The Help

This book may be long, but it is an engaging, and therefore quick, read. Kathryn Stockett tells the fictional (but semi-autobiographical-ish) story of the intertwining lives of white families and the black women that work for them in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960's. I was wowed most especially by the three first-person perspectives that this novel takes: first, Aibileen, an elderly...more

This book may be long, but it is an engaging, and therefore quick, read. Kathryn Stockett tells the fictional (but semi-autobiographical-ish) story of the intertwining lives of white families and the black women that work for them in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960's. I was wowed most especially by the three first-person perspectives that this novel takes: first, Aibileen, an elderly domestic worker who gets attached to every one of the many white children she's raised; Minny, a cranky maid who has more under her strong and sassy facade than anyone would imagine; and Skeeter, a college-educated white woman who can't sit idly by while her friends mistreat their "help." I really enjoyed this novel, and I would recommend it to anyone with a mind open to hearing someone else's point of view. (Note - There are some adult situations/themes that might only be appropriate for older teens and adults).   hide

This is a project that could have gone wrong in so many ways, but ends up being a satisfying, enlightening and buoyant read. Stockett writes in the voice of three characters: Aibelene and Minny are black domestics, with Aibelene being older, wiser and heartbroken from her son's death and Minny being angrier, trapped both in a claustrophobic society (early 1960s Jackson, Miss.) and an abusive...more

This is a project that could have gone wrong in so many ways, but ends up being a satisfying, enlightening and buoyant read. Stockett writes in the voice of three characters: Aibelene and Minny are black domestics, with Aibelene being older, wiser and heartbroken from her son's death and Minny being angrier, trapped both in a claustrophobic society (early 1960s Jackson, Miss.) and an abusive marriage; and Skeeter is the idealistic (and naive) young white woman back from college who doesn't understand why the domestic she grew up with has left the family and won't answer her letters. The three are drawn together when Skeeter's friend (and the only truly one-dimensional character in the book, and a villian) Hilly begins a campaign to encourage white families to build separate outdoor bathrooms for their help, prompting Skeeter to decide she wants to write about the experience of black domestics and the other two, for their own reasons, decide to help her. In Stockett's Jackson, every character is smothered by the conventions of the day, not just the domestics, but the housewives they work for, the Junior League meetings, the politicians' sons, everyone. No one can escape the heaviness of the order that Southern Society has imposed, but once Skeeter, Aibelene and Minny start chipping away to tell and find their own truths, no one else in town can deny or keep quiet about their own truths. Sure, you can say this is like a less-depressing Oprah book, but it really does transcend that particular genre.   hide

Kathryn Stockett has a clear and engaging style, and I could not put this book down until I finished it. She achieved her goal of portraying the complicated relationship between African-American domestic workers and white Southern women without resorting to pat stereotypes, and she did it in a way that really caused the reader to root for her characters. Although the characters were engaging,...more

Kathryn Stockett has a clear and engaging style, and I could not put this book down until I finished it. She achieved her goal of portraying the complicated relationship between African-American domestic workers and white Southern women without resorting to pat stereotypes, and she did it in a way that really caused the reader to root for her characters. Although the characters were engaging, Stockett could have developed them a bit more - it was difficult to believe Skeeter could be so free of prejudices when she did not have a single mentor or peer who shared her views (with the arguable exception of her father, but that storyline was not developed); Aibileen was unrealistically brave, virtuous, and long-suffering; Hilly was an unmitigated villain; and Celia was a classic empty-headed character with a pure heart. I liked Celia a great deal, but I found her unexplained egalitarianism unlikely - it seems more likely that her "poor white trash" upbringing in rural Mississippi before 1960 would have lent itself more to overt racism than to apparent color-blindness. Notwithstanding these minor critiques, this novel was beautifully-written and inspiring.   hide

Summary: Jackson Mississippi - 1962 - Two African-American maids and one white socialite named Skeeter come together for a clandestine project that puts them all at risk because they are suffocating within the lines that define their times. And Skeeter is tired of playing by the rules. This Book: Made me flinch from ever again even jokingly use the phrase "that's mighty white of ya"... a phrase I...more

