Books like On Beauty by Zadie Smith

Howard Belsey, an English academic in Wellington, New England, struggles to rekindle the love of his African American wife, Kiki, after thirty years of marriage. Their three teenage children—Jerome, Zora, and Levi—each pursue their own paths of passion and commitment. When Howard’s affair leads to a fallout, Jerome flees to London, where he works for the Trinidadian academic Monty Kipps and falls for Monty’s daughter, Victoria, setting off a series of consequences that intertwine the Belseys and the Kipps families. Meanwhile, Kiki bonds with Mrs. Kipps, Howard and Monty clash over cultural issues, and Zora brings a young Bostonian into their midst to strengthen the black middle class, raising questions of cost and compromise. The novel is a candid look at family dynamics, interracial relationships, and the evolving landscape of race and identity in contemporary America, all set against the backdrop of academia, partnership, and personal transformation.

First publish date: 2005