SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
A New York Times Best Book of the 21st Century
A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of the Century
A Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Atlantic Monthly, Newsday, Christian Science Monitor, and Minneapolis Star Tribune Best Book of the Year
"[Smith] returns to biting, frequently hilarious form. . . . In this sharp, engaging satire, beauty's only skin-deep, but funny cuts to the bone."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Ambitious, hugely impressive."
—The Guardian
"[On Beauty] is masterly on almost any level—impressive in its command of every register of English, never tiresome despite its length and astonishingly sympathetic to every sort of human frailty. . . . To this satirical, wise and sexy book, the correct critical response should largely be either gratitude and admiration or a simple 'Wow.'"
—The Washington Post
"On Beauty is a rollicking satire . . . a tremendously good read."
—San Francisco Chronicle
"Glorious. Wonderfully engaging, wonderfully observed. . . . [A] thoroughly original tale about families and generational change, about race and multiculturalism in millennial America, about love and identity and the ways they are affected by the passage of time. Ms. Smith possesses a captivating authorial voice—at once authoritative and nonchalant, and capacious enough to accommodate high moral seriousness, laid-back humor and virtually everything in between—and in these pages, she uses that voice to enormous effect, giving us that rare thing: a novel that is as affecting as it is entertaining, as provocative as it is humane."
—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
"Oh happy day when a writer as gifted as Zadie Smith fulfills her early promise with a novel as accomplished, substantive and penetrating as On Beauty. It's a thing of beauty indeed. In tackling grown-up issues of marriage, adultery, race, class, liberalism and aesthetics, she thrillingly balances engaging ideas with equally engaging characters. As good as she is with big ideas, Smith is even stronger at capturing family dynamics, the heartbreak of broken trust as well as the lovely connections between siblings."
—The Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Smith's specialty is her ability to render the new world, in its vibrant multiculturalism, with a kind of dancing, daring joy. . . . Her plots and people sing with life. . . . One of the best of the year, a splendid treat. "
—Chicago Tribune
