11 agosto 2025

Di alcune umane vicende riguardanti Zappa, pubbliche e private, si viene a sapere un po' di più leggendo la versione dei fatti (e misfatti) datane recentemente da Moon Unit, sua figlia maggiore, in Earth to Moon (White Rabbit, 2024), ora disponibile in italiano come Terra chiama Luna. Un viaggio folle e sincero con un padre di nome Frank Zappa (Mondadori, 2025). Non tutto propriamente splendido, e l'autrice non nasconde sfide e personali difficoltà affrontati anche solo nello scriverne: "I set out to humanize my father in a way his fans have never seen before and to ask the questions: What happens when the person you want to belong to you alone belongs to his art, himself and everyone else? Is genius worth the collateral damage? I used to say having Frank for a father was a bit like having Jesus as a dad – only I viewed his fervent flock keeping our lights on as my competition, and was outraged by the ones filling our earthly father’s coffers with unlimited blowjobs. Some of the surprises for me in writing the book were empathy for the villains in my life and for myself, along with the mortifying exposure and dismantling of faulty understandings and outdated beliefs. This memoir is a rock ‘n’ roll odyssey examining much of what broke me and broke me open growing up an inimitable icon’s daughter. There was no ghost writer. I was the sole ghost hunter. Personally and professionally this was the most difficult and ambitious thing I have done so far. If you are a fish-out-of water, black sheep, fly-on-the-wall, path-cutter, survivor, loner, or life lover, I hope it speaks to you in some lasting and beneficial way."