On Beauty

This novel is Zadie Smith's homage to 'Howards End' by E.M. Forster as it plot loosely parallels Forster's masterpiece, dealing with the issues of class, appearance and, in Smith's narrative, black people's identity.

The story focuses on two very dissimilar families. The Besley family consists of Howard, a liberal university professor, his African-American wife Kiki and their children Jerome, Zora and Levi. The Kipps family is lead by conservative Trinidadian professor Monty, his wife Carlene and their children Victoria and Michael.

Smith cleverly interwines their lives, portraying the clash not only of their ideologies but also of their personal affairs. The conflict between Howard and Monty has being developed for several years, as their different approaches towards art makes they stand in totally opposite positions. During the story, the members of their families become more and more connected, creating bonds that the patriarchs don't agree with: Jerome works as an intern for Monty, having an affair with his daughter Victoria; Kikki and Carlene become friends, not taking into account their different backgrounds and beliefs; Monty's family moves and he starts working in the same university as Howard does, becoming a clearly opposition to what-used-to-be Howard's influential leadership.

As the novel takes place in an imagined upper-class white context, the author places significant issues regarding being black in the development of the novel. For instance, Kikki feels isolated as the black wife of a white professor, saying that '(her) whole life is white. (She doesn't) see any black folk unless they be cleaning.'  Meanwhile, her son Levi resorts to the city to find people he can identified with, changing his way of speaking, copying the street style he feels as the real black talk.

As you can see, this story is complex, intense, intelligent, puzzling, and more! Zadie Smith has created a masterpiece, becoming one of the most promising writers of her generation. Her power of observation fills the novel with a more deep understanding of topics that concerns the citizents of our contemporary world, without disregarding the pleasure you can find in a well-written story.

Ana Ovejero

mail: ana.ovejero@gmail.com

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