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On Beauty

Smith, Zadie. Book - 2005 Adult Book / Fiction / General / Smith, Zadie None on shelf 1 request on 1 copy Community Rating: 4.2 out of 5

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Malletts Adult Books
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Adult Book / Fiction / General / Smith, Zadie 4-week checkout Due 04-15-2024

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

so-so submitted by hcf on July 25, 2014, 1:48pm I didn't love this book like I felt I should. Maybe cutting 75 pages would have helped.

Mixed review submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on June 22, 2015, 6:49am This was... interesting, in its own ways. I had a hard time wanting to pick the book up, especially in the first half, but I was quite interested in what happened to the family. Our book club mostly didn't like the book, and yet we ended up having quite a long discussion about it.

Hmm... I really needed to write this review sooner than a month after I read the book! I"m way behind. :-)

What I remember finding most interesting, though, was a variety of parallels. There were the obvious ones in the two professors, one succeeding and one falling apart, but both making... hmm... without too much of a spoiler, making poor choices with students. There were the two wives, and their struggles to find their path and place given the challenges in front of them. More interesting were the two daughters, both of whom were the daughters of important professors, but who interacted with the world so differently. Monty Kipps' daughter Victoria used her physical beauty like a sword, while Howard's daughter Zora used her mind in the same way. Howard's younger son Levi had all the benefits of a college professor's child's life, and yet dismissed it for "street life," while Carl came from the streets and used every opportunity he could find to engage his mind and learn.

In addition, of course, the varieties of ways that this book addressed with race were fascinating. The subtleties of these mixed race families in their academic and community environments were well done, and also sparked discussion and insight.

Unfortunately, much of the book takes pages to say what could be said much more efficiently, and the pacing just drags. Some of my book club loved the writing... there were some brilliant lines and scenes. But, as I said, especially the first half dragged, and it was almost aways hard to want to pick up. I can't really recommend it, yet it sparked some interesting thoughts and discussion.

Dramatic and wildly interesting submitted by Jinxyluis on August 21, 2019, 11:41am I was floored by how much I enjoyed this book. In the way of most contemporary fiction, I can’t easily articulate why I enjoyed this book. I found myself immersed in the drama of the Belsey family, and loved watching the dynamics play out between the characters. This was a family which felt fully realized in all their love for each other and history and flaws. Smith shines in her portrayal of not only what makes each character tick, but the way their lives fit alongside one another and everything which influences the state of their relationships to each other.

This is a gorgeously rendered, and dynamically exciting and dramatic story of a family in flux. Though heavily focused on the characters, the plot of this novel clips along, dropping bombshells that will leave no one unchanged. I can't wait to read more Zadie Smith.

Beautifully written! submitted by AGAPHD on August 18, 2023, 10:35pm Zadie Smith's writing is so beautiful and carefully crafted. Her characters and relationships are also richly developed and complex. I really liked this book.

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PUBLISHED
New York : Penguin Press, c2005.
Year Published: 2005
Description: 445 p. ; 25 cm.
Language: English
Format: Book

ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
0143037749
1594200637 :

SUBJECTS
College teachers -- Fiction.
Racially mixed children -- Fiction.