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In an author's note at the end of On Beauty, Zadie Smith writes: "My largest structural debt should be obvious to any E.M. Forster fan; suffice it to say he gave me a classy old frame, which I covered with new material as best I could." If it is true that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Forster, perched on a cloud somewhere, should be all puffed up with pride. His disciple has taken Howards End, that marvelous tale of class difference, and upped the ante by adding race, politics, and gender. The end result is a story for the 21st century, told with a perfect ear for everything: gangsta street talk; academic posturing, both British and American; down-home black Floridian straight talk; and sassy, profane kids, both black and white.
Howard Belsey is a middle-class white liberal Englishman teaching abroad at Wellington, a thinly disguised version of one of the Ivies. He is a Rembrandt scholar who can't finish his book and a recent adulterer whose marriage is now on the slippery slope to disaster. His wife, Kiki, a black Floridian, is a warm, generous, competent wife, mother, and medical worker. Their children are Jerome, disgusted by his father's behavior, Zora, Wellington sophomore firebrand feminist and Levi, eager to be taken for a "homey," complete with baggy pants, hoodies and the ever-present iPod. This family has no secrets--at least not for long. They talk about everything, appropriate to the occasion or not. And, there is plenty to talk about.
The other half of the story is that of the Kipps family: Monty, stiff, wealthy ultra-conservative vocal Christian and Rembrandt scholar, whose book has been published. His wife Carlene is always slightly out of focus, and that's the way she wants it. She wafts over all proceedings, never really connecting with anyone. That seems to be endemic in the Kipps household. Son Michael is a bit of a Monty clone and daughter Victoria is not at all what Daddy thinks she is. Indeed, Forster's advice, "Only connect," is lost on this group.
The two academics have long been rivals, detesting each other's politics and disagreeing about Rembrandt. They are thrown into further conflict when Jerome leaves Wellington to get away from the discovery of his father's affair, lands on the Kipps' doorstep, falls for Victoria and mistakes what he has going with her for love. Howard makes it worse by trying to fix it. Then, Kipps is granted a visiting professorship at Wellington and the whole family arrives in Massachusetts.
From this raw material, Smith has fashioned a superb book, her best to date. She has interwoven class, race, and gender and taken everyone prisoner. Her even-handed renditions of liberal and/or conservative mouthings are insightful, often hilarious, and damning to all. She has a great time exposing everyone's clay feet. This author is a young woman cynical beyond her years, and we are all richer for it. --Valerie Ryan
Praise for On Beauty:
"A thoroughly original tale . . . wonderfully engaging, wonderfully observed . . . That rare thing: a novel that is as affecting as it is entertaining, as provocative as it is humane."
—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"A thing of beauty. Oh happy day when a writer as gifted as Zadie Smith fulfills her early promise with a novel as accomplished, substantive and penetrating as On Beauty."
—Los Angeles Times
"Smith’s specialty is her ability to render the new world, in its vibrant multiculturalism, with a kind of dancing, daring joy. . . . Her plots and people sing with life. . . . One of the best of the year, a splendid treat. "
—Chicago Tribune
"Short-listed for [the 2005] Man Booker Prize, On Beauty is a rollicking satire . . . a tremendously good read."
—San Francisco Chronicle
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Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.75. Seller Inventory # G0670045276I4N00
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.75. Seller Inventory # G0670045276I4N00
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.75. Seller Inventory # G0670045276I3N00
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Seller: Russell Books, Victoria, BC, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Good. First Edition. Bargain book!. Seller Inventory # XB001564
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good+. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+. 1st Edition. Minor shelf wear to book and dust jacket. Otherwise a square, tight, unmarked book. 446 pp. Seller Inventory # 053013
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Seller: MostlySignedBooks, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Canadian. Near fine in near fine dust jacket. SIGNED by author on title page (signature only). 1st Canadian edition, 1st printing, complete number line. Dust jacket is slightly frayed at the front board edge. Book has mild softening to base of spine. 445 p. Audience: General/trade. By the James Tait Black Memorial Prize-, Whitbread Book Award-, Guardian First Book Award-, Commonwealth Writers First Book Prize-, Betty Trask Award-, and Orange Prize-winning author of 'White Teeth' and 'NW'. Signed Canadian editions are uncommon. Where possible, all books come with dust jacket in a clear protective plastic sleeve, sealed in a ziplock bag, wrapped in bubble wrap, shipped in a box. Signed by Author(s). Seller Inventory # Alibris.0006568
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Seller: BYTOWN BOOKERY, Vars, ON, Canada
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Canadian Edition. Bright hard covers with gilt titles to the spine. This book is in Near Fine condition, a solid binding with a bright, unmarked interior. Two light marks to the front cover. The DJ is also in Near Fine condition. Lightwear to the front spine crease. "Howard Belsey, a Rembrandt scholar who doesn't like Rembrandt, is an Englishman abroad and a long-suffering professor at Wellington, a liberal New England arts college. He has been married for thirty years to Kiki, an American woman who no longer resembles the sexy activist she once was. Their three children passionately pursue their own paths: Levi quests after authentic blackness, Zora believes that intellectuals can redeem everybody, and Jerome struggles to be a believer in a family of strict atheists. Faced with the oppressive enthusiasms of his children, Howard feels that the first two acts of his life are over and he has no clear plans for the finale. Or the encore. "; 9.30 X 6 X 1.70 inches; 464 pages. Seller Inventory # 19345
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