<p>‘Bakker once again, through David Colmer’s bracingly fresh translation, explores with remarkable deftness the ways in which lives are interwoven.’</p>
- Paul Binding, TLS
<p>‘Bakker’s unhurried precision delivers an understated portrait of middle-aged loneliness, before a twist that probes the role of narrative indeterminacy in how we make sense of the world.’</p>
The Sydney Morning Herald
<p>‘A well-constructed, playful novel about three generations of barbers.’</p>
- Declan O'Driscoll, Irish Times
<p>‘To say that Gerbrand Bakker hasn’t forgotten how to write a novel would be an understatement. With <em>The Hairdresser’s Son</em>, he presents himself as one of the very best writers the Netherlands has to offer … With this vivid prose, he makes Simon fascinating, he makes him someone — perhaps the greatest and most loving thing a writer can do. For the reader this results in the almost magical illusion that is the most extraordinary (and, I believe, unforgettable) thing about this novel: the sense of having really seen someone. Gerbrand Bakker has written his characters to life.’</p>
NRC
<p>‘[E]nthralling in that although nothing feels invented, the pages still seem to exude something magical … Simply narrated scenes, terrifying and moving at once.’</p>
- De Groene Amsterdammer,