Samurai Barber Versus Ninja Hairstylist

When I was a kid, I remember in a reading lesson moving on to the class reading The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Initially I was super excited, finally we got to read a superhero comic. Then I discovered it was not that, it was a weird anti-war kids prose poem type thing. But even I was won over by it, and certainly the bits that are the plot of the Iron Giant are great. And then the giant bat-angel turns up in the last chapter and any sense of a thematic whole is squandered. Samurai Barber Versus Ninja Hairstylist reminded me of that. Its a silly bit of fluff, which then becomes a really powerful allegory, before taking a weird final act turn into a weird family space soap opera.

The good, because most of this is good. It really is what it says on the tin. In the future everyone lives in the city of Lionfish, including the Samurai Barber who is an itinerant barber who lives to give people the haircut that will complete their lives. Tā come across a ninja on a (sentient) train who is cutting someone elses hair without tāde permission (did I mention Malay sourced gender neutral pronouns - there are and it is easy to get your head around to the degree its a little sad that they are latterly explain in quite so much detail). To cut someone elses hair without permission is anathema to the Samurai Barber so a fight ensues. The hairdressing is a metaphor of course for political thought, free will and within the structure of the book revolution. Do you have the right to change someones life for them, to instigate revolution of behalf of others even if they don't believe they need it. This stuff is really good, particularly as the futuristic bits are nicely peppered in (phones being like pets are a lovely touch), and it builds to a nice climax where the problems of this hyper-capitalistic society are going to be challenged by the newly radicalised Samurai Barber. And then the Giant Bat-Angel Thing turns up (it doesn't but it sort of does).

I found the last section of SBvNH quite disappointing because for all the initial clunkiness of the political allegory, it was actually a good one. The lightness of touch, the silliness of the conversations about the perfect haircut leant itself surprisingly well to the allegory and the potential violence inherent in the anarchy suggested had a nice match in the violence of the state and the perceived violence of the haircuts themselves. Its a quick read, and perhaps sticking the landing for any kind of cosmetology revolution would have been tricky, but I would have liked to have seen Zed Dee try because I think tā could have pulled it off.

[NetGalley ARC]