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On Beauty Reading Guide

On Beauty Zadie Smith reading guide review

“On Beauty” has deservedly won the 2006 Orange Prize – our congratulations go out to Zadie Smith for winning this great prize.

FilmFour have bought the movie rights for “On Beauty”, and are set to film the novel on a budget of $20m. Alison Owen and Scott Rudin will produce the film. Scott Rudin has previously handled successful literary adaptations, such as “Angela’s Ashes”, “The Hours”, and also produced “The Wonder Boys”.

“On Beauty” is Zadie Smith’s glorious third novel. Howard Belsey is having a difficult time. He is still in the doghouse after a one-night stand. Then he learns that his academic adversary, Monty Kipps, is joining the staff at Wellington, the Bostonian university at which Howard teaches (which seems to be based on the Harvard Zadie Smith knew as a Radcliffe fellow). Howard, whose unfinished magnum opus is entitled “Against Rembrandt: Interrogating a Master”, ironically casts Monty as an iconoclast: although Monty’s targets are political, rather than artistic. It is Howard who is the direct opposite of a Simon Schama or a Harold Bloom. Howard and his liberal colleagues fear that the conservative Monty will argue against Affirmative Action and the unqualified discretionaries that they allow on their courses. It doesn’t help that Howard’s son, Jerome, has previously engaged in a brief connection with Victoria, Monty Kipps’ exceedingly beautiful daughter. Howard’s daughter Zora (whom Zadie Smith has named after literary heroine Zora Neale Hurston) jealously regards Victoria as a vacuous beauty. However, not all of the Belseys’ are at war against the Kipps’: Kiki, Howard’s wife, finds a common shelter with Carlene, Monty’s friendly but sometimes distant wife. Meanwhile, Levi, the other Belsey child, embarks on a quest to assert his black identity, and falls in with a crowd of deprived Haitian immigrants. Along the way, they encounter Carl Thomas, a young black poet with conscious hip-hop lyrics, who strives to make something better of himself.

Carl is the Leonard Bast, Carlene is Ruth Wilcox, and Kiki is Margaret Schlegel, in Zadie Smith’s reworking of E. M. Forster’s “Howards End”. In this, Zadie Smith seems to be taking her cue from Elaine Scarry’s essay, “On Beauty and Being Just” (which Zadie does acknowledge to be one inspiration for the title of this novel). Scarry’s thesis starts out with the observation that Beauty leads to replication – the artist sees a beautiful bird, which leads artist to paint the beautiful bird beautifully. Thus does Zadie Smith embark on a seemingly perilous voyage to reproduce a book she loves. It would appear that it’s okay for a beautiful boy band to reproduce the millionth version of “Unchained Melody”, because we don’t expect much of the poor darlings: it is not okay for a respected literary novelist to do the same, because we expect so much more from them. That, at least, is the initial perception. But if one thinks of the origins of storytelling – bard on rock embellishing the already fantastic tales of his predecessors – then what Zadie Smith is attempting to do here does not seem so strange. However, it just seems more acceptable nowadays for the oral culture (boy bands) to do it, rather than the set-in-stone literary culture. At times though, it does seem as though Smith is following E. M. Forster’s line too far – the aborted rail trip to Amherst reads uncomfortably due to this – Carlene’s terminal spontaneity could have been revealed in a more original way. Yet, the final analysis must be that she uses her source material very intelligently and subtly. Although Zadie Smith seems to regard Roland Barthes as being very dry (no doubt due to the utility of his prose), “On Beauty” could be seen in some ways as indicative of “The Birth of the Reader”, with the reader going so far as to create their own version of the text (although I prefer to see the relationship between author and reader as a dialogue, which is a whole lot less dramatic than this birthing and dying and circle of life kind of thing). For instance, Leonard Bast pursued Beauty in “Howards End” through books and impromptu midnight walks. Although “On Beauty” is in some ways a love letter to “Howards End”, in its wit and vitality, the love goes both ways, resulting in a novel that is very much Zadie Smith’s own. On a mundane level, there are scenes set in Zadie’s homeland, Willesden, just like “White Teeth”. On a more sublime level, Zadie Smith’s voice in this novel seems liberated, exuberant, and confident: she is a novelist who is in full command of her literary powers. “On Beauty” is very much her book, full of her character, her twists and turns, rather than E. M. Forster’s. To paraphrase a popular film of the 70s, it’s she who is the master now.

There is another more practical reason for Zadie Smith’s employment of “Howards End”, other than her love for the novel. Current day America is analogous with Great Britain at the end of the Victorian era. This always seems most evident when you compare the popular culture of the two. Back in the Victorian era, good old Blightly was suspicious of threats from the East, and enamoured of youthful American strength (if Bram Stoker’s Dracula is anything to go by), and was scared witless by alien attack. Admittedly, Americans were also scared of this during the Cold War, but they had brash trekking heroes to fall back on to. Something has changed in these fictions however: now the Federal government is itself something to be feared, and who knows what demon may be lurking amongst your friends or lovers. Zadie Smith doesn’t know a Klingon from a half-Vulcan, but she does know that there are many Leonard Basts out there in America: in pursuit of beauty, but angry and resentful because they have been deprived of it, or because it has been literally robbed from them. Just as the liberal women debate how to save the Leonard Basts of this world from their fate in “Howards End”, so too do Howard and his liberal colleagues battle to save the discretionaries. Can Beauty ever be reached in an inherently unjust society? Zadie Smith has produced a very timely novel, as the truth in her novel has been made self-evident by the ugly catastrophe of Katrina.

It would also be a pleasing irony if a Great American Novel, (as “On Beauty” is), were to win the Man Booker Prize. Zadie Smith should walk off with the prize in my view, because this outstanding novel deserves nothing less.

Below is Kevin Patrick Mahoney’s reading guide to the novel:

H. J. Blackham – was a leading figure in the field of Humanism

“It’s in this bit of North London called ‘Kilburn’” – Kipps and Belsey 1 p. 4 – this webpage explains the meaning of the name “Kilburn”, and has photos of the locality. I believe Zadie Smith lives in Kilburn now, so she didn’t have to do much research for this bit. “Bucolic” means “rustic”, “pastoral”

Matthew 24 – Kipps and Belsey 1 p. 6 - read this passage. As Samuel G. Dawson writes, this chapter is very much open to interpretation, and has been used by sects such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses. All very “White Teeth” this

“in answer to your ‘polite query’, yes, I am still one” – Kipps and Belsey 1 pp. 6-7 – Jerome is, of course, talking about his virginity. Nice juxtaposition with the next passage, Zadie

Love and relationships: Song of Solomon – Kipps and Belsey 1 p. 7 – find out more about the Song of Solomon

Frowzy – Kipps and Belsey 2 p. 8 – means “unkempt”, “slovenly”

“In this pose, the daughter bent over the mother, they reminded Howard of two of Picasso’s chubby water carriers” – Kipps and Belsey 2 p. 12 – don’t know which picture this refers to

Representational painting – Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 18 – find out more about what Howard hates

The Empson lectures – Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 19 – look to occur annually in Cambridge UK, and were probably once attended by Zadie Smith

Emily Dickinson – Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 19 – a biography

Eatonville, Florida – Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 19 – most famous for being the birthplace of legendary novelist Zora Neale Hurston, after whom Zadie has doubtlessly named the Belseys’ daughter. For an art critic, Howard seems to spend a lot of time visiting places famous for their literary heritage

Soyinka Professor - Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 19 – a reference to Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian novelist

Brixton riots - Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 20 – the BBC view of events

“Coloured” - Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 20 – learn the history of the use of this term

“I’m just another black man caught up in the mix” - Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 24 – is a quote 
from the Tupac song “I get around”, from the album “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.”

“Zola’s novel” - Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 25 – Zadie Smith is referring to Germinal

Diethylstilbestrol - Kipps and Belsey 3 p. 26 – Zadie Smith shows how paranoid Howard is to comic effect, as this is a synthetic oestrogen that was banned after widespread use in the US. It’s been shown to cause breast cancer in women, and would never be utilised as a food additive

Dalston - Kipps and Belsey 4 p. 28 – more about this area

Iconoclasm - Kipps and Belsey 4 p. 29 – more on this

Gamine - Kipps and Belsey 4 p. 41 – a homeless girl or urchin

“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture” - Kipps and Belsey 5 p. 44 – was something that Elvis Costello once said in an interview

Haiti - Kipps and Belsey 5 p. 49 – this webbpage gives some indication of the current turmoil in Haiti

“What does Howard like?” - Kipps and Belsey 5 p. 54 – it’s probably ironic that Howard views Kipps as an iconoclast, as Howard sounds like he is a literal iconoclast

“I dressed like Salome” - Kipps and Belsey 5 p. 55 – Salome is a biblical character famous for the exotic dance of the seven veils, in which the veils are removed one by one. It kinds of make you squirm when you imagine Claire doing this on her wedding night, and this is effect that Zadie Smith doubtlessly intends. It was on Salome’s request that John the Baptist got beheaded, hence Warren’s remark on the page, which makes Claire sound even more tasteless

