I've read books before where I've completely hated the characters but I loved the story. There are a couple of sympathetic characters within On Beauty, but for the most part nearly all at some point are loathsome. And Howard, oh my, loathsome to the point that I fantasized about strangling him. Just kidding. (Kind of.) Four days after finishing, I'm still left wondering if I even liked the story.

It's an interesting novel that plays a bit melodramatic at parts, but I liked the contemporary setting and juxtapositions of race, culture, and 'smarts.' There was much of the dialogue I found stilted or didn't actually work. Apparently the novel is an ode to E.M. Forster's Howards End, so I may pick that up soon. It made me laugh to read that 'Howards End' is a location in Forster's book, not a character like in On Beauty. But Howard does get an end in Smith's book.

I'm teetering between giving this three or four stars. I audibly groaned so many times while reading it, I think I should dock points. But isn't a book (and in this case its characters) that gets a reaction out of the reader interesting and worthwhile? Maybe. I'll stick to three for now.