Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
When I started reading I couldn't really get into the plot and figure out the characters. Then, somewhere in the middle things started to shake, I got interested in what's going to happen and how the characters are going to develop. But then again, in the end, it was very predictable.
The characters don't have anything in particular that would make them memorable, they are all within the frame of stereotypical. Middle-aged professors sleeping with hot students; middle-class teenager (?) trying to escape his own identity and create a new one on the street; beautiful shallow girl everyone wants to be with, getting the one guy the other girl, the nerdy one, is in love with etc.
One thing I appreciated about this book was how Zadie Smith succeeded in capturing the feelings and all those moments of insecurity and uncertainty. I really admire her choice of words.
I really liked this part when Howard meets Victoria some time after they had sex:
"She placed the tobacco back in his hand. There was a visceral shock in this closeness. He had not seen her since that afternoon. And with the miracle that is male compartmentalization he had barely thought of her either... He had recalled, with the mawkish tenderness of the disloyal, how very lucky and blessed he was to have his family. In fact, taken as a concept, as a premise, 'Victoria Kipps' had done a world of good for Howard's marriage and for Howard's general mental state."
The characters don't have anything in particular that would make them memorable, they are all within the frame of stereotypical. Middle-aged professors sleeping with hot students; middle-class teenager (?) trying to escape his own identity and create a new one on the street; beautiful shallow girl everyone wants to be with, getting the one guy the other girl, the nerdy one, is in love with etc.
One thing I appreciated about this book was how Zadie Smith succeeded in capturing the feelings and all those moments of insecurity and uncertainty. I really admire her choice of words.
I really liked this part when Howard meets Victoria some time after they had sex:
"She placed the tobacco back in his hand. There was a visceral shock in this closeness. He had not seen her since that afternoon. And with the miracle that is male compartmentalization he had barely thought of her either... He had recalled, with the mawkish tenderness of the disloyal, how very lucky and blessed he was to have his family. In fact, taken as a concept, as a premise, 'Victoria Kipps' had done a world of good for Howard's marriage and for Howard's general mental state."
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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
Barely made it through and almost quit with fewer than 100 pages left. I’m sure it felt fresher when it first came out, but two decades later I found it incredibly tiresome and predictable. I did appreciate certain observations/insights into sibling dynamics, but every character felt flat (except for Kiki, at times) and I never developed any interest in the plot or the progressions of relationships.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this book in spare moments during the day and for hours at night. Very engaging.
On Beauty reminded me of John Updike’s rabbit books in their shared attention to life’s realistic detail and psychological nuance, and their interest in American family life, race/class tensions, masculinity, and American cultural life. The books share a self-involved and self-deluded male character (I loathed Howard and might have quit on Beauty if the book hadn’t shifted to the perspectives of other characters later on.) What Zadie Smith does better though, is add three-dimensional female characters!! Hooray and thank god.
On Beauty reminded me of John Updike’s rabbit books in their shared attention to life’s realistic detail and psychological nuance, and their interest in American family life, race/class tensions, masculinity, and American cultural life. The books share a self-involved and self-deluded male character (I loathed Howard and might have quit on Beauty if the book hadn’t shifted to the perspectives of other characters later on.) What Zadie Smith does better though, is add three-dimensional female characters!! Hooray and thank god.
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
medium-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
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well, this was one slow read. It takes time to get through the book and into the story. I think it was only the last 80 pages that I really felt invested in it (and this book has 443 pages so........). I didn't hate it, but I definitely didn't love it either. Though Smith's writing is always witty and enjoyable, the story felt kind of all over the place. It tackles so many different subjects that I lost count. I'm glad I read it, but mostly glad I'm done now.
ok these 4 stars should be 4.5 but i was waiting for that moment of..... ultimate connection that didn't fully arrive for me. but it's still great!!
edit: changed my mind after 10 seconds of posting this. yeah it's 5 stars
edit: changed my mind after 10 seconds of posting this. yeah it's 5 stars
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes