On Beauty offers a unique perspective on 21st century cultural wars via the interaction between two families, a conservative black English family, and a liberal biracial American family. Certain passages fly by meteorically - one of the opening scenes, in which the American paterfamilias flies to London to dissuade his young son from marriage, made me cringe in my chair at the misunderstanding that unfolds.
The American family is composed of biracial couple Howard and Kiki Belsey, and their three children Jerome, Zora and Levi. Jerome is a newly converted Christian and he is brokenhearted after a failed romance with Veronica Kipps. In addition to Veronica, the Kipps family is composed of black Trinidian Monty Kipps, his ailing wife Carlene and son Michael. Monty is a political conservative who rails against the policies of affirmative action. When Monty is invited to teach for a semester at Howard's college, political sparks fly between the two men.
The novel also explores the issue of marital fidelity and its consequences. Howard has two affairs in the book, the first with a colleague and the second with Veronica Kipps. The second affair seemed contrived to me and I felt it rang one of the few false notes in the book.
While at times the stage of a small northeastern college, where most of the events unfold, feels a little claustrophobic and the arguments are little too pedantic, the book overall is very entertaining and the characters memorable.
The American family is composed of biracial couple Howard and Kiki Belsey, and their three children Jerome, Zora and Levi. Jerome is a newly converted Christian and he is brokenhearted after a failed romance with Veronica Kipps. In addition to Veronica, the Kipps family is composed of black Trinidian Monty Kipps, his ailing wife Carlene and son Michael. Monty is a political conservative who rails against the policies of affirmative action. When Monty is invited to teach for a semester at Howard's college, political sparks fly between the two men.
The novel also explores the issue of marital fidelity and its consequences. Howard has two affairs in the book, the first with a colleague and the second with Veronica Kipps. The second affair seemed contrived to me and I felt it rang one of the few false notes in the book.
While at times the stage of a small northeastern college, where most of the events unfold, feels a little claustrophobic and the arguments are little too pedantic, the book overall is very entertaining and the characters memorable.
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