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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The number of chances given to this man was nothing shy of astonishing. My god.
I should start by saying I think Zadie Smith is a gifted writer. I was first introduced to her writing in college when I read "White Teeth" for an African-American Lit class. I identified deeply with the characters being first-generation Jamaican-American myself and thought she articulated the first-gen experience and the tension between immigrant parents and their children brilliantly.
One thing I've come to terms with her writing is that she is verbose. She can write a 400+ page novel that has a ton of good content but it gets clouded by about 100 pages of text that is unnecessary. This is where I struggle with Smith's work, and On Beauty was no different. I identified with this novel for different reasons: the life of an academic. Though Howie being an academic was not a central piece to the novel (IMO the family aspect was much more prominent) I could identify with some of the ridiculousness that academics engage with. There are some other endearing themes in the novel that prompts me to rate this with three stars instead of four. The relationship between Zora, Levi, and Jerome is undeniably compelling (and another part I appreciated, being the youngest of four siblings, people I have very rich relationships with). As individuals, however, I'm not sure I really felt like I knew them as people. There was a lot of space given for Levi throughout the novel, and because of this, his character was the most nuanced. Zora, though interesting in her own right, needed more time. Her storyline felt disjointed and bumpy, with parts of her story having a consistent thread throughout the novel and other parts being dropped halfway through. I would have liked to learn more about Jerome's character but the little I did know about him from the story made me feel for him as the oldest sibling.
Overall, this novel was a struggle for me to read. I picked it up and left it alone for about three weeks, then finished it in a matter of two days simply because I was waiting to get to the point. Not sure I ever did.
One thing I've come to terms with her writing is that she is verbose. She can write a 400+ page novel that has a ton of good content but it gets clouded by about 100 pages of text that is unnecessary. This is where I struggle with Smith's work, and On Beauty was no different. I identified with this novel for different reasons: the life of an academic. Though Howie being an academic was not a central piece to the novel (IMO the family aspect was much more prominent) I could identify with some of the ridiculousness that academics engage with. There are some other endearing themes in the novel that prompts me to rate this with three stars instead of four. The relationship between Zora, Levi, and Jerome is undeniably compelling (and another part I appreciated, being the youngest of four siblings, people I have very rich relationships with). As individuals, however, I'm not sure I really felt like I knew them as people. There was a lot of space given for Levi throughout the novel, and because of this, his character was the most nuanced. Zora, though interesting in her own right, needed more time. Her storyline felt disjointed and bumpy, with parts of her story having a consistent thread throughout the novel and other parts being dropped halfway through. I would have liked to learn more about Jerome's character but the little I did know about him from the story made me feel for him as the oldest sibling.
Overall, this novel was a struggle for me to read. I picked it up and left it alone for about three weeks, then finished it in a matter of two days simply because I was waiting to get to the point. Not sure I ever did.
Of the three or four books I’ve read by Zadie Smith, this one was probably my favorite. Her work always feels like modern-day Jane Austen, or like stunningly ornate, hyperrealist portraiture. Sometimes, it’s almost so dazzling and gaudily written that it’s tiresome to reading, but I thought this book showcased her personal style in a way that suited her choice of plot and characters very well.
+ Not a big detractor at all, but as an ESOL teacher, I was amused by how traditionally British-sounding some of the written dialogue for the American characters was. For me, it contrasted a bit awkwardly with how well-researched the rest of the book was but also wasn’t a big deal.
+ Not a big detractor at all, but as an ESOL teacher, I was amused by how traditionally British-sounding some of the written dialogue for the American characters was. For me, it contrasted a bit awkwardly with how well-researched the rest of the book was but also wasn’t a big deal.
funny
hopeful
sad
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
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
'And so it happened again, the daily miracle whereby interiority opens out and brings to bloom the million-petalled flower of being here, in the world, with other people. Neither as hard as she thought it might be nor as easy as it appeared' BARS
On Beauty is equally entertaining and rich, with some banger lines peppered throughout the book. Zadie Smith has a very bingeable style of prose (kinda tragicomedy) which keeps you hella engaged even though this is a long book. Also especially impressive because not one of these characters (maybe bar Jerome and Kiki) are at all likeable. Still you want to learn more and see how it all plays out. Also impressive how everyone definitely has major merits and pitfalls, which leaves you never solidly on anybody's team, with alliances constantly shifting around. It leaves you wondering what makes someone a good person and if any of these people good people. The book does not draw many conclusions, but it is good enough to pull this off. Also cool the way it plays with different types of privilege.
I also love the way that the narrative jumps around characters very seamlessly, like we might follow Jerome until he approaches Levi, and then we leave with Levi. The Kipps and Belseys are such interesting foils to each others parallel characters.
The only thing that would have pulled up to five stars is perhaps a little more sincerity, but a great read for sure.
On Beauty is equally entertaining and rich, with some banger lines peppered throughout the book. Zadie Smith has a very bingeable style of prose (kinda tragicomedy) which keeps you hella engaged even though this is a long book. Also especially impressive because not one of these characters (maybe bar Jerome and Kiki) are at all likeable. Still you want to learn more and see how it all plays out. Also impressive how everyone definitely has major merits and pitfalls, which leaves you never solidly on anybody's team, with alliances constantly shifting around. It leaves you wondering what makes someone a good person and if any of these people good people. The book does not draw many conclusions, but it is good enough to pull this off. Also cool the way it plays with different types of privilege.
I also love the way that the narrative jumps around characters very seamlessly, like we might follow Jerome until he approaches Levi, and then we leave with Levi. The Kipps and Belseys are such interesting foils to each others parallel characters.
The only thing that would have pulled up to five stars is perhaps a little more sincerity, but a great read for sure.
Not my first Zadie Smith book - I think it's the kind of book I that could benefit from a second reading. I had trouble following the many stories lines, except what was going on at the university. I had trouble in the beginning to see how the story was conducted. However, the writing was good enough and the story interesting, hence why I finished it despite it all. Maybe my opinions will change - I don't think I read it at the right time for me.