
Source: Personal library
Rating: ★★★★☆
“What you think you gone change with this? What law you want to reform so it say you got to be nice to your maid?”
“Now hold on,” I say. “I’m not trying to change any laws here. I’m just talking about attitudes and–“
“You know what’ll happen if people catch us? Forget the time I accidentally use the wrong changing room at McRae’s women’s wear. I’d have guns pointing at my house.”
(from The Help, page 164)
The Help, my book club’s October pick, is a multifaceted novel about race and class in Jackson, Mississippi, during the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s. Kathryn Stockett tells the story of black maids and the white women for whom they work through the eyes of three women: Skeeter, the daughter of a white cotton farmer who returns from college to find she no longer fits in because she’d rather be a writer than a wife and mother; Aibileen, a black maid who works for one of Skeeter’s best friends, Elizabeth, and spends much of her time showering Elizabeth’s neglected daughter with love and affection; and Minny, a black maid whose outspoken ways and the Terrible Awful Thing she did to Hilly, another friend of Skeeter’s, makes it nearly impossible for her to find another job in the town.
Skeeter, longing to know why Constantine, the maid who was like a mother to her, left without explanation, wants to interview some of the town’s black maids about what it’s like working for their white employers. She begins to notice how her friends treat their maids, and like the reader, doesn’t understand why the woman you trust to raise your children, make all your meals, do the laundry, and polish the silver needs a bathroom in the garage to prevent the spread of “colored diseases.” But there is so much she doesn’t understand, and while Aibileen and Minny may have a lot to say about their jobs, they have reason to fear the consequences. After all, blacks are still being lynched for speaking out.
While much of the book is about the daily routines of the maids and their interactions with their white employers, Stockett also touches on class differences among whites and contrasts the relationships children have with their parents to the relationships they have with their maids. Her characters are well developed, and she does a good job emphasizing the complexity of race relations and how even those who believe things should change feel they can’t do anything about it, whether out of fear of being ostracized, fear for their lives, or because of their political aspirations.
The Girl (age 12) and I enjoyed The Help overall, but we both thought it dragged at times, and it took us awhile to get used to the dialect Stockett uses for the black maids. It seems like a story that could have happened at that time, but I think it’s important to remember (and I pointed this out to The Girl while we read) that the book is written by a white author — and even though she’s from the South and had a black maid, she can never truly know what it’s like to be in their shoes. But it is fiction, after all.
The Help was a hit with the book club. It certainly provided numerous talking points, even beyond the obvious race, class, and point-of-view issues. We discussed everything from the two-hour-long hair treatment Skeeter endured to how much we hated Hilly, and we gobbled up the numerous Southern dishes one of the members laid out for the occasion. (Check out Serena’s in-depth book club wrap-up here)
The Help is a book that really gets you thinking, especially about how we treat one another. Each of the characters affected me in some way, and I think Hilly is one of the most infuriating characters I’ve ever come across. It’s not a book you easily forget, and that alone makes it a worthwhile read.
Disclosure: The Help is from my personal library.
© 2012 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
Anna, wonderful review! I’m glad you and The Girl both enjoyed this book. Can you believe I’ve not read it?! But I did see the movie, which had me laughing at times, and crying at times.
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We watched the movie as a family and enjoyed it, too. It was a decent adaptation.
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I always wanted to read it but then I watched the movie and it would no longer be the same thing
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That’s why if I think I might want to read the book, I put off watching the movie!
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Definitely a memorable book!
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Very, true!
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I love that The Girl read it too! As far as I’m concerned, TG stands not only for The Girl, but also for The Greatest! :–) (hope hope hope to see her also soon?)
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Aw, that’s so sweet! I’m so behind in responding to comments, but it was great to see you at breakfast a few months ago!!
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I had no problems with the dialogue but did feel the book dragged some. I think it showed small town life at its worst as well as shining a spotlight on race relations. Overall, I loved this book when I read it.
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Yes, overall it was a pretty good book.
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I really enjoyed this book, and I’m glad that everyone else did to…and that even though for some it was a re-read, it generated a good discussion. will you be doing a book club discussion wrap up too?
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I haven’t had the motivation to write in-depth book club wrap ups lately. At least you do such a good job describing our discussions!
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It’s easier to hate Hilly than to be a person who “begins to notice” how our friends treat…waitresses…children…anyone who is not in a position of power.
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That’s true, and it was interesting how Skeeter did begin to notice. But Hilly’s definitely not a good person no matter how you look at it.
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I really liked the book a lot and didn’t really feel any draggy spots. It’s wonderful that you have such a good book group.
