The Help by Kathryn Stockett
February 10th 2009 by Putnam Adult
Hardcover, 451 Pages
Purchased
Book Synopsis
Minny, Aibileen, and Yule May are maids employed by Skeeter's friends. Each woman cooks, cleans, and cares for her boss's children, suffering slights and insults silently and sharing household secrets only among themselves. In the wake of the Junior League push to create separate bathrooms for the domestic help within private homes, Skeeter contacts a New York book editor with an idea. Soon she's conducting clandestine meetings with "the help" to capture their stories for publication. It is a daring and foolhardy plan, one certain to endanger not only the positions but the lives of the very women whose stories she transcribes -- as well as her own..........(Goodreads)
Review
Gripping and educational are the words I would use to describe The Help. Before starting the novel I wondered how a white woman could bring voice to the black community in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 60’s. What blew me away was how graciously Stockett presented her characters and how deeply developed her black and white voices merged into powerful, multi-dimensional personalities.
Abilieen and Minny are two black maids, working for white families. They care for white children while their own raise themselves or work to pay bills. Their entire life has been determined by white people, where they live, where they can eat, even where they go to the bathroom. The harsh reality is they need to make a living and being a maid is in high demand.
Skeeter is a quiet, young white woman who begins to take notice of the harsh segregation and the way her friends treat the help. She cringes when a maid gets yelled at or spoken to in a way that says "you are worthless and stupid, now reclean that toilet" and thinks for a moment can things ever really change? As an aspiring journalist and writer, Skeeter takes that thought and begins with the intention of writing a book to help the maids describe their feelings working for white people. But what starts as interest and a story becomes life changing for Skeeter and for the maids who speak to her. Over the course of interviewing black women Skeeter begins to see even her own prejudices and realizes how deeply things truly do need to change, for the maids they discover their bitterness and anger are mingled with love and respect. Skeeter faces exposure, exposing the maids- who could lose their jobs or be sent to jail, losing her friends and worse, but even with the heart pounding sneaking around, Skeeter knows the priority is finally stepping up and doing something about the injustice in her community.
Skeeter is a quiet, young white woman who begins to take notice of the harsh segregation and the way her friends treat the help. She cringes when a maid gets yelled at or spoken to in a way that says "you are worthless and stupid, now reclean that toilet" and thinks for a moment can things ever really change? As an aspiring journalist and writer, Skeeter takes that thought and begins with the intention of writing a book to help the maids describe their feelings working for white people. But what starts as interest and a story becomes life changing for Skeeter and for the maids who speak to her. Over the course of interviewing black women Skeeter begins to see even her own prejudices and realizes how deeply things truly do need to change, for the maids they discover their bitterness and anger are mingled with love and respect. Skeeter faces exposure, exposing the maids- who could lose their jobs or be sent to jail, losing her friends and worse, but even with the heart pounding sneaking around, Skeeter knows the priority is finally stepping up and doing something about the injustice in her community.
The hard part about this novel is reading through the segregation laws, its hard to comprehend that things were really that way and imagine a community with separate bathrooms and drinking fountains for the color of your skin. I’m saddened that black people were treated this way, I’m saddened that white people who stood up for them were beaten, arrested or became social outcasts. Its crazy to think this was only 50 years ago, we as a country have tremendously grown and hopefully will always continue to grow when fighting for the civil rights of others for any race of people.
I would give this more than 5 stars if I could. I laughed, I cried, I was a nervous wreck and enjoyed every minute of the emotional roller coaster I went on. I spent almost a week with Minny, Aibileen and Skeeter and seriously didn’t want the story to end!!! These women especially Aibileen became my friends and after closing the book, my mind raced to finish the outcomes of their lives.....I thought about them late into the night wondering about their futures tied into the real life history of Mississippi. The way this book effects people, the way it impacted me, has to be a sign of a powerful and talented writer.
My favorite read this year and overall in my top five all time reads!!!
Rating
The Help is recommended to adult readers and contains: Violence, Racial Segregation, civil rights topics, mild sexuality- mostly dialog in reference to body parts, pregnancy's, language, domestic abuse, snobby women, social commentaries and political references.
5/5- Historical Fiction-Civil Rights
I've seen this book around, but yours is the first review I've read of it. It sounds moving and definitely educational. I'm totally adding this to my ever-growing list. Great review, Tina! :)
ReplyDeleteO a beautiful emotional roller coaster? Sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI loved this one too. I keep trying to make my friends read it.
ReplyDeleteWonderful review, I enjoyed this book as well.
ReplyDeleteDid it bother you that a white woman was talking in the voices of black women?
I didn't bother me but there was some hoopla about it when the book came out.
Here are my thoughts on it: http://manoflabook.com/wp/?p=405
http://www.ManOfLaBook.com
@melissa- Thanks- Cant wait to hear your thoughts on the book.
ReplyDelete@juju- it was roller coaster, I think you would like it!!
@manoflabook- I thought she did an awesome job and based on the fact that she lived with a maid and told the story through her eyes gave the book a very real feel. It didnt bother me that she spoke as a black woman, I just wondered how she would bring these characters to life and truly speak in a black voice. It was bold but not bold like Anne Rice being the voice of Jesus bold.
@carolsnotebook- So glad you liked it too!!!
ReplyDeleteI have this on Audiobook and have heard fab things about it. I can't wait till I have enough time to delve in!
ReplyDeleteI listened to the audiobook and absolutely loved it! I'm really looking forward to the movie. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review!!
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm stopping by on the blog hop and had to read your review of The Help. I think this was probably my favorite book of 2010. I loved your review!
ReplyDeleteOne thing I really "liked" about this book was that I knew the voices of Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter were real voices - voices of women who really lived through similar experiences.
ReplyDeleteThe ending was not a big thunderbolt but that is not what it was supposed to be. It was the natural progression of reality not unlike the real ending of The Grapes of Wrath (not the movie) with its message of hope amidst heartbreak and loss.
ReplyDeleteRaleigh HOA Management company