Summary: Jackson Mississippi - 1962 - Two African-American maids and one white socialite named Skeeter come together for a clandestine project that puts them all at risk because they are suffocating within the lines that define their times. And Skeeter is tired of playing by the rules. This Book: Made me flinch from ever again even jokingly use the phrase "that's mighty white of ya"... a phrase I have never understood, but have caught myself using simply out of imitation of my peers... after learning of the behavior of my race against the African American working people of the 1960s, I now consider it the gravest of insults. From page one I loved this book. I first loved it because I fell in love with Abie - with the undeserved love she poured out on her "white babies". Her understated humor and pure heart were harbingers of The Truth. Then there was Minnie, and I knew I would not be able to put the book down. I could not stop chuckling at her great spirit, the strength of her soul and attitude toward life, its joys and hardships, and the idiocy of whites. I even loved to hate the horrid white socialites of Jackson Mississippi. Then there was Skeeter - standing there reminding me of myself - awkward, thinking, left out... the sturdy pickup truck of the Cadillac world. This book opened my eyes to the horrid cattiness and power of white upward society in the 1960s, which in some ways, may have been worse than the outward violence of the white lower class society. Maybe that's a stupid comment. This whole thing is difficult for me to understand, or even visualize, because thankfully, I was raised in the north, in the 1970s, in a non-prejudiced family. It is hard for me to realize that these dreadful inhumanities occurred so recently in human history; were going on even as I was peddling my Big Wheel over the lawn. The task which Skeeter, Abie, Minnie and the others undertook, reminded me in many ways of the underground resistance against the Nazi regime... it wasn't JUST that you were fighting the system, it was that you were risking your very life (or livelihood), and that you had no idea who was on which side of the fight... who might reveal you.   hide

Not much to add that hasn't been said by the other thousand people who've commented. I got this book when it was first published...came across it in Amazon, before it became the huge success it is now. The characters are interesting, and I was able to get lost in it, which is really the bottom line for me. Thing is, I had no problem putting it down and not going back to it for days and even weeks...more

Not much to add that hasn't been said by the other thousand people who've commented. I got this book when it was first published...came across it in Amazon, before it became the huge success it is now. The characters are interesting, and I was able to get lost in it, which is really the bottom line for me. Thing is, I had no problem putting it down and not going back to it for days and even weeks at a time. It took me over a year to finish this book, which is unheard of for me. I didn't think about it when I wasn't reading it. I watched it climb the charts as a best-seller, and still didn't rush back to read more of it. I think my biggest issue with the book is that Skeeter is portrayed almost as a hero, for being so 'brave' as to dare to write about a topic that was so very very taboo. To me, the heroes in this book are the women that were forced to push their own families and lives to the side and endure the unspeakable emotional cruelty heaped upon them daily by the Southern white women (and men) they worked for. People, who regardless of the times and society, knew better than to treat anyone with so much evil. Hey, at least it made me feel something, and that alone is worth the 3.5 stars.   hide

As other reviewers have expressed, there are simply no words to describe what a wonderful novel this is. I started reading this book with high expectations, but the novel was more than I ever expected. The Help is the story of a couple of African American maids and the white women they work for. The novel is narrated by three different characters. Aibileen, who works as a maid and nanny to a...more

As other reviewers have expressed, there are simply no words to describe what a wonderful novel this is. I started reading this book with high expectations, but the novel was more than I ever expected. The Help is the story of a couple of African American maids and the white women they work for. The novel is narrated by three different characters. Aibileen, who works as a maid and nanny to a little girl named Mae Mobley. Minny, an outspoken and not easily intimidated young maid with an abusive husband, and Skeeter, a white young lady who nostalgically remembers her own colored nanny who one day mysteriously disappeared. I was amazed at how three-dimensional the characters were. These are not your typical cardboard characters contrived to suit the book's plot. You almost feel like you are reading someone's diary. They are that life-like. In fact, the author could easily write another novel on any of the characters in The Help. All the characters in the book have their fascinating story to tell. Their words will grab you and keep you glued to the book until you reach the end. Aibileen did something for a friend and lives with the fear that the truth will cost her her job. Minny wonders why the heck her employer won't leave the house and what she is doing when she sneaks around upstairs. Skeeter wonders what her mother is hiding about her childhood nanny's disappearance. This isn't a book you can easily put down. Don't be afraid to buy this book because you anticipate several hundred pages describing abuse and injustice. There are some disturbing reminders of our nations history, but I thought this book was anything but depressing. "The Help" are witty, humorous, and intelligent women, who love to gossip and snicker at their ignorant and clueless employers. This book will make you laugh and fall in love with its beautiful characters. I agree with the reviewer who said this book needs to be turned into a movie. I purchased The Help on Kindle because I have too many books, and I don't want to end up with a book I will only read once. However, I am ordering myself a hardcover copy of this wonderful book because I anticipate that I will be reading it many more times in the future.   hide

