Book Review- Zadie Smith's On Beauty

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Brilliant. 

Yesterday evening, I finished Zadie Smith's On Beauty and was left in awe. Then, I was smacked with the realization that Smith is only two years older than me. This left me feeling a mix of emotions, still awe-struck, but also a bit down. I can't imagine having even a small fraction of the writing talent that Smith possesses. And by the way, the novel was published in 2005. Sigh.

Smith's novel, On Beauty, is a multi-family social class drama set against the backdrop of a liberal arts college in Boston.  

I was initially pulled into the story by it's vibrant characters, rich subtext and scathing humor. However, having not read any reviews regarding this novel, I didn't have the light-bulb moment until mid-way through the book. I kept thinking that elements of the story seemed very familiar and then it hit me. 

This is a retelling of E. M. Forster's Howards End.  

Howards End is my favorite novel and favorite movie. How did I not realize this sooner?  

I didn't notice it, because Smith is so slick with how she worked it in. Primarily, she changed the context, which on the surface made the story seem like it was about race. It is about race, in part, but even more key, it is about social class. 

Smith sets her retelling primarily in America and most of the characters are of African heritage. This ups the stakes from Forster's drama about white people living in England. However, both stories are very much about the differences among social classes and the rules of their interactions affecting the characters in both stories.

Smith levels the playing field by spreading her characters amongst all of the social classes, irrespective of racial identity. Race is a factor, as the characters are living in a primarily white college town and they struggle to create an identity that honors both their social status and race. All of the characters are in a constant identity struggle and unsure of their proper place according to society. The characters are bound to their social status and have a difficult time discussing their identity issues with those in other social classes. There is a huge divide amongst the characters that is based on class, rather than race. 

The characters in On Beauty don't necessarily measure up neatly with those in Howards End. This is one of the notable and brilliant aspects of Smith's writing. It's not completely transparent.

Some of the characters match based on sensibilities. An example is the character of Victoria, the daughter of the wealthiest family in Smith's novel. She matches with Jacky Bast, the poorest character in Forester's novel. The two characters both struggle to gain a little power and generally are left to the mercy of those around them. They both have a great deal of pride that gets knocked down, leaving them weak and helpless. the characters completely mirror each other, but not in obvious way.

This mismatch of the characters from the two novels is repeated throughout Smith's story, making it a really compelling read. I was hooked on the book before realizing the parallels, but once I became clued in, I found the story impossible to put down. 

On top of that, Smith writes a story that is filled with so many nuances and great discussion topics. I felt like I should be reading this for a class and taking notes, rather than a pleasure read. This book begs to have a term paper written about it. I feel like by pleasure reading it, I didn't absorb all of the layers.  

Speaking of writing a term paper, the novel's college setting and having several of the main characters as academics, is another level to the story. It is in this arena that Smith brings out her biting humor and exposes many hypocrisies, both with her characters and with society in general. Smith had a keen idea to move Forester's story of social classes on to a college campus.

On a personal note,  I was never so struck by social class until I attended a liberal arts college and realized that everyone around me came from a similar family financial background. It's bizarre to grow up in an area rich with diversity and then go to a college where there is so much sameness. Smith nailed it.

It has been a long time since I have read a novel that made me so excited. Reading Smith's novel has made me fall in love with writing again and all of it's possibilities. 

Just brilliant. Read it.  

Book Review- Philippa Gregory's The Queen's Fool

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I like author Philippa Gregory. Her novels are part Historical Fiction and part a bodice- ripping romance nove. Fabio is never on the cover, but he's always there in spirit.

Gregory's novel The Queen's Fool is narrated through the fictional character, Hannah Green, a young girl from Spain who must hide her Jewish heritage or face persecution in England. Hannah has the gift of foreseeing the future and through a series of chance encounters, she becomes a fool in the tumultuous court of Queen Mary the first. Hannah is a young woman caught between her loyalties in the court and her family, specifically to her betrothed, Daniel.

Usually Gregory's novels are quick paced, beach type reads. They have enough weighty content to be taken seriously and enough pulp to be entertaining. Unfortunately, I found The Queen's Fool to be long and dull.  

The biggest problem is the main character. Gregory has set up Hannah to be in the most precarious of positions and constantly in danger. She is a woman who must always hide her identity and to try to keep up with every shifting loyalties in the court. The book should have been suspenseful and exciting. It really contains enough intrigued and plotting to be an episode of The Game of Thrones.

However, Hannah is a baffling and weak character. She is impossible to understand, because her decisions never add up. She is in love with multiple men, yet her desires are never fully realized. She waffles between fleeing to be with a man and returning to court, both as a companion to Queen Mary and to Princess Elizabeth, two sisters who are unsure of their loyalties to one another. Hannah isn't very rooted in her culture and then all of a sudden it's her key motivator. She wants to be independent of men, yet is constantly looking for their guidance and support. She flees from danger one moment and runs head-on into it the next. 

Hannah doesn't add up. She's a waffler. 

Watching Hannah's story unfold is like watching a Tug-Of-Rope competition where nobody is trying to pull hard. It's maddening.  

As such, I never had a clear image of the character. Usually when I read a book, I have a strong idea of an actor who could play them in a movie version. I read the whole five-hundred pages of this book without a good idea of the main character.  

I felt a huge disconnect from the entire story. 

In addition, the book was very repetitive with regard to stating the themes and motivations. I felt beat over the head with certain ideas. It should have been more tightly edited to eliminate the repetition and speed up the pacing.

The themes and real life characters in The Queens Fool were interesting and worth exploring. I wish that Gregory had explored them with a stronger protagonist and better fictional story. She has definitely written better novels. 

Book Review- Sarah Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates

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Sarah Vowell's books manage to combine two of my favorite types of reads; weighty History and comedic non-fiction. Vowell's The Wordy Shipmates is a look at the religious roots of America and it's early puritan colonists.

What I love most about Vowell is that she tackles subjects on a micro-scale. She writes on subjects that as an American, I grew up learning about in school, but she dives in for a deeper look on a particular subject or group of people. In The Wordy Shipmates, many of the names and locations are familiar, but Vowell provides an onslaught of information creating a more meaningful context for the subject. 

As I read Vowell's book, I felt a greater understanding of the key players in the colonization of America and their motivations. Her narrative leans a bit towards the dark side, the things that most Americans don't really scratch the surface of until they get to college level History courses. However, even when the reality isn't so pretty, Vowell manages to place the person or event within it's appropriate context, often finding something positive.

I found the connections between the colonist and England to be very fascinating. It's definitely not as clear cut as we are led to believe studying American History in school. It's a big tangled mess with a lot of colorful personalities involved. The last part of the book, with the Anne Hutchinson trial was fascinating. Hutchinson was definitely one of those colorful personalities! 

Vowell writes as someone who has a profound love and respect for History.  She is a humorist and the levity in her writing helps break up the otherwise very heavy material. I love that she brings her sister and seven year old nephew on the road to check out Historic Landmarks. This personal narrative is refreshing.

Truthfully, I read her books with envy in regard to the great gig that she has set up for herself that combines travel, History and writing. I wish that I had thought to do it first!

The Wordy Shipmates is not her most entertaining book (check out Assassination Vacation), but it is worth a read if you are a Vowell fan or want a deeper investigation into America's early colonies.