149. On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Today, we’re wrapping up our spring season with Zadie Smith’s On Beauty, a theme-driven novel that recreates the social world of an elite liberal arts college, exploring issues through nuanced satire on race, class, and beauty. We dig into the stories of the Belsey and Kipp families and Smith’s use of the academic setting to discuss identity and social satire. Our pairings for On Beauty include callbacks to previous classic episodes, essays by Zadie Smith, and surprising historical fiction. Our Slow Down Summer Read Along of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo is starting soon! Just like our readalongs for The Odyssey and The Custom of the Country, you can expect exclusive Patreon content, including book clubs and classes, to guide you through this ginormous classic. We’d love for you to join us! Go to patreon.com/novelpairings to sign up. Books Mentioned: Howard’s End by E.M. Forster There is Confusion by Jessie Redmon Fauset Passing by Nella Larsen Members Only by Sameer Pandya Changing My Mind: Occasional Essays by Zadie Smith Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston Love Marriage by Monica Ali Neighbors and Other Stories by Diane Oliver The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue Sex and Vanity by Kevin Kwan A Room with a View by E.M. Forster Les Misérables by Victor Hugo