ewee (23/26): On Beauty, by Zadie Smith

Whoa. I'm totally disorganized! I forgot to finish this posting (started 7/24/07), and completely forgot I read this book. Woohoo! I'm further ahead than I thought!

It's not Smith's fault that I'd forgotten that I'd read this fabulous book. I've just been distracted (hairy potty, house hunting, outrigger racing).

On Beauty is a lovely bit of original work, but also an homage to Howard's End. Smith is an engaging and intelligent writer. Throughout the book, I knew there were many layers I wasn't even close to understanding. But that's part of this book's strength. It's not so intelligent as to be obtuse. The characters are flawed and engaging, and I found myself immersed in the narrative without much effort.

Much more intelligent and intellible reviews here:

• Village Voice Review
• NPR's review
• Guardian.co.uk's review
• NYT.com's review

[Note: You can read Howard's End in its entirety online. I've been intending to, but, well, again, all the distractions.]