Bald

By Russell David Harper

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972028765
• ISBN13: 9780972028769
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Scala House Pub Llc
• Length: 209 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Related to everything . . .

Baldness is the root of all strife in the world (well: maybe circumcision plays a role too [quiz: what does the current American-Israeli-Islamic trifecta all have in common? hint: they practice high rates of infant something]). In any case, men are at fault, and if you're a very sensitive man it's hard not to feel like a jerk sometimes. Moreover, it's hard to come to the realization that, without lots of money in the bank, we're all on a downhill slope after twenty-five, like it or not. Rain will never feel as good on our skin again. Music will never sound so primal. Nobody will love us for purely animal reasons again. Fortunately, there's the joy of reflection, aided by the extraordinary recorded legacy of the twentieth century (i.e., records, tapes, CDs, DVDs). And, even better, there's beer. It turns any grown man into a kid again. Recovery? That will have to wait. . . . Read this book to come away with some veritas and to live vicariously through the life of a valedictorian who preferred not to join the rat race. Recommended even for those of us who are nearly forty or even older.

Freedom of speech

It seems as if someone is making an all-out attempt to promote the idea that the human condition is absurd precisely because some men lose their hair (even if they're otherwise perfectly healthy?!). I think this is pretty funny. And it's a lot nicer than trying to promote Intelligent Design or tax cuts for the superrich. In any case, everybody is entitled to an opinion. Bald? Highly recommended. Read it even if you aren't losing your hair (because someday you might). Read it even if you never drink liquor ("Well, there are some people that rarely touch it, but it touches them often," as Stanley Kowalski says to Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire").

If you like to drink ...

If you like to drink, you'll love Charles Bukowski. You'll also love this book. If you're young and you have hair, you've clearly got a lot; if you start to lose your hair and you're getting older, well, then: beery evenings in front of the television are just what the doctor ordered. In between times, exercise, take Prozac, and read BALD. Highly recommended.

Reality and Life

I read this book and didn't know what to expect. I enjoyed it very much and it was over too soon. Russell, if you're out there reading this review, just know that a fan in Rosamond is extremely proud of you! Write some more novels for those of us who only like to read the best. I have a friend to give the book to and he wants to be a writer. He likes to read any book with at least an element of truth in it. He is a licensed clinical social worker with an emphasis on addictions. Good luck, Russell. From Nancy

An author with a voice!

I think it's hard to get a feel for contemporary novels. Recent trends seem to force authors to worry more about how to sell than simply be who they are. Many of today's novels therefore seem filled with gimmicks, gadgets, tricks and intrigues intent on pleasing some public authors don't feel they should even try to know (perhaps they think the task too daunting). They write for others, not themselves, and in doing so lose their way. One of the great things about Russell David Harper's book is that indeed, he's trying to please an audience, but that's only because he wants someone to love and understand him. It's got that wonderful "first novel" feel, the author who wrote this because he simply had to, for himself. So the desire to please is an intensely personal issue. You get the feeling that the narrator would want nothing better than to start up a dialogue with you, the reader, (he even invites you into his home at one point to have a beer if you'd so desire; his loneliness at this point is painfully easy to share) and for a lack of that possibility, he talks, sometimes rants, but he somehow always makes it sound, even at his most vociferous, that he might like to have your opinion too. The point is that to read this book is to know the narrator Russell Cole, in the kind of way where you might like him to know you too. Closing the book at the end is like saying good-bye to a friend you hope to see again soon. He's a sad (though is he really?), funny, fat, bald, sympathetic beer alcoholic. The author achieves in this book what I think most authors would like to do: create a character, maybe just slightly larger than life, but who seems so real anyone can identify with him. Reading Bald is an engaging experience; you're part of the game, not just a bystander peering in on a clever sideshow.