Not Just Desserts

Tunbridge Wells Book Club

Book Reviews - On Beauty by Zadie Smith

This book was a very pleasant surprsie to those amongst the group who had been disappointed by 'White Teeth' - they felt that Zadie Smith's style had matured and become less pretentious

The book was felt to have two very distinct halves - the first half was mostly dialogue and description which appealed to the Jane Austens of the group, whilst the second half was far more pacy and action-packed, appealing to the William Boyds

We all agreed that she wrote beautifully and there were some very moving scenes and character portrayals but felt that there were a lot of lose ends and inconsistencies in the plot, with some elements feeling very contrived whilst other strands faded away

Some of the group felt irritated by the constant bickering of the Belsey family whilst others delighted in the portrayal of modern American families

The book was described as being full of humour, yet we felt that though there were several brief passages that made us all smile, there was no element that made any of us laugh aloud.