On Beauty - Zadie Smith

I originally bought this book second hand for one of my university modules, and remember not finishing it back then - I knew I wanted to read this properly and understand what all the hype is about.

The book is highly acclaimed and won numerous awards at the time of its publication in 2005, and is loosely based on E M Forster’s Howard’s End, another book I read back in my university days and really enjoyed. This book, for me, slightly fell short of expectations - mainly due to my hatred for one character.

If you’ve read this one, it won’t be difficult to guess just who that character is. The book’s primary male character, Howard, father and husband as well as university professor, is utterly loathsome. He is unfaithful to his wife on multiple occasions, he embodies the male chauvinist, treats women like objects and is completely self-absorbed and entitled. I hated him so much that he ruined the book for me.

Aside from my aversion to Howard, I enjoyed Smith’s writing and character development. The character of Kiki is a woman who inspires great sympathy and your heart really goes out to her. There are some important messages regarding race and inequality, particularly with regards to the education system and, by extension, class. Smith’s illustration of the family unit is realistic, raw and sharp-witted, with moments of real humour and familiarity.

I wish I’d connected with this book more but I just could not get over my hatred for one of the book’s primary characters, and when you’re spending over 400 pages reading about a family you really can’t escape them. Perhaps my biggest bug-bear was the lack of comeuppance that I really wanted this character to get! But then again, Smith perhaps intends to highlight this fact exactly - that there were no real consequences for the actions of a privileged white male.