B.O.W.: On Beauty

Is the suspense killing you? So sorry about having to delay this week as we reschedule our BOWs to Saturdays, but I think this is going to ensure more thorough posts in the future (and, of course, that I actually have time to finish the book!).

But enough excuses, let's get to it: On Beauty, by Zadie Smith, was quite the paradox for me. On one hand, I loved, loved, loved reading it--the plot moved swiftly, the characters were compelling and witty, the writing was fantastic; on the other hand, when I finished it, I didn't quite know what to make of it. Do you ever have that feeling of ambiguity-bordering-a-little-bit-on-letdown at the end of a book? It's like, you know the ending was right, that in its lack of resolution you can actually believe that the characters still have a chance to change and grow and connect, but you just don't get that kind of closure for which you were hoping...you are saying goodbye to characters without knowing for sure they're going to be okay (I get this feeling in movies quite frequently--In the Air comes to mind). Sorry if I'm being vague, but in case you are planning on reading On Beauty--which I highly recommend, btdubs!--I don't want to spoil it for you by disclosing too many specifics about the ending.

So what can I tell you? Well, one important thing to know about the book is that it's based on E.M. Forster's 1910 novel, Howard's End, a truly wonderful story that I happened to read in one of my favorite classes EVER at UVA: The Victorian Heroine at the Edge of Modernity (as some of you might be able to attest, I can wax on and on about that class: it happens to be where I first encountered Middlemarch, one of the most incredible books ever. Period.) But back to the point! For those of you who haven't read Howard's End, it revolves largely around two families clashing and the ensuing cultural issues--class, nationality, socioeconomic status. Its most famous line goes:

Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer.

Timely words then, at the precipice of WWI, and timely words again now, as another century commences. Smith re-imagines this collision of two families and a parallel pursuit of connectedness with her own wry British sensibility, probing the bubble of New England academia in tones both sensitive and sardonic in order to explore larger issues of family, gender, race, ideology, etc. In summary, I think this is a book you can read on multiple levels: you can view it as an homage to the brilliantly talented Forster and look for the parallels and divergences between on On Beauty and Howard's End; you can enjoy the multifaceted plot and the way it bifurcates then reconnects; and you can examine how beauty with a capital B is a kind of antidote to the daily small-scale dramas that permeate the book.

Before I put this one down, I want to leave you with a small sample of Smith's writing. In the following passage, the three Belsey siblings are enjoying a serendipitous rendezvous, and eldest brother Jerome reflects on the deep connection they share:

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."

Maybe it's just because I have two brothers who I love and respect and miss these days very dearly, but there was something about the way Smith so sensitively and accurately describes the indescribable--that intrinsic and irrevocable connection of family--that just made me melt. L-O-V-E loved it.

Now it's time to move on to this week's BOW: Man Walks into a Room, by Nicole Krauss. As I mentioned last week, Krauss penned one of my favorite books ever (The History of Love), so I am beyond thrilled to share my reviews with you on this one Saturday next. Also, look forward to getting next week's BOW revealed in the next day or so!