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A review by bohoautumn
On Beauty by Zadie Smith
1.0
.
In my late teens I think I would have enjoyed this for what it is. Right now though, Smith and I don't gel. I enjoy being entertained, but I also want to read a well-constructed story, believable (if it's meant to be realism), tight prose, emotional insight, and I want to either love or hate the characters.
On Beauty has moments of dazzle, where Smith manages to pull together a string of words that arrow into human emotion and motivation. She also grapples admirably with social issues. Her ear for voice is sharp. Unfortunately, these remain moments.
Mostly, she gave me skeletal characters. None stirred an emotion stronger in me than annoyance or mild curiosity. The uninteresting plot was carried along by large coincidences. The beauty theme was butter-spread thin. The intellectual interjections became ostentatious. So I can't even claim it was entertaining to me.
On a few occasions, one of the characters makes a point that other people's failings/behaviours were dull in their obviousness. That's On Beauty in a nutshell - predictable, obvious, clichéd. I can understand many like it as a fun read, but how this won the Orange Prize and is listed in the 1001 Must Reads is beyond me.
full review @ ink + chai
In my late teens I think I would have enjoyed this for what it is. Right now though, Smith and I don't gel. I enjoy being entertained, but I also want to read a well-constructed story, believable (if it's meant to be realism), tight prose, emotional insight, and I want to either love or hate the characters.
On Beauty has moments of dazzle, where Smith manages to pull together a string of words that arrow into human emotion and motivation. She also grapples admirably with social issues. Her ear for voice is sharp. Unfortunately, these remain moments.
Mostly, she gave me skeletal characters. None stirred an emotion stronger in me than annoyance or mild curiosity. The uninteresting plot was carried along by large coincidences. The beauty theme was butter-spread thin. The intellectual interjections became ostentatious. So I can't even claim it was entertaining to me.
On a few occasions, one of the characters makes a point that other people's failings/behaviours were dull in their obviousness. That's On Beauty in a nutshell - predictable, obvious, clichéd. I can understand many like it as a fun read, but how this won the Orange Prize and is listed in the 1001 Must Reads is beyond me.
full review @ ink + chai