Buy on Amazon: On Beauty by Zadie Smith
It was interesting; as I read through this book a single quote kept going through my head.
Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive! – Sir Walter Scott
This wasn’t a story I was expecting. I’d read that Zadie Smith is witty and funny and I think part of me expected this to be a hilarious, fun book. It’s not that – but don’t get me wrong. I laughed out loud more than a few times for various reasons.
I think what struck me most and why this book really hit hard is not only the exceptional quality of writing (which really amazed me) but also the depth of the characters. Zadie Smith managed to take characters that could almost be stereotypical and put enough of a twist on them that I didn’t know exactly what to expect from them as the story progresses. And above everything else.. these were real characters. There was no preference toward the more liberal or conservative arguments made in the book by the characters, everything was just laid out, unashamed, bold and without mercy for the reader to absorb.
Most of all I felt as if these are people that I could know. I don’t know how else to express it and wish I had the same talent with words. My best advice would be for you to experience this story and figure out what I’m talking about that way – but prepare yourself.. there are parts of this book that are brutal. There is language, unforgiving sexual encounters and this is not a “feel good” story. But it’s one that made me think and slow down and absorb what I was reading.
There is one quote I’d like to talk about, because it’s something that I’ve been thinking about a lot recently, especially as one of my sisters has had a recent birthday and is now approaching 30. Zadie Smith speaks on the relationship between Jerome, Zora and Levi.. three siblings that feature prominently in the book.
People talk about the happy quiet that can exist between two lovers, but this too was great; sitting between his sister and his brother, saying nothing, eating. Before the world existed, before it was populated, and before there were wars and jobs and colleges and movies and clothes and opinions and foreign travel – before all of these things there had been only one person, Zora, and only one place: a tent in the living room made from chairs and bed-sheets. After a few years, Levi arrived; space was made for him; it was as if he had always been. Looking at them both now, Jerome found himself in their finger joints and neat conch ears, in their long legs and wild curls. He heard himself in their partial lisps caused by puffy tongues vibrating against slightly noticeable buckteeth. He did not consider if or how or why he loved them. They were just love; they were the first evidence he ever had of love and they would be the last confirmation of love when everything else fell away.
Isn’t that a beautiful piece of writing? That is something I’ve felt while sitting in that peaceful quiet between siblings, while listening to them talk to one another, while laying beside them on the floor sharing a loud bout of laughter.
Ultimately, this is a book that is about relationships. The relationships between the right wing and left wing, the husband and wife, brothers and sisters, boyfriends and girlfriends, wealthy and poor. It is a pretty fantastic read.
That is beautiful writing–no wonder this one is so universally loved.
@Lisa It was a really special passage for me. I’ve the eldest of 9 children so I definitely could connect with it.