The Help was recommended to me last year by a friend. I bought the book, but I never read it. It was just too big, there were other books I wanted to read, the story didn’t seem that interesting to me. Well, I was wrong. I finally got to reading it at the beginning of this summer and I couldn’t put it down. I finished it in a week (I was full-time reading).
The story is set in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960s. It tracks a group of upper-class white women and a group of maid-serving black women. The interaction between the groups is limited. Miss Skeeter changes all of that.
She desires to be a writer. She writes for a newspaper about housekeeping solutions, but she uses the knowledge of one of the black servants to turn her column into a meaningful contribution to the newspaper. Her relationship with the servants grows from there. Miss Skeeter wants to write a book. Attempting to get recognized by New York publishers, she decides to tell the story of maids throughout Jackson. Over a year, she secretly meets with different black women to hear their candid stories, stories that need to be heard. She documents everything they say, good and bad. It makes for a very compelling story, one that the big New York publishers eventually agree to print. As in all stories, the novel becomes a hit to make for a happy ending.
But not everything was happy throughout the story. Miss Skeeter becomes excluded from her circle of white friends because of her suspicious behavior. Even inside the black community things become tense. There are racial issues at play, but there are also women rising up against the norm. The author writes with dialects which really personifies each character. All of this is done in a non-conflicting manner and the author does an awesome job of creating a behind-the-scenes portrait of the cultures.
The Help received tons of critical acclaim. I certainly support that. It’s a very well written novel. The story is one that will make you want to keep reading. It is coming out to the movies this Friday (see preview here) starring Emma Stone. I always think books are better than movies, so read this book before you go see it in theaters. It’s a must.
My rating for The Help: 5 stars out of 5. Get it here!
I just saw the movie and thought it was spectacular. The characters were exactly how I envisioned them while I was reading. I don't usually think the movies are as good as the book bu this was fabulous. It is definetly a book club book. We all chatted for awhile about this book and refer to it often in our discussions. Have you read any of the controvery regarding the movie and or the boo?. Interesting but I don't agree.
ReplyDeleteI have yet to see it...I really want to though. I am going to make an attempt to see it in the next few weeks. I have read some of the controversies with the movie..withholding judgement til I see it.
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