On Beauty by Zadie Smith with Virginia Pye

About this episode

This episode discusses Zadie Smith's 'On Beauty' and features guest Virginia Pye, exploring themes of family, race, and politics.

On Beauty by Zadie Smith follows two feuding families—the liberal Belseys and the conservative Kippses—whose lives collide in a New England university town, exploring themes of race, family, politics, and love through sharp satire and witty dialogue. Kirkus Reviews  calls  Marriage and Other Monuments , Virginia Pye’s recently published book, “A fascinating and audacious novel of family, marriage and a society in flux.” It is a #1 Amazon bestseller in New Southern FictionVirginia’s essays have appeared in  The New York Times ,  Literary Hub ,  Publisher’s Weekly ,  Writer’s Digest ,  The Rumpus , and elsewhere. She has taught writing at New York University and the University of Pennsylvania, and, most recently, at GrubStreet in Boston. Virginia is Fiction Editor of the literary journal  Pangyrus  and serves on the board of the Women’s National Book Association, Boston Chapter.   Drink this week: The Zadie Smith - obvi! This recipe is from the book: Free the Tipple: Kickass Cocktails Inspired by Iconic Women - Check it out! In this Episode Marriage and Other Monuments by Virginia Pye Style Weekly Best of Richmond 2026 Free the…

People in this episode

Host: Gigi Howard

Guests: Zadie Smith, Virginia Pye

Topics covered

• family dynamics
• race
• politics
• satire
• literature
• cocktails

Keywords

• Zadie Smith
• Virginia Pye
• On Beauty
• Marriage and Other Monuments
• satire
• cocktails

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kirkus Reviews, The New York Times, Literary Hub, Publisher’s Weekly, Writer’s Digest, The Rumpus, Pangyrus, Women’s National Book Association

Products: Free the Tipple: Kickass Cocktails Inspired by Iconic Women

Books & works: On Beauty, Marriage and Other Monuments

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