Civic Beauties

by C.D. Payne

Now back in The prophetic comic novel of Presidential politics and mischief-making twin daughters. Hailed by Midwest Book Review as "a witty, inventive, unique, engaging, laugh-a-minute novel of pure delight." From the author of the underground cult classic "Youth in The Journals of Nick Twisp."

Genres: Fiction, Humor

252 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

Author and showman C.D. Payne was born in Akron, Ohio in 1949 (making him a contemporary of Richard Gere and Meryl Streep). He spent his early years in West Virginia and southern Ohio, moving back to Akron while still a mere tot.

He went to public schools in Akron, and then graduated from Harvard College, where he majored in history and participated in the annual spring riot. In 1971 he moved to California. During the next 25 years, he held over 50 jobs including newspaper editor, book publisher's assistant, proofreader, trailer park handyman, and catalog writer.

Since 2004 he has been the proprietor of the Eyelusion Museum, a mobile discovery museum in a restored and polished 1964 Airstream trailer. His latest mobile sideshow is a 1950s miniature town (shown below) called Zippy Town. It can been seen at the Santa Rosa Handcar Regatta and other events.

He is married and lives in Sonoma County.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Payne píše spíše knihy, které se hodí na dovolenou, kde chcete trochu vypnout. Četla jsem od něj více věcí a zatím tohle byla asi jedna z těch nejslabších knížek. Žádné zajímavé zvraty a jen tlupa kluků co balila 15cti letá dvojčata při předvolební kampani.

[Lkubicek · Rating 1 out of 5]

Řekněme, že mě autorův styl humoru vůbec nechytl.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

While at times this book was quite funny, I don't think the "musical novel" quite translated. It was a great idea, and there were some very inventive narrative devices, but the constant switching between the character POVs was a bit poorly executed, and the "songs" were just kind of bizarre. Still, Payne's humor and use of language were able to shine at times, and that is when I truly enjoyed the book. Unforunately, I don't think there was enough of that there to make this book really hold my interest.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this novel has moments of C.D. Payne humor, overall it was quite a disappointment. I appreciated the 'Nick and Sheeni-esque' attributes of the dialogue, but this 'musical novel' can't come anywhere near to capturing the uniqueness of 'Youth In Revolt'. A clever idea that got more and more bizarre and illogical as the pages turned.

[Ira Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of CD Payne's work is very madcap and hilarious. This novel, based on a political election cycle that pales by comparison to that of 2016 in its surreality, falls short of the best of CD Payne's work but still is an entertaining read.

[Andrew Gruen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I liked the concept, but it just isn't quite executed right. Amusing but slow.