On Beauty
by Zadie Smith
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Book Summary Information
Author: Zadie SmithEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-08-29
ISBN: 0143037749
Number of pages: 464
Publisher: Penguin Books
Book Reviews of On Beauty
Book Review: 'On Beauty'
Summary: 3 Stars
Zadie Smith, a London writer, first came to fame with her debut novel, `White Teeth'. While slightly over hyped, White Teeth was a great novel. It was basically about modern London life, seen through three very different families. It was a great mess of a novel that worked like an early Dickens' novel in its ambition to take a bite of modern London life; full of memorable caricatures, great story lines, hysterical dialogue and a lyrical and hilarious prose.
Her third novel is `On beauty.' The novel takes place in a Massachusetts college town. The story is about two families: the Kipps and Belseys; but mostly about the Belseys. First up is Howard, a liberal art history professor. Then, there is his wife, Kiki. She is a nurse, and proudly not an intellectual, in the worst sense of the word. In her early years she was very beautiful, but has ballooned up to 250 lbs. Then the kids: Zora, a college student and ultimate daddy's little girl, Jerome, a conservative virginal (to Howard's despair) college student, Levi a home boy from the burbs, down with all things hip-hop.
As the novel opens Jerome is living in London for the summer in the house of Monty Kipps, a conservative professor, and Howard's enemy. Back at home Howard is at the dog house for having cheated on Kiki. After a short tumultuous sexual encounter between Jerome and Victoria, one of the Kipps's daughter, Monty Kipps accepts a job in the college where Howard teaches and moves down the street from the Belseys.
The plot is of course `borrowed' from Forster's "Howards End.' Ms. Smith says this is a tribute to the author whom she says, `all my fiction is indebted.' This is the novels first problem. From the opening line, `One may as well begin with Jerome's e-mail to his father,' to a lengthy description and history to the Belsey's residence, to the structure of the story, Ms. Smith tries to echo Mr. Forster's novel. The first problem with these attempts is the plot, which at various point Ms. Smith has to yank into the narrow structure she has set for self. As a result the plot is a mess, without any of the `White Teeth' ambitions. Another problem is the characters. Most of them are here standing in for the characters from the original story, as a result they are lifeless caricature and are pushed aside almost immediately after Ms. Smith has nodded at the original story.
The second problem with the novel is the setting. She wrote the novel after her short stay in Cambridge. It shows. She has trouble with small everyday costumes: Kiki sends her nineteen years old son to buy alcohol; and most noticeably with the dialogues. Levi, whom she attempts to portrays as a suburb kid speaking in a hip hop lingo , sounds like a lovely English lady trying to speak in a hip hop lingo: `You know ... I just thought I'd pay you a call'
Yet, in some ways this is also the best novel Zadie Smith has written. Her prose is a lot more controlled than in her previous novels, but still lyrical and funny. More importantly she has created Kiki Belsey. Kiki Belsey is by far her most complex and detailed character. She is perhaps the only character without any intellectual ambition, and is perhaps (coincidentally?) the most normal. She is a mother worried about her kids, a woman dealing with aging and a failed marriage. In a way she is a simple character, that holds all the characters together. Towards the end of the novel she cleaning out the basement and observes, `The greatest lie ever told about love is that it sets you free.'
I finished this novel with a mixed felling. Here is a flawed novel, from a tremendous talent, who has still to write her GREAT NOVEL.
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