On Beauty

By: Zadie Smith

Narrated by: Peter Francis James

Length: 18 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

In this loose retelling of Howard's End, Zadie Smith considers the big questions:

Why do we fall in love with the people we do? Why do we visit our mistakes on our children? What makes life truly beautiful?

Set in New England mainly and London partly, On Beauty concerns a pair of feuding families—the Belseys and the Kippses—and a clutch of doomed affairs. It puts low morals among high ideals and asks some searching questions about what life does to love. For the Belseys and the Kippses, the confusions—both personal and political—of our uncertain age are about to be brought close to home: right to the heart of family.

©2005 Zadie Smith (P)2005 Penguin Audio, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., and BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

2006 Orange Prize for Fiction

2005 Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award, Fiction

"[A] thoroughly original tale about families and generational change, about race and multiculturalism in millennial America, about love and identity and the ways they are affected by the passage of time. Ms. Smith possesses a captivating authorial voice - at once authoritative and nonchalant, and capacious enough to accommodate high moral seriousness, laid-back humor and virtually everything in between - and in these pages, she uses that voice to enormous effect, giving us that rare thing: a novel that is as affecting as it is entertaining, as provocative as it is humane." (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

"Oh happy day when a writer as gifted as Zadie Smith fulfills her early promise with a novel as accomplished, substantive and penetrating as On Beauty. It's a thing of beauty indeed. In tackling grown-up issues of marriage, adultery, race, class, liberalism and aesthetics, she thrillingly balances engaging ideas with equally engaging characters. As good as she is with big ideas, Smith is even stronger at capturing family dynamics, the heartbreak of broken trust as well as the lovely connections between siblings. (The Los Angeles Times Book Review)

"In this sharp, engaging satire, beauty's only skin-deep, but funny cuts to the bone." (Kirkus Reviews)

Audio File corrupted

The only reason I knocked a star off was for the audio file. It skips a lot in certain areas which was so upsetting as the book was wonderful otherwise. Loved it so so much!!

Dynamic family portrayal

Would you consider the audio edition of On Beauty to be better than the print version?

N/A

What other book might you compare On Beauty to and why?

I can't think of any that compare.

Which scene was your favorite?

There were many interesting scenes that demonstrated the tenacity of family and the inevitable demise of being related.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

And you think your family is dysfunctional!

Any additional comments?

The story was well developed and compelling, but the ending left you wanting more.

two thumbs up

I thoroughly enjoyed this-- the experience was greatly enhanced by the narration, which was truly outstanding. Great characters & portrait of marriage, family life, the personal and political.

Amazing book,amazing performance

Another complex and riveting story by Zadie Smith. The voice actor is spot-on, consistently.

underwhelmed

I was really excited to read this, but felt it was a bit choppy, and the ending came too abruptly. has some wonderful bits, but left me wanting more.

A Zadie Smith Must Listen

Where does On Beauty rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best. It's a provocative, witty, and really engaging story.

What did you like best about this story?

The characters were terrific, and the intellectual questions in skirts are quite compelling. I am going to teach it in a college course because it's so thought-provoking and I want to discuss it extensively with a group.

Which character – as performed by Peter Francis James – was your favorite?

The main professor guy.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

What really matters?

Great narration

Like White Teeth, I was engrossed in this story from the beginning. The narration was superb, I would like more audio books with this narrator. I highly recommend this listen.

Good book

Had a bit of academia (which is a bit stereotyped but you probably could find some people just like this) and some interracial/class/money social conflicts. Overall a good book. The ending wasnt so concrete to me though im sure some could interpret it right off. Most of book takes place over the course of a year in the life of Jeromes family. It transitions through different family members affected by another family, the kipps. Takes place in a college town.

Overall good book, i gave 4 stars. Good reader. Slightly too long (3 less hours would have been perfect) and i did feel for the characters throughout the story line. Some of them, save for jerome and kiki, were somewhat one dimensional. So are alot of people in real life though, and maybe thats what the book is really about.

A wonderful book

A book I found to be inspirational, developmental, and maturative to a young man coming of age such as myself. I found this book to be relatable and generally intelligent. I further found incredible relation with the protagonist and I further highly recommend this book.

A Wonderful Read

I found this book wonderfully entertaining. After I read it, I read several of the reviews, and am glad I didn't read them til I was finished the book. I've never read so many negative reviews which I disagreed with so thoroughly. I found the characters to be intriguing -- flawed, yes. But aren't we all? This is a great story. It entertains and engages the reader from the very start.