On Beauty

Zadie Smith, Fiction
Rating: Addictive like banana leaf rice at Nirwana

I arrived at the airport way ahead of schedule last Friday so I found a nice nook at the KLIA KFC and devoured On Beauty (and a Zinger Maxx).

KFC doesn’t gross me out as much in Malaysia as it does in the UK. It’s hard to describe the depths of its grotesque-ness. The outlet I used to pass by on the way to LSE totally reeks of over-used oil, the Circle line, the industrial age and Vicky Pollard.

But it’s different here. Hormone-laden poultry is a wholesome family affair all of a sudden. Who would have thought. You find nooks amidst the waft of deep-fried fat here.