A review by neverbeenanatural
On Beauty, by Zadie Smith

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

5.0

i can never get enough satire of academia, especially pretentious new england liberal arts schools, and this absolutely delivered. i felt very close to many of the characters, wanting them to make good decisions and feeling VERY pained when they did not. although it was written 15 years ago, it handled a lot of topics (race, class, etc) with enough nuance that they were still relevant. my biggest complaint is that i didn’t expect to spend so much of the book in the perspective of a philandering middle aged professor. overall, super well written and engrossing.
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