The Stylist

by Cai Emmons

As children, Hayden and her sisters ran carefree through the wilds of rural Connecticut when their father was away writing novels. But when he eventually returned, the spontaneous nature of their female household gave way to his oppressive regulation.

Years later, Hayden has moved south to Hoboken, New Jersey, where she works as a hair stylist in a salon filled with the easy laughter and unfettered joy that colored the best days of her childhood. But into this paradisiacal community arrives a stranger, much like Hayden, who is also haunted by a dark secret and a troubled past. Together these two misfits will form a tentative bond that will help them overcome personal crises and pain, as they struggle to discover who they truly are and to find the strength to move on.

Genres: Fiction

342 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mirjam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I REALLY like Emmons writing. I really like her message. I'm not sure I loved where this one ended up; I enjoyed hanging out in NYC more than the trip to the tropics, which got weird because it was supposed to. All the sticky, late-game tension kind of put a damper on what had been a careful unwinding of characters that I'd been so enjoying. That said, I'll make it a point to read anything Emmons puts out. Did I mention, I REALLY like her writing?

[VP · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was clearly not the intended audience for this book.i was lured by the cover and title. Even the description did not tell me what I was in for.

That aside, I thought this was a terrible book. I should have DNFed, but instead, in hopes there was some reason for the book to exist, kept at it, skipping huge swaths of text, looking for story advancement. I was not rewarded.

[Deon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting themes are explored in this imaginative, thought provoking book. Hayden is the daughter of a famous author. She was expected to graduate from Harvard, expected to lead a life very different from the life she chooses. Hayden found her father distant, demanding, and intimidating. But was he really? Her sympathies were reserved for her mother, a fragile woman who destroys her beauty by self mutilating. As a young woman Hayden takes her Harvard tuition money and runs away, leaving her family behind. She becomes a stylist, ending up in Hoboken New Jersey in Rena’s salon, a friendly place where the other stylists are her friends. When Rena hires Emory, it is unsettling for Hayden. She finds the new stylist different and disturbing. Eventually she learns that Emory is in the midst of changing gender from woman to man, she also learns that Emory is an exceedingly good person. What determines who we are at the core? Is it possible to be born in a body of the wrong gender? Emory has never felt like a girl. When a chance meeting with her sister leads Hayden back to her father, she needs Emory’s help. We so often see the blame in others, see others only through the filters of our experiences. What if the view we have of them is completely wrong?

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another reviewer recommended that this book needs a different cover. I thought it was going to be a book about a salon and all the nutty conversations and women that come in.

That is NOT how this book is at all. And the title is a misnomer because while the main character is a stylist, we only see her doing her job in the first 70 pages of the book.

This is a book about family relationships, gender identity and what we make of life. Maybe it was because I was prepared for a different kind of book, but I didn't finish the book - I skimmed the last half of it. I'm glad I did, too, because the ending seemed pretty lame to me.

I love the idea of gender identity (in fact, I recently read Jennifer Finney Boylan's memoir) but I think Emmons should have not tried to combine so many different things.

The shift in narratives was also disconcerting and strange because it wasn't through all the book.

[treva · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gosh, there's a lot going on in this. I feel like there are (at least) three really good stories hiding in here somewhere that each could have been a really great novella, were they given the space to flesh out after being introduced, and to showcase their unique details more finely, in brighter and more open light. Instead, they're just kind of mashed together, and I kept going, "oh.. what? ...really?" and not in a pleasing way.

[Carolynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in one sitting; couldn't put it down.

Hayden is a hair stylist in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is miserable, taciturn, and a loner. Family drama draws her to Costa Rica, where she is just as miserable and taciturn, and keeps to herself in spite of so many people trying to enter her world.

What is amazing is that Cai Emmons makes you want to know the story, even though its protagonist is singularly unlikeable.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing novel. I wish it was more emotionally driven. I was angry by the end of the story. I wanted to read more intimacy between Hayden and Emory and possibly a sex scene. I wanted more meaning in this book. I thought at the beginning it could have been something like His Mother's Son but reading farther and farther it felt like a typical story just like a lot of family drama where the fighting happens and then the person who is the most hurt dies. UGHHH frustrating...

[Leah Steever · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those books I picked up for a $1 at a sample sale. I assumed it was chick lit, but it turned out to be a story about family drama with transexual / gender issues thrown in. Very readable, but the writing was mediocre.

This was one of those books that I found myself skimming in places to get to what I knew was the inevitable ending.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not at all what I expected. I think a different cover would have gone a long way towards helping this book find its appropriate audience. It was well-written, but I just didn't enjoy it--probably because I didn't find any of the characters particulary likeable.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are beautifully rendered characters, real and women you've known and will know your whole life. The story isn't new. It's just told with fresh eyes, great heart, some fresh perspective and a big boost to the spirit.

Cai Emmons is a Eugene writer.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated Emmons eloquent writing style and her mastery of words. The story seemed forced and more complex than it needed to be. Her main character, Hayden, never really came together for me. She deftly explored the world of hair salons, family relationship and transgender issues.

[Elly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't decided what I think of this book. I liked the writing but think that it covered too many topics and I'm not sure that they really fit together.

[Marialuisa126 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting book. The main characters are a woman running away from her past and a woman slowly becoming a man who meet while working in a hair salon.