I have managed to read some more :)
6. On Beauty - Zadie Smith
A brilliant book.
I am a fan of Zadie Smith now; I never thought that a story of two families could be "so" very interesting, absorbing, could have so many layers, could make me think about the characters long after I completed the book.
The story spans between England and the U.S., and speaks of two families - the Belseys and the Kippses - whose rivalry has sprung up due to seemingly stupid reason such as academic differences between the heads of the family - Howard Belsey and Monty Kipps, two leading (apparently) professors. Adding to this, Jerome Belsey, the eldest falls in love with Veronica, 'Vee' only to be left heart-broken. The Belseys already have enough issues on their hands and Kippses move to the same university and their neighborhood doesn't help matters anymore.
The tense, somewhat hilarious interactions between the family leads to many twists and turns in the plot.
Well, to be honest, the plot outline I have provied does not do any justice to the beautiful story woven inside this 400+ pager. (If I could write as beautifully as she did, I would be writing a story instead of this!)
The relationships, their mundane-ness, their beauty, the human nature of taking things for granted, and infidelity: all feature in this poignant tale. The beauty lies in the way Smith has dissected each characters, the grey shades - we cannot hate any character; each his/her own weaknesses that is so real and so human. One can not but empathize with them. Smith's writing is also extremely witty and hilarious; I could not help laughing out aloud in many places.
I adore this book; I had borrowed it from the library. Now, I plan to buy this. This is certainly worth owning.
Currently reading: The Shipping News - Annie E. Proulx (another FAVOURITE author)
I must confess this is a re-read and I love every bit of it.
