America the Beautiful: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Yes," I heard myself say when the total stranger asked me to coffee..." (more)
Key Phrases: coffee guy, Madame Barbara, America Throne, Jym Court (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Skeptics, prepare for a surprise: this is an energetic and mostly entertaining debut, a novel only Moon Unit Zappa could have written. The novel concerns one America Throne, the opinionated daughter of famous avant-garde artist Boris Throne: she's funny, she's familiar with self-pity, she's looking for love and she's dealing with "how difficult it is to be hippie royalty AND try to find your own identity in the shadow of a certifiable self-made `genius.' " For those who haven't heard of Zappa's father, Frank, the legendary composer and front man of the Mothers of Invention, it's pointless to attempt to explain him here. But the biographical parallels are obvious enough that it's unclear whether Zappa really wants readers to believe America is a fictional character. The novel reads like an obsessive, bipolar journal of disaster and heartache: America is dumped by her artist boyfriend, Jasper, which launches her on a hell-bent roller-coaster ride of self-loathing and self-discovery. Her aggrandized notion of her own hardships is often patently hilarious: "we drove past a mural of anguished faces and raised fists... Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Gandhi, and that guy with all the grapes. They knew what I was talking about." It's hard not to enjoy America's attitude and observational powers, but the novel is also exasperatingly self-indulgent: song lyrics open every chapter, and too often they're inexcusably facile choices like " `Why?' Annie Lennox" or "Hooray for Hollywood" Author Unknown" (that would be Johnny Mercer, by the way). Although the novel lacks any real perspective on America's repeated falls from grace, her giddy highs and crushing lows make for a refreshingly honest and eye-opening read. Agent, Jimmy Vines. (Sept.)Forecast: This title is sure to catch the eye of its young, female target market few novels, after all, score blurbs from Alanis Morissette and Janeane Garofalo.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Debut novelist Zappa takes as her palette a plot so banal that from someone less sensitive, talented, and funny this could have been a real snore. America Throne, 29, daughter of genius writer and painter Boris and adoring paramour of genius painter Jasper, is abruptly dumped. America's lovelorn travails may resemble those of Helen Fielding's and Melissa Bank's heroines, but she is an original. Her mother, brother, best friend, and therapist convincingly come alive for the reader, as do her memories of her father and his infidelities, semi-pornographic art, absences, and unqualified love for her. And, perhaps most importantly, when she behaves like a fool she knows it. As she says to her therapist, "I hate my life because my boyfriend dumped me and I have no real career and my best friend wants me to stay single forever and my mother drives me nuts and my brother's life is perfect.-I have fantasies of murdering my dog when she makes a certain annoying licking sound." Often hilarious, suffused with pop culture, and ultimately affirming, this is for all collections where quirky new voices are appreciated. [The author is the daughter of the late rock musician Frank Zappa. Ed.] Judith Kicinski, Sarah Lawrence Coll., Bronxville, N.
- Judith Kicinski, Sarah Lawrence Coll., Bronxville, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; First Edition edition (August 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743213831
• ISBN-13: 978-0743213837
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #82,092 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome debut from the original Valley Girl, December 5, 2001

By	Ei "crzybookmoovielover" (Seekonk, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

"America The Beautiful" is a novel by Moon Unit Zappa, who most of us know as Frank Zappa's daughter. She is also the chick that rambled on in the parody hit, Valley Girl, back in the early 80s'. That is what I think of when I see her name.
Now I will think about what an original and fresh voice she's added to today's literature. While she definitely was "writing what she knows"(I am a fledgling writer and have heard that repeatedly), she definitely knows how to write. Her style is unique, and she has a real flair for dialogue. It really was well written and it was easy to follow. It is also laugh out loud funny at times.
I think a lot of women will relate to the character, America Throne, who constantly makes bad choices in her men. The story is about her rollercoaster style life of relationships, and her amnomosity towards her father. She learns about herself, and you will enjoy the ride. I promise....
When's the next book, Moon?

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars America the Beautiful, August 18, 2001

By	Barbara O'Connor "jzerosmom" (Sykesville, MD USA) - See all my reviews

As a pre-mid-life-35ish woman who is still searching for her "thing," I saw myself in this book. The insecurities, doubts, obsessions, and idiosyncrasies from teen years are still there for us all whether we admit it or not. Through her character, America, Moon brings the raw, inner world of she-dom to the forefront. America is stubborn, willful, and totally likeable - the girlfriend we all have...or are. I can't help but wonder how much of the tale is autobiographical, but that only makes the characters more endearing. As I read this book, I couldn't help but compare it to Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity." It's about relationships and life and how they seem to come together somehow, eventually. It's about the path.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dark-tinged Romantic Comedy, Not Negative Dialectics of Moon, September 4, 2001

By	Michael Lerch (Upstate NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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America the Beautiful is a romantic comedy with a chunky forkfuls of darkness. The main character is substantially depressed through much of the book, which lent the story a lot of reality for me...unlike a Hollywood movie, the character felt and dealt with some of the black emotions that accompany the failure of a relationship or the percieved failure of a whole life. On the other hand, the main character (America Throne, or "Mer") struck me as flighty and unrealistic in a lot of ways. Surely people, and women in particular, aren't this nuts with relationships? However, as a substantially midwestern guy, I might not have had a choice but to see it this way: this book is set firmly in Los Angeles. I've been similarly baffled by characters in books by Steve Martin and Carrie Fisher.

I give the book three stars instead of four because of that inconsistency. The writing and story is good, and I think the blurbs on the back cover about Moon being a "fresh voice" are legit praise. There were times though that the character thought and did things that just felt unreal and it occasionally jarred me out of the page. Again I disclaim it could be that I can't relate to the L.A. state of mind, and happily offer that it could be that it is written from such a woman's perspective (glurp...that bit was great) that I might be missing some of it because I don't have enough of an understanding of the opposite sex! I am looking forward to Moon's next work and am also looking forward to loaning this book to my female friends and seeing if they have a different perspective on it.

One big note: I'm a Zappa fan, but I don't necessarily recommend that Zappa freaks buy this book just because "Zappa" is on the cover. This is Moon, not Frank. I've seen Moon on a couple of TV appearances, listened to some interviews and read some of her magazine writing. I've come to enjoy her for her own sake, especially her easy sense of humor and delight. This is so even though I do I think I initially sought her out on TV and such because of the family association. I think it's important to come to the book to enjoy Moon for her own sake instead of interpreting the book as a thinly vieled Tell-All. Moon has said that there are autobiographical elements in the book and further that she set up certain situations to vent about aspects of growing up in a celebrity household, but I think it's fair to say that's as far as it goes. It's fiction, and pretty good fiction at that.