I'm all over the place, here.

As I was finishing On Beauty, I was really surprised by how much action there was, especially towards the very end of the novel. When Kiki finds the painting under Levi's bed and begins interrogating him, I actually stopped reading and looked to see how much of the book was left; I was so surprised that, instead of the novel progressively wrapping up, so many more things happened.

I also found myself very conflicted towards the end as to whether I was routing for or against Howard and Kiki getting back together/resuming their relationship. Through most of the book, I think, I thought they should and generally wanted them to continue their relationship. Mistakes do happen, and in 30 years for Howard to have an affair for about 3 weeks, then completely terminate the relationship... it really doesn't seem that bad. I figured Howard was stupid, that he realized that he had risked losing his family and the woman who has supported him and been his best friend for over 30 years, and that he would have learned from this mistake. Not so, apparently. When Howard had sex with Vee, I absolutely could not believe how pathetic he was. I couldn't believe it was happening at all, really. I lost all possible respect I could have had for him and no longer wished for Kiki to forgive him.

But I also had a fairly strong reaction to Victoria Kipps, too. She had been flirty (whether intentional or unintentional had not been disclosed) throughout the novel, with Howard and just in general, really. I found her pathetic as well in the sex scene. It was also very evident just how naive she is. Everything she does--what she says, does, sounds she makes, etc,--all seem straight from a bad porno movie or something; this includes how she sends dirty pictures or herself to Howard (and also to Carl), and that she shows up to the hotel with Howard (obviously to have sex) in a ridiculous outfit consisting of corset, stockings, G-string, and garters. Who does that??? No one does that except in movies and in pornography. When she storms into Howard's office, though, I thought there was some hope. She says, "'I know you think,' she said, each word tear-inflected, making her hard to understand, 'that you ... know me. You don't know me. This,' she said and touched her face, her breasts, her hips, 'that's what you know. but you don't know me. And you were the one who wanted this-- that's all anybody ever...' She touched the same three placed. 'And so that's what I...'" (390). Besides sounding like an extremely angsty, dramatic teenager, I thought she had realized something big, something important: that because she is always so flirty and uses her looks so purposefully, people only want her for her looks, for her body-nothing more. Unfortunately, though, she goes on to send dirty emails to Carl and continues the same routine with him and thus perpetuates her vain, shallow cycle. She needs to be wanted, but even more than that, she needs to be had for some reason. At least Carl was closer to her age, I guess? Other than that, there really seems to be no bright side.

Also, on a completely random note, I loved the scene where Howard 'catches' (sees) Kiki attending one of Monty's lectures and immediately races home to wait for her, forcibly petting their dog Murdoch in an empty room in their empty house like some kind of crazed, deranged psychopath (like the bad guy in a bad movie), plotting, contemplating the confrontation.
"He went straight home and awaited his wife. In his rage, he sat on the couch holding Murdoch tightly on his lap, scheming upon the many ways he might open the coming conversation... It was all he could do not to leap from his seat and confront her in the most vulgar way. he listened to her footsteps. She passed the doorways of the living room ('Hey. You OK?') and kept walking. Howard internally combusted.
'Been at work?'
Kiki retraced her steps and stopped in the doorway. She was-like all long-married people- immediately alerted to trouble by a tone of voice.
'No... Afternoon off.'
'Have a nice time?'
Kiki stepped into the room. 'Howard, what's the problem here?'
'I think,' said Howard, releasing Murdoch, who had grown tired of being partially strangled, 'I would have been marginally- marginally- less surprised to see you at a meeting of...'
Here they began to speak at the same time.
'Howard, what is this? Oh, God-'
'...of the Klu Klux fucking Klan- no, actually, that would have made a bit more-'" (392).

And so their argument commences in full force. I really admire Smith's ability to use humor in the novel, even at seemingly inappropriate places. I found the beginning of the scene hilarious, but I also admire Smith's ability to transition from humor to serious content, as she does with the funny setup, then very serious fight, ending in Kiki collapsing in the couch, weeping. The whole scene ends with them having sex, which is a very interesting transition in and of itself.
Overall, I think the book was very well written, I enjoyed the humor as well as the beauty of some of the more serious passages, and I just really liked the book in general.