Gregory ponders as he sits in the barber's chair at various stages of his life. His youthful preoccupation with the adult world gives way to the brash chippiness of the university student, and on, finally, to a man whose children are the same age as the girl holding the scissors. A charming take on the slow development of self.

Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collectionThe Lemon Table.

Julian Barnesis the author of twelve novels, includingThe Sense of an Ending, which won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. He has also written three books of short stories, four collections of essays and two books of non-fiction,Nothing to be Frightened Ofand theSunday Timesnumber one bestsellerLevels of Life. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur.