This book is a few years old now, a past winner of the Orange Prize and one I took for holiday reading recently.
As I was reading the book I was constantly thinking about the title -"On Beauty" and wondered how such a title could fit the novel.
The story is set in present day, mainly in the USA, in Boston where the Belsey family live. Howard Belsey is a white English academic trying to write a book about Rembrandt and lectures at the elite Wellington University. He is married to Kiki, a black American who works as a nurse. They have 3 children - Jerome who has embraced religion, Zora a forthright ruthless scholar and Levi who talks in gangsta rap and empathises with the Haitian cause. Kiki is very much in love with Howard but the household is not the peaceful haven it should be. Howard is 57 years old, a liberal who is struggling to hold onto what 'used to be'. Howard has had an affair with a family friend, his relationship with his children is strained, he is estranged from his father, he is unable to communicate with his wife without arguing and he is having difficulty writing his book.
The Kipp family on the other hand appear to be the opposite of the Belseys. Sir Montague Kipp, Caribbean born conservative is a rival of Howard Belsey and is to leave England to take up a teaching post at Wellington College. He too is married. Carlene, his wife is suffering from a terminal illness which Montegue and their children are not fully aware of. There are 2 children in the Kipp family: Michael and Victoria .
Carl is a character who comes from the rough side of Boston and is encouraged by Zora to attend the poetry class at Wellington. He is a gifted poet and rapper and has ambition for himself. He represents the tokenism offered by the university.
The 2 families are opposite in that the Belseys feel like a 'real ' family'. Life is not always easy, they have their issues, they hate their father for his actions and Kiki is full of anger. Despite all this however, the family manage to stay together.There is one particular passage in the novel where on a very cold day Jerome, Zora and Levi accidentally meet in the street. They unite and hug letting the wind blow violently round them but unable to part them. They express compassion and unity for each other weaving the fabric of the family deeper.
The Kipps portray a facade that everything is perfect. Montegue Kipp is always the gentleman, smartly dressed, the perfect host, always polite. They have money, a large smartly furnished house and own expensive paintings. Montegue is articulate, successful and is able to gain support of his colleagues at the university. Michael is soon to be married and Victoria is a beautiful, intelligent student at Wellington. Behind all this though lies a lot of evil : Montegue is controlling of his wife and exploits a young black girl. Arguments in the family are hinted at and there is an aura of secrecy. Montegue is sly and manipulative and has outbursts of anger. Michael acts 'superior' and dismissively towards his fiancee. Victoria acts as an evil temptress with no concern towards those she hurts but rage and fury spills out of her when scorned.
The novel has a beautiful ending hitting at reconciliation between Howard and Kiki.
John Glalsworthy [1920] said,"Where beauty is nothing ever runs quite straight", perhaps that is why the book is titled so.
If you are a fan of EM Forster's novel " Howard's End" you will love this: if not, it my be worth getting the book just to admire the dust cover.
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