“I got the slickest, quickest dick… A penis with the IQ of a Genius!” - Kipps and Belsey 6 p. 64 – no idea where this quote comes from

myopic - Kipps and Belsey 6 p. 64 – short-sightedness

highball - Kipps and Belsey 6 p. 65 – a cocktail, perhaps suggesting that Jack French came of age in the 1920s

duologic - Kipps and Belsey 6 p. 66 – I guess this means that Jack French can’t cope with 2 conversations going on at once. But then he is a man, and men are not much given to multi-tasking

“Jack asked the date. Kiki told him. Jack’s face gave in to that tiny, involuntary shudder with which Kiki had, in recent years, become familiar” - Kipps and Belsey 6 p. 68 – as Authortrek reader Bill Reynolds points out, this is the first subtle hint that the Belseys’ anniversary falls on September 11th

soul food - Kipps and Belsey 6 p. 68 – like what Momma Cherris does in Brighton

Mozart’s Requiem - Kipps and Belsey 7 p. 69 – read a translation of the lyrics. Mozart did indeed not finish his own requiem (p. 72). “Amadeus” is the sublime film that is referred to

The Pastoral Tradition - Kipps and Belsey 8 p. 79 – find out more about the antithesis of Levi

“You could pluck bass notes on those veins” - Kipps and Belsey 8 p. 81 – I love this description

“insane in the membrane” - Kipps and Belsey 8 p. 82 – is from the song “Insane in the Brain” by Cypress Hill, who I’m told are Bostonians

doo-rag - Kipps and Belsey 9 p. 87 – see whatt one of these looks like

“I’ll go out there and cut you a switch, shall I?” - Kipps and Belsey 9 p. 88 – a “switch” is what Americans call an implement that they use to discipline their kids, like a belt

“There is such shelter in each other” - Kipps and Belsey 10 p. 93 – is a quote from “Pedigree” by Nick Laird, Zadie Smith’s husband. According to the American publicity for “On Beauty”, it’s a take on Forster's "Only Connect", part of Zadie Smith’s homage to E. M. Forster’s “Howards End”

“L’enfer, c’est les autres” - Kipps and Belsey 10 p. 94 – i.e. “hell is other people”, as pronounced by Sartre

“Years ago I used to help Montague in his office” - Kipps and Belsey 10 p. 95 – it just struck me that Carlene must be like Ruth Wilcox in “Howards End”, so does that make Kiki Margaret Schlegel?

“all the Jews in the first tower had been warned” - Kipps and Belsey 10 pp. 95-96 – a reference to 9/11?

Michel Foucault - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 100 – find out more about Meredith’s favourite topic of conversation. “At various parties Kiki had listened carefully and yet not understood what Meredith was saying” (I often had the same experience with my Cultural Studies lecturers – but I still managed to competently acquire my Masters degree – ed). “Whole hermeneutic systems have coalesced with more speed” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 101 – bless! I haven’t heard such utterings for years – find out more about hermeneutics

“Full fathom five thy father lies” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 101-102 – from Ariel’s song in “The Tempest”. Reading Tatiana Retivova’s essay “Reconstructing Sylvia Plath through Ariel”. Plath was born in Boston, so it’s not inconceivable that Kiki made the articulation

“the Wilcoxes, one of the rare, genuinely moneyed Wellingtonian couples of their acquaintance” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 102 – no, they’re not from Wellington, they’re from “Howards End”

“’For poet poets” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 105 – looks like Carl may be a reincarnation Leonard Bast from “Howards End”

“’Strange date for it, though,’ he heard someone say. And then the usual response: ‘Oh, I think it’s a wonderful date for a party. You know it’s their actual anniversary, so… And if we don’t reclaim the day, you know… then it’s like they’ve won…’” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 105 – as Authortrek reader Bill Reynolds points out, this is another subtle reference that the Belseys’ anniversary is on September 11th

“almost everyone had asked their neighbour whether they recalled Cheever’s story” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 108 – a reference to John Cheever’s story “The Swimmer”, most famous for the movie starring Burt Lancaster. He’s another writer who was born in Massachusetts

“Aristotle’s praise of friendship” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 108 – is from Books 8 and 9 of Aristotle’s ethics

schadenfreude - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 111 – pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others

basso profundo - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 112 – a deep bass voice

“He was striking, but wholly void of sex appeal” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 113 – the thought occurs that Michael could be based on Charles Wilcox from “Howards End”

