Zadie Smith, On Beauty

Zadie Smith video interview: I think it is interesting that Smith looks so similar to Kiki from On Beauty. During the interview she makes the point that you cannot hit people over the head your own political views. At the same time though, novels can be political. Smith is saying that art is moral in the way it is an analogy.

She also discusses the difference between the way an adult deals with issues in comparison with the way children react. Adults should be able to see things from a greater perspective. There are always two sides to every story. In On Beauty, the adults as well as the children seem to be jaded, neither side is able to really see things from a greater perspective in the beginning.

On Beauty is about culture wars and multiculturalism, it's about disagreements between the right and the left side. One side represents great literature for example, and the other believes that multiculturalism is more important. Both sides believe will all of their being that their ideas are superior. This creates conflict throughout the novel and causes friction between the two families.

Zadie Smith vs. 'Zadie Smith'
Sometimes it is important to think about the difference between the real Zadie versus the fake one created by literary critics. This idea ties in with the us vs. them issues presented in the novel. In some of these situations, we are fighting against ourselves. Apart from these topics, literature is about relationships and how to approach them. The novel, On Beauty, will take us through the us vs. them issues (the culture wars) and the family conflicts that can be created as a result of them.

Is Zadie Smith a great writer? Is On Beauty art?
The novel is great if she can un-flatten the characters and make them into people we feel are real. If we are able to relate to the characters in the end, we will be able to take something from the literature and apply it to our own lives. Art has the ability to impact us on one of the greatest levels, but first we need to understand it...