
On Beauty
(2005)A novel by
Zadie Smith
AwardsThe Booker Prize (nominee)
Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction
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.
Then Jerome, Howard's older son, falls for Victoria, the stunning daughter of the right-wing icon Monty Kipps, and the two families find themselves thrown together in a beautiful corner of America, enacting a cultural and personal war against the background of real wars that they barely register. An infidelity, a death, and a legacy set in motion a chain of events that sees all parties forced to examine the unarticulated assumptions which underpin their lives. How do you choose the work on which to spend your life? Why do you love the people you love? Do you really believe what you claim to? And what is the beautiful thing, and how far will you go to get it?
Set on both sides of the Atlantic, Zadie Smith's third novel is a brilliant analysis of family life, the institution of marriage, intersections of the personal and political, and an honest look at people's deceptions. It is also, as you might expect, very funny indeed.
Then Jerome, Howard's older son, falls for Victoria, the stunning daughter of the right-wing icon Monty Kipps, and the two families find themselves thrown together in a beautiful corner of America, enacting a cultural and personal war against the background of real wars that they barely register. An infidelity, a death, and a legacy set in motion a chain of events that sees all parties forced to examine the unarticulated assumptions which underpin their lives. How do you choose the work on which to spend your life? Why do you love the people you love? Do you really believe what you claim to? And what is the beautiful thing, and how far will you go to get it?
Set on both sides of the Atlantic, Zadie Smith's third novel is a brilliant analysis of family life, the institution of marriage, intersections of the personal and political, and an honest look at people's deceptions. It is also, as you might expect, very funny indeed.
Similar Books by other authors...
Used availability for Zadie Smith's On Beauty
See all available used copies of this book at: Abebooks UK or Abebooks US
Hardback Editions
February 2006 : Hardback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-7862-8319-X / 9781845058630 (USA edition) Publisher: Thorndike Press Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
September 2005 : Hardback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 1-59420-063-7 / 9781594200632 (USA edition) Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
September 2005 : Hardback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-14-188831-8 / 978-0-14-188831-6 (UK edition) Publisher: E-Penguin Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
September 2005 : Hardback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-14-188832-6 / 978-0-14-188832-3 (UK edition) Publisher: E-Penguin Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
September 2005 : Hardback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-14-188833-4 / 978-0-14-188833-0 (UK edition) Publisher: E-Penguin Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
September 2005 : Hardback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-241-14293-8 / 978-0-241-14293-6 (UK edition) Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
January 2005 : Hardback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-670-04527-6 / 978-0-670-04527-3 (USA, AU, or UK edition) Publisher: Viking Canada Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Paperback Editions
September 2006 : Paperback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-14-301763-2 / 978-0-14-301763-9 (UK edition) Publisher: Penguin Canada (APB) Availability: Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
August 2006 : Paperback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-14-303774-9 / 978-0-14-303774-3 (UK edition) Publisher: Penguin Books Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
July 2006 : Paperback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-14-101945-X / 978-0-14-101945-1 (UK edition) Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
July 2006 : Paperback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-14-102666-9 / 978-0-14-102666-4 (UK edition) Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
November 2005 : Paperback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-241-14294-6 / 978-0-241-14294-3 (UK edition) Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
September 2005 : Paperback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 1-59420-073-4 / 9781594200731 (USA edition) Publisher: Penguin Press Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
2005 : Paperback
| Title: ON BEAUTY Author(s): ZADIE SMITH Publisher: The Penguin Press Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
1980 : Paperback
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith Publisher: PENGUIN PUTNAM @ TRADE Availability: Amazon More details... |
Audio Editions
November 2005 : Audio CD
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-14-180608-7 / 978-0-14-180608-2 (UK edition) Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
October 2005 : Audio Cassette
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-7927-3770-9 / 978-0-7927-3770-4 (USA edition) Publisher: Sound Library Availability: Amazon Amazon CA More details... |
October 2005 : Audio CD
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-7927-3771-7 / 978-0-7927-3771-1 (USA edition) Publisher: Sound Library Availability: Amazon Amazon CA More details... |
2005 : Audio CD
| Title: On Beauty Unabridged Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-14-305800-2 / 978-0-14-305800-7 (UK edition) Availability: Amazon Amazon UK Amazon CA More details... |
Other Editions
April 2007 : Kindle edition
| Title: On Beauty: A Novel Author(s): Zadie Smith Publisher: Penguin Availability: Amazon More details... |
September 2005 : Unknown
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-7865-5545-9 / 978-0-7865-5545-1 (USA edition) Publisher: Penguin Highbridge (Aud) Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
September 2005 : Unknown
| Title: On Beauty Author(s): Zadie Smith ISBN: 0-7865-6397-4 / 978-0-7865-6397-5 (USA edition) Publisher: Penguin Highbridge (Aud) Availability: Amazon Amazon UK More details... |
© 2008 FantasticFiction
Questions? Comments? Corrections? Please email webmaster@fantasticfiction.co.uk
Questions? Comments? Corrections? Please email webmaster@fantasticfiction.co.uk