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I really enjoy the book club!
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I enjoyed this book immensely and though its been awhile since I read it, I don’t remember any slow spots. Maybe its because I live in the South and I read alot of Southern Fiction, but I didn’t have any trouble with the dialect either. I liked the movie but not near as much as the book. I appreciated that Ms. Stockett was reflecting on her own experiences and I think the end result was a terrific fictional story. How great that you and TG read it together!
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Reading it together was great because we found a lot to discuss. I enjoyed the author’s note at the end that described why she wrote the book.
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I really enjoyed both the book and the movie!
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Us, too! We didn’t watch the movie until about a month after we finished the book.
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I read the book awhile ago (and LOVED it!), but after seeing the movie, which closely approximates the book in many ways, I haven’t reread the book, but watch the movie over and over. In fact, I just watched it again the other day. And Hilly comes across as even more infuriating in the movie. Did you see the movie?
I read that the author wrote the screenplay, too, and was very involved in the production. That comes across very well.
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If the author was involved in the screenplay, that explains why it’s such a good adaptation. We did enjoy the movie. I watched it first with my mom, who loved the book more than I did, and then I watched it with my husband and daughter.
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I enjoyed this book. I appreciated it more after seeing an interview with Stockett. She grew-up with a maid like the ones she depicted in the story.
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I learned that from the author’s note. It does make you appreciate the book more, though.
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My book club and I loved this book. I thought the dialogue really captured the speech used by the black maids and it helped me picture them as I read it. The movie was good too but not as good as the book. I think if my middle-grade daughter would have read this she might have thought it dragged at some points too, even though that wasn’t the case for me. Great review!
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Thanks, Laura!
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I liked this book a lot, and I’m glad you and The Girl enjoyed it and had such thought-provoking discussions while reading it. I agree that it doesn’t scratch the surface of the issues faced by Southern blacks at that time. However, it is basically one person’s story — that of a young white woman just beginning to wake up to what’s really happening around her. As such, I thought it was great.
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That’s a good point. As Skeeter’s story, it was very good.
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Glad you both enjoyed reading this one. I have it sitting on Mt TBR. I liked the movie too.
Like you mention, it would be hard for the author to really grasp the maids’ point of view.
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Even so, I think she wrote about the maids in a respectful way when she was writing from their points of view.
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This is the first-ever e-book I downloaded (years ago), and I STILL haven’t read it!!! Glad it was full of talking points for your book club. Good stuff.
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The book was sitting on my shelf for what felt like forever, too.
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Lovely review. I read it when it first came out. I guess because I grew up with a black maid, albiet in the north, and I lived in the south, I had no trouble with the dialiect of the maids.
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I think it might have been because my daughter had me read the book aloud, and since that’s not the way I speak, it was hard for me to get into the groove while reading.
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This book has been on my ‘to be read’ list for awhile now. I’ve heard mixed reviews.. but your review hits it home for me. I will definitely be reading this book in the near future now 🙂
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Great! I hope you enjoy it!
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I still haven’t read this book yet!! So cool that you and The Girl read this one together.
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She’d been wanting to borrow my copy for awhile, so it was perfect that it was nominated for book club!
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This is on my list. Great that you and the Girl were able to read this together and chat about it. Excellent mom and Girl bonding 🙂
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It sure was!
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I read this with my bookclub a couple of years ago and we all loved it! Such a memorable book.
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It definitely is memorable!
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I also enjoyed this book (http://manoflabook.com/wp/?p=405) and like you, found it certainly brings a lot to think about after you finished reading it.
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Yes, I still find myself thinking about the book.
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You raise some good points. I didn’t have trouble with the pacing of it. I found it pretty decent for the most part; my review of it is at http://www.thecuecard.com/node/672
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I think we were just anxious to find out what would happen after the book was published!
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I’ve read it but haven’t seen the movie yet. The longer I have to reflect on the story the more I like it and that gorgeous bird cover.
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You really should see the movie!
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I’d be curious to hear the Girl’s thoughts on this. But I’m sure with you as her mom, this isn’t “new”information to her.
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I’ve been trying to get her to write up her own thoughts in a paragraph or two, but she’s been so busy with school work and hanging out with her friends. At least she’s reading though!
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And I thought I was the only book blogger left that hadn’t read this! Well, okay, now I may be 🙂 I loved the movie. So cool that you and your daughter could share the story.
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Hey, better late than never!
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I haven’t read the book yet but saw the movie. It was wonderful !
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I think this is one that you could read after seeing the movie. There are some differences.
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