Haitian art - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 113 – find oout more about this subject

Lodestar - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 113 – a guiding principle, interest or ambition

Mulattos - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 117 – read more about this term

“she knew Powell personally, and Rice” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 117 – obviously Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice

décolletage - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 118 – a low neckline on a woman’s dress

Wallace Stevens - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 120 – find out more about him

Affirmative action - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 121 – read more about this practice

WMD - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 122 – an acronym overused in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq

“looks like Nerfertiti” - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 123 – more about the famously beautiful Egyptian Queen

Al Green - Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 123 – find out more about him

Professor Scarry has a theory – The Anatomy Lesson p. 127 – Elaine Scarry takes literary criticism where no other critic has gone before. Scarry is a Professor at Harvard, so it’s likely that Zadie Smith met her during her time there, and indeed, the title of the novel is derived from Elaine Scarry’s essay “On Beauty and Being Just”, which is available online in pdf format

“I said I think you’ve got my goggles” - The Anatomy Lesson 1 p. 132 – sounds like Zora could be Helen Schlegel from “Howards End”

The Requiem Controversy - The Anatomy Lesson 1 p. 136 – find out more about this and Franz Xaver Sussmayr

The perils of Googling - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 142 – read and learn

“Nosce te ipsium” - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 144 – should actually be spelt as “Nosce te ipsum”

Joseph Addison - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 146 – founded “The Spectator”

Bertrand Russell - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 146 – a biography

Oliver Wendell Holmes - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 146 – another Massachusetts writer

Thomas Carlyle - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 146 – his early writing informed the development of socialism, and his later writing informed the development of fascism

Henry Watson Fowler - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 146 – read a brief biography of him

Stymie - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 149 – the ddebate rages on

“How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand” - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 149 – comes from the song “Maria” from “The Sound of Music”

“The war continues” - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 151 – The Iraq war of 2003 to -?

“the fourth estate” - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 151 – a term coined by Thomas Carlyle to refer to the press

Allen Ginsberg - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 152 – a biography. The anti-war protests in the UK were much bigger, but were unheeded

First estate - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 152 – in prre-revolutionary France this referred to the clergy

Veronica Lake - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 152 – a biography and photo

pantoum - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 152 – more on this poetic form

“On Beauty” - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 153 – this poem, is of course, by Nick Laird, Zadie Smith’s husband, which, needless to say, influenced Zadie’s choice in the naming of this novel. Both the novel and the poem were named after Elaine Scarry’s essay “On Beauty and Being Just”, as Zadie Smith revealed in an interview with Linda Herrick. Interesting to see that the poem features the word “statuary”, and that the beautiful Victoria Kipps has already been liked to statuary (Kipps and Belsey 11 p. 123).

“the bizarre etymology of the intransitive verb ‘ramble’” - The Anatomy Lesson 2 p. 154 – and a very arousing etymology it is too. No wonder Janet Street Porter finds rambling so irresistible

Enter Rembrandt, pursued by Rubens - The Anatomy Lesson 3 p. 155 – Michael Kimmelman’s review of “Rembrandt’s Eyes” by Simon Schama provides a critical summary of the book that Zadie Smith has used as part of her source material for “On Beauty”. Schama seeks to defend Rembrandt from those critics like Howard who believe that the artist was more conformist than rebel, who just painted whatever his patrons asked for. Kimmelman is quite critical of certain aspects of Schama’s book however, so hopefully Zadie Smith did not rely on it too much. Simon Schama could be viewed as a ‘celebrity intellectual’, just like Monty Kipps in the book

“What a piece of work that girl is!” - The Anatomy Lesson 3 p. 158 – is, of course, an adaptation of Hamlet’s famous speech from Act 2, Scene 2

down-home - The Anatomy Lesson 4 p. 162 – a deffinition

Alice Walker - The Anatomy Lesson 4 p. 163 – our comprehensive webpage on her

“give me some gossip, I am your neighbour” - The Anatomy Lesson 4 p. 164 – is an adaptation from Outkast’s song “Hey Ya”, as one of our readers has informed me

The signs - The Anatomy Lesson 4 p. 171 – more about astrology

Malcolm X - The Anatomy Lesson 4 p. 172 – this biography reveals that he lived in Boston as a youth. Kiki’s desire to be his personal assistant was doubtlessly thwarted by his assassination

Vertiginous - The Anatomy Lesson 4 p. 173 – an unsettling feeling, derived from vertigo

“Hallelujah” - The Anatomy Lesson 4 p. 173 – re