The Help
The #1 New York Times bestselling novel and basis for the Academy Award-winning film—a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.
Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who’s always taken orders quietly, but lately she’s unable to hold her bitterness back. Her friend Minny has never held her tongue but now must somehow keep secrets about her employer that leave her speechless. White socialite Skeeter just graduated college. She’s full of ambition, but without a husband, she’s considered a failure.
Together, these seemingly different women join together to write a tell-all book about work as a black maid in the South, that could forever alter their destinies and the life of a small town...
Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who’s always taken orders quietly, but lately she’s unable to hold her bitterness back. Her friend Minny has never held her tongue but now must somehow keep secrets about her employer that leave her speechless. White socialite Skeeter just graduated college. She’s full of ambition, but without a husband, she’s considered a failure.
Together, these seemingly different women join together to write a tell-all book about work as a black maid in the South, that could forever alter their destinies and the life of a small town...
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Community Reviews
Loved it! Highly recommend it to anyone... I love a good story about coming to understand that we are all just people underneath our skin. That's oversimplifying this book--the characters face lots of complex difficulties trying to do what's "right" and share the truth. But the characters are so real and their emotions so powerful, Stockett makes a point realistically, not "preachy."
I loved this book! It should be required reading for everyone as it really gives a first-person account of what it meant to be both black and white in the south back before the civil rights movement. The bonus: the writing is excellent and you can't put the book down!
I wasn't sure I would like this book when I suggested it to my February book club. Still, I thought the premise sounded interesting and I convinced myself that I ought read any novel that made such a huge splash as a debut novel. Turns out, I truly enjoyed every page of Stockett's The Help. She weaves the story seamlessly, beautifully. Life in Jackson, Mississippi becomes vivid and real as I read on. Her words even brought a sense of what kind of sweltering heat people in the South must endure on those hot days.
The 60s came to life as I read about these women, as I read about their lives, their journeys, their trials, tribulations and triumphs. What a fabulous novel, carefully and wonderfully crafted. Three women and one book about the good, the bad, and the ugly relations between white women of society and their black hired help.
Stockett breathes such life into these characters. Each woman has a distinct rhythm to their speech, their own concerns, their own attitudes. This novel evoked such strong emotions within me as I read on. As the book wore on, it was more and more difficult for me to spend much time away from it as I wondered how would it all turn out. There were several times that I laughed (Minny is especially funny with her attitude and observations) and other times where my heart grew tender (a scene between Celia Foote and Minny, the scenes where Skeeter and Celia are ostracized and left out), and still others where I was tense with fear wondering whether or not these women were going to be caught and what kind of consequences would they face if they were found out.
I am so grateful that I picked up this novel, and more importantly, that some people in my book club got to experience it with me. If you haven't picked it up yet, you should consider getting yourself a copy!
The 60s came to life as I read about these women, as I read about their lives, their journeys, their trials, tribulations and triumphs. What a fabulous novel, carefully and wonderfully crafted. Three women and one book about the good, the bad, and the ugly relations between white women of society and their black hired help.
Stockett breathes such life into these characters. Each woman has a distinct rhythm to their speech, their own concerns, their own attitudes. This novel evoked such strong emotions within me as I read on. As the book wore on, it was more and more difficult for me to spend much time away from it as I wondered how would it all turn out. There were several times that I laughed (Minny is especially funny with her attitude and observations) and other times where my heart grew tender (a scene between Celia Foote and Minny, the scenes where Skeeter and Celia are ostracized and left out), and still others where I was tense with fear wondering whether or not these women were going to be caught and what kind of consequences would they face if they were found out.
I am so grateful that I picked up this novel, and more importantly, that some people in my book club got to experience it with me. If you haven't picked it up yet, you should consider getting yourself a copy!
A true description of the time we hope to learn from. A read you should educate yourself on. A sweet, driven moving , humorous tale of a trying tragic time in our history
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