpeg
    [titleId] => 15217944
    [isbn] => 9781616208240
    [abridged] => 
    [language] => ENGLISH
    [profanity] => 
    [title] => The Price of the Haircut
    [demo] => 
    [segments] => Array
        (
        )

    [pages] => 224
    [children] => 
    [artists] => Array
        (
            [0] => stdClass Object
                (
                    [name] => Brock Clarke
                    [artistFormal] => Clarke, Brock
                    [relationship] => AUTHOR
                )

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    [genres] => Array
        (
            [0] => Black Humor
            [1] => Fiction
            [2] => Humorous
            [3] => Literary
            [4] => Short Stories (single Author)
        )

    [price] => 2.99
    [id] => 15217944
    [edited] => 
    [kind] => EBOOK
    [active] => 1
    [upc] => 
    [synopsis] => From an acclaimed and original writer comes a new collection of stories bursting with absurdist plot twists and laced with trenchant wit. Brock Clarke, author of An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England and Exley, among other novels, now offers up bite-sized morsels of his trademark social satire that will have readers laughing, and perhaps shifting uncomfortably in their seats.



 The title story delivers a cringingly biting dissection of racial attitudes in contemporary America, and Clarke also turns his eagle eye to subjects like PTSD, the fate of child actors, and, most especially, marital discord in stories like "Considering Lizzie Borden, Her Axe, My Wife" and "The Misunderstandings." In "The Pity Palace," a masterful study in self-absorption and self-delusion, a reclusive husband in Florence, Italy, who believes his wife has left him for a famous novelist, sells tickets to tourists anxious to meet someone more miserable than they.



 It's a distinctly Clarkean world, in which readers find themselves reflected back with the distortion of funhouse mirrors-and swept up on a wild ride of heart-wrenching insight and self-discovery. Brock Clarke is the author of four novels, including the bestselling An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England. He lives in Portland, Maine, and teaches at Bowdoin College. Praise for The Price of the Haircut:



 "Parts Donald Barthelme, Richard Powers, and George Saunders, Brock Clarke has distinguished himself as a writer fully in control of his ideas. Clarke's The Price of the Haircut is an impressive collection of stories . . . Clarke's created an impressive world here that's well worth visiting."

 -Popmatters.com



 "For those readers missing the regular output of Tom Robbins, this writer seems to be his natural heir. Clarke observes his characters with brutal attention to their weaknesses that borders on cruel, but he mitigates that look with outright funny and true observations. Take this book on vacation so everyone can wonder why you are laughing out loud."

-Tulsa Book Review



 "Full of sharp left turns and unexpected narrative choices, Clarke's bleak yet hilarious collection constantly mixes the seemingly mundane with the profound . . . these stories often echo the absurdities of Donald Barthelme, Nikolai Gogol, Joshua Ferris, and David Foster Wallace. In trying to illuminate how we discuss race, war, and family dynamics, Clarke shows he is constantly willing to push boundaries. The resulting tales are hilarious, haunting, and original."

 -Booklist, starred review



 "Clarke's disquieting, droll work reflects humanity like a dark fun house mirror."

 -Publishers Weekly



 "In these stories, Brock Clarke dissects human nature in a way even a casual reader would understand and enjoy. These profound short stories are highly entertaining and enjoyable."

-The Washington Book Review



 "There aren't enough superlatives to praise Brock Clarke's extraordinary new collection. . . Clarke is outrageously inventive. He has a masterful command of voice, style, and character, and an off-key humor which is often mind-boggling . . . the stories in The Price of the Haircut are a series of unexpected, rewarding pleasures. They are the finest products of an accomplished writer with a unique mind."

 -Washington Independent Review of Books



 "The characters that populate these acerbic stories have made a fine art out of self-delusion and self-sabotage-and their various unspoolings are equal parts blistering and riveting. The Price of the Haircut is Brock Clarke at his satiric best."

 -Laura van den Berg, author of Find Me

  

 "Brock Clarke is such a funny writer you might make the mistake of thinking these stories are pure, light fun. You'd be wrong about that. The Price of the Haircut kept catching me by surprise with the depth of its insights and the depths Clarke
    [url] => https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/15217944
    [pa] => 
    [subtitle] => Stories
    [publisher] => Algonquin Books
    [purchaseModel] => INSTANT
)