Our Take

On Beauty showcases Zadie Smith at her most ambitious and accomplished—a sprawling social novel that's both achingly funny and deeply humane. Loosely inspired by E.M. Forster's Howards End, Smith updates the clash of values for contemporary academia, creating a world where ideological battles play out in faculty meetings, dinner parties, and family arguments. What elevates this beyond simple satire is Smith's refusal to take easy sides. She skewers liberal hypocrisy and conservative rigidity with equal precision, finding the humanity and absurdity in characters across the political spectrum. The Belsey family feels vibrantly real—complicated, contradictory, and utterly recognizable. Howard's intellectual arrogance, Kiki's struggle with beauty and aging, and their children's navigation of identity and desire are rendered with psychological insight and compassion. Smith's prose is a delight—witty, observant, and capable of capturing both comedy and pathos in a single scene. The novel tackles weighty themes—race, class, art, politics—without ever feeling heavy-handed. Readers who loved The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen or Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will find similar pleasures here. On Beauty is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary social fiction that's both intellectually rigorous and immensely entertaining.