While the Mad Men were smoking and boozing and womanizing in New York, another culture of harassment was simmering in the South of the early 1960s. The Help beautifully gives voice to black domestics who were treated as sub-human by the white society women who employed them. They were paid a pittance, with no overtimE, for doing all the cooking, all the cleaning (including constant silver...more

While the Mad Men were smoking and boozing and womanizing in New York, another culture of harassment was simmering in the South of the early 1960s. The Help beautifully gives voice to black domestics who were treated as sub-human by the white society women who employed them. They were paid a pittance, with no overtimE, for doing all the cooking, all the cleaning (including constant silver polishing) and all the child rearing--usually six days and week and holidays, to boot. They could change children's diapers but they weren't allowed to use the family bathroom. The "help" in this book had no voice--and had no idea they could have one--until one gutsy gal broke ranks with her country club, Junior League, Ole Miss friends and began to chronicle the relationships between white women and their black maids. Kathryn Stockett's brilliant prose transports the reader straight into the kitchens and lives of the women on both sides of these relationships. Her characters evoke an array of emotions, including empathy, pity, admiration and disgust. The race discussion continues in our country today. In the context of world history, it's important to recognize that it wasn't all that long ago that the conversation first began in earnest. It's even more important to be reminded why the conversation must continue until there is true equality and understanding among the races. This book made me cry in despair at times, but ultimately made me laugh and cheer at the small victories within. Each of the three main characters is a strong woman--none of them perfect, but all three with admirable qualities and a resilience that somehow I know endured in the years following the book's conclusion.   hide

This book was an emotional read for me. Not only is it one of my favorite time periods to read about, the characters found their way into my heart! I was worried that having multiple narrators would make the story disjointed but in fact it actually connected the characters and filled in some of the gaps in the story and reader’s perspective. Aibileen was my favorite character by far. She had...more

This book was an emotional read for me. Not only is it one of my favorite time periods to read about, the characters found their way into my heart! I was worried that having multiple narrators would make the story disjointed but in fact it actually connected the characters and filled in some of the gaps in the story and reader’s perspective. Aibileen was my favorite character by far. She had such a big heart, even faced with such raw hatred from her white bosses. She loved her white babies and put such hope into them for the future, and really, how could she not? She would be lost in a world without hope for the future, even if the steps were tiny and desperate. The horrible things she had to hear while serving the white families was heartbreaking. It was revolting, that people could think those things and make up such vile stories to drive the fear and discrimination. Yet, those comments were common in that time which is the most disturbing thought to me. This is a fiction novel, but is so close to the truth it makes my heart hurt. While working on the project that crosses race lines, all three women are faced with threats, danger and fear but persevere because they have to. They just can’t imagine things continuing the way they are. They all find such a level of disgust in the women around them; they just can’t ignore it anymore. Secrets are revealed that repeatedly demonstrate that people are people and that race is nothing more than skin pigmentation. Some are good, some are bad. Some are black, some are white. I think this is a message that needs to be heard loud and clear in this day and age too, which is sad. We are all people!   hide

The year is 1962, and the place is Jackson, Mississippi. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan has just graduated from Ole Miss, and is looking for a career in journalism. So naturally she applies for a position as an editor with Harper & Row. The senior editor who reviewed her resume advised her, first, to go to her local newspaper and get an entry-level job and, second, to write about what...more

The year is 1962, and the place is Jackson, Mississippi. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan has just graduated from Ole Miss, and is looking for a career in journalism. So naturally she applies for a position as an editor with Harper & Row. The senior editor who reviewed her resume advised her, first, to go to her local newspaper and get an entry-level job and, second, to write about what disturbs her, particularly if it bothers no one else. As luck would have it the Jackson Journal did need someone to take over answering letters to Miss Myrna, the weekly cleaning advice column, and she got the job! There was only one small problem, though. She had no idea how to get shirt collars clean or how to remove hard water deposits from the tub. So with the publication deadline bearing down upon her, she turned to her best friend’s maid for help. What developed was an unexpected friendship and a secret, bittersweet alliance between Skeeter and Aibileen. Read this book to get a glimpse of the deep south that has not yet been fully documented. Favorite quote: “I let Mother’s words sit like a tiny, sweet candy on my tongue.”   hide