Reviews

Kauneudesta, by Irmeli Ruuska, Zadie Smith

poenaestante's review against another edition

5.0

This book is gorgeous and (I felt) a big challenge for Smith to sort of restrain all her over-the-topness with characters and instead work in the realm of subtlety. I utterly adored this story, all the gut wrenching encounters, all the tender moments. Life is hard, yo. Read this book though.

stupidlittleguy's review against another edition

dark funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mofbm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

albertotobias's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

naomiwhit's review against another edition

emotional funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

stephquintal's review against another edition

1.0

DNF. Nothing about this novel was able to intrigue me or convince me to continue reading. Only 15% of the novel was read.

jbogerhawkins's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this book a lot, but I can't say that I loved it. I think I would have found it much more dazzling if I hadn't just read White Teeth, but compared to her debut novel, this one is just slightly lackluster.

Pros:

• Fucking hilarious
• Some of the best characterization I've ever read, even for the characters who weren't ultimately redeemable as human beings
• Surprisingly gripping given the slow pacing and overall lack of plot 
• I love how much she hates academia
• The Belsey kids (who I think are the protagonists?) are extremely compelling
• Zadie is obviously a genius and I would trust her with my life 

Cons:

• I have no idea what the point of the story is and I can't figure it out no matter how hard I think about it
• The hyper-realism thing is cool because she's so good at it but I actually don't love it as a writing style 
• Rembrandt sucks and it's unclear to what extent that was supposed to be the takeaway 
• What's going on w the ending??

emoust's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

sadi9954's review against another edition

3.0

3.5. I really love the riff on Howard’s End by E.M Forster. Like all of her books, On Beauty tackles important issues like racial identity and the clash between liberal and conservative values/ politics
3.5 only because some characters seemed too schematic at times, or only sociological stand ins.

quinlynlyn's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25