Zadie Smith's On Beauty is a pleasurable read. It's easy to get wrapped up in the people who populate the incisive tale. At the book's center is the story of two competing families. The Belseys are headed up by Howard, a white Englishman who is a Rembrandt expert and professor at a prestigious East Coast university. His arch rival is Monty Kipps, a black Englishman who is a heavy duty conservative (he argues strenuously against affirmative action) and who has written a successful Rembrandt novel that has made Howard look a bit of a fool.

Both men are surrounded by unique families, and we primarily see the story unfold through the Belseys. Howard's wife, Kiki, is a large, exuberant African-American who is suffering under the revelation that Howard has cheated on her. Their oldest son, Jerome, has accepted Christianity despite all of his parents' exhortations to the contrary. Zora is the daughter, and she is a force at the college where Howard teaches. She is an almost ideal student - but one who seems to have very little creativity of her own. And finally, youngest son Levi may be the most engaging character. He's a high school student who is fascinated with hip hop and puts on a Brooklyn accent even though he has never been there.

Despite Howard's bitter hatred of Monty, Kiki strikes up a friendship with Monty's wife Karlene. Their lives intertwine in other ways as well, with some of them being rather unfortunate.

I fell in love with the characters of the book and what they taught me as well. And once again, I found myself disappointed that The Sea was the winner of the 2005 Man Booker prize when there was better stuff to be found.