The Help

The Help is Kathryn Stockett's first novel, and my book club picked it to read for next meeting.  I thought this was a good book. It wasn't anything mind-blowingly amazing, but it was addicting to read, and I enjoyed the characters and the story and the ending.  This book is about three women living in 1960's Jackson, Mississippi.  Two of them are Aibileen and Minny, African-Americans who work as maids, and one of them is Skeeter, a rich white lady who has just finished college and moved back home to live with her parents.  All three of the women are very bothered and fed up with the racism and segregation laws prevalent in their community.  Skeeter's dream is to be a writer, so she decides to write an Anonymous book telling the stories of what it's like to work from the maids' perspective.  Skeeter also had a special relationship with her own family maid.  Some of the things that happen are funny, some are sad, and some will make you want to cry in a not sad kind of way.  This is definitely a good chick-lit fix (if you need one), and I hope Kathryn Stockett doesn't become a one hit wonder.  I did think she did an excellent job with the characters.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading about women and their relationships with each other, or anyone who likes reading about "everyday life" during a period of America's past.

Comments

[jayaycee]

My book club has picked "The Help" for our December book. Really looking forward to reading it. Our November choice is "When Crickets Cry" by Charles Martin. It's been a while since I read it, and can't wait to read it again.