Reviews

On Beauty by Zadie Smith

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nellyycurrie's review against another edition

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Ok, but didn’t love it. None of the characters are loveable, and some of the plot lines are just random and go nowhere, it seems as though she tries to bring them together, e.g., linking Levi’s arc with Zora’s, Zora’s with Howard’s, Howard’s with Jerome’s - but some of them miss.

rjphilander's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

melc's review against another edition

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funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hannahdane's review

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reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

groovygirl's review against another edition

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2.0

I wanted to like this book but unfortunately it did not hit the mark for me.

Zadie Smith writes beautifully and the book has some really great insights. However, I didn’t love how we saw everything from everyone’s perspective, even outside the Beasley family. I know that perspective is the point of the book but there were just too many characters, I would prefer a narrowing in, because the overflow of characters seemed to limit the plot.

PS: I hate Howard and his chapters, what a snooze fest

khaliah's review against another edition

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2.0

I really like Zadie Smith. I especially loved White Teeth. But this book disappointed me. I was never able to get a hold on the characters and therefore I was never able to feel any sympathy for them.