
On Beauty
British novelist, born 1975. Won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2006.
On Beauty is a 2005 novel by Zadie Smith. It won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2006.
In family saga
On 3 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Zadie Smith
- First published
- 2005
- Length
- 464 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- Booker Prize shortlist, 2005
- Women's Prize for Fiction winner, 2006
- Genre
- Literary fiction, Class and society, Migration and identity, Family saga
Is On Beauty worth reading?
3 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Booker Prize.
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| Booker Prize (winners and shortlists) (Booker Prize Foundation, 2005) | Shortlist | See the list |
| The 100 best books of the 21st century (The New York Times, 2024) | No. 94 | See the list |
| Women's Prize for Fiction (winners and shortlists) (Women's Prize Trust, 2006) | Winner | See the list |
Best edition of On Beauty
The edition we link to is the Penguin paperback (2006), 464 pages.
- Publisher
- Penguin (paperback, 2006)
- Pages
- 464
- ISBN
- 9780141019451
How critics, prizes and readers rate On Beauty
Prize juries rate it most highly: it earned 42% of the points available on prize lists, against 11% on critics' lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like On Beauty
If you liked On Beauty, try White Teeth or NW.

