Zadie Smith's fresh take on epic tales has catapulted her into a good deal of fame rather quickly. On Beauty has been called, by many critics, a modern version of Howard's End - and not just because the first sentences of both novels mirror one another.
On Beauty uses a branching story line to tell how two very different families, the Belseys and the Kipps, find their lives intertwining more and more as their distaste for the other grows. Howard Belsey is the Wasp-ish, bumbling professor whose family begins to deteriorate when he cheats on his African-American wife, Kiki. Monty Kipps doesn't know it, but his views and policies have made him Howard's enemy.
First, Howard's eldest son Jerome rebelliously moves in with the Kipps for an internship, he falls for Monty's beautiful daughter. Kipps then takes a job teaching at Howard's college. Howard then falls for Monty's daughter himself.
On Beauty uses a branching story line to tell how two very different families, the Belseys and the Kipps, find their lives intertwining more and more as their distaste for the other grows. Howard Belsey is the Wasp-ish, bumbling professor whose family begins to deteriorate when he cheats on his African-American wife, Kiki. Monty Kipps doesn't know it, but his views and policies have made him Howard's enemy.
First, Howard's eldest son Jerome rebelliously moves in with the Kipps for an internship, he falls for Monty's beautiful daughter. Kipps then takes a job teaching at Howard's college. Howard then falls for Monty's daughter himself.