Zadie Smith’s third novel focuses on two rival academics, Howard Belsey and Monty Kipps, and their respective families. While these two men are feuding, their wives are making friends and their children are struggling with adolescence and responsibility. There are too many threads to cover here, but this is a story of family, race, infidelity, forgiveness, unrequited feelings, and much more.
I really REALLY enjoyed this book. The characters seemed so completely real, each with their positive and negative, but always very human traits. They may not always have been likeable (I actually found Howard Belsey to be never likeable), but they were identifiable.
Smith writes so beautifully, with such a wonderful, spot-on turn of phrase. She also has an incredible eye for observational humour, with sometimes just a few words or one line making me laugh out loud. At times I was frustrated with the characters, at times angry, and sometimes sympathetic, but whatever my feelings, I always wanted to know what was going to happen to them.
It’s not a story with a neat beginning, middle and ending – things are not necessarily wrapped up neatly; it’s almost like a snapshot of a certain period of these families’ lives. I thoroughly enjoy it, and definitely recommend it.
Between the Pages 
That’s a hilarious coincidence! I was watching a bit of The Vicar of Dibley a couple of hours ago, the penultimate episode, where they have a book club … and the book they’re supposed to discuss is THIS VERY ONE! But of course, no one’s actually bothered to read it – but since Alice has seen the film adaptation of Black Beauty twice, that sort of counts, right?
Glad someone has read this book for real and enjoyed it. 🙂
Oh, I’ve not seen that episode…I love the show, but kind of lost track of it. They picked a good book, even if none of them read it 😀
One of my favourite books. Have you read Forster’s ‘Howard’s End’? You probably know ‘On Beauty’ is a contemporary rewrite of this. I certainly enjoyed Smith’s book all the more for the playful verbal echoes of the original – as you notice from the first sentence.
Thanks for your message 🙂
I knew that On Beauty was a rewrite of sorts of Howard’s End, but am embarrassed to admit that I have not read Howard’s End. I loved A Room With A View, and have A Passage to India on my shelf, waiting to be read. I will have to add Howard’s End to my list.