On Beauty (by Zadie Smith)

Read for book club. I loved White Teeth but was incredibly disappointed in On Beauty. All the characters (even the American ones) talk like they're British, and Howard is so unbelievably unsympathetic a man-child that the "moment of redemption" at the end feels like a total cheat. I did like the characters of the kids, especially Zora(although Jerome is really barely even explored), but why did Howard and Kiki even get married? They seem to have zero in common. And why would his rival even be a Rembrandt scholar in the first place? It all feels very contrived. Blech. Disappointing.