Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

About:

“The Help” by Kathryn Stockett’s tells the stories of black domestic servants working in white households of Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s.  A white college graduate, who doesn’t really do anything, decides to collect these stories (a book within a book) and publish them during the civil rights unrest of the time.

• 464 pages
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ G.P. Putnam’s Sons
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780399155345

My Rating for The Help – 4
Face it – YOU NEED HELP – Get The Help here*
More Books by Kathryn Stockett*

Thoughts:

“The Help” is a reader friendly book, it’s easy to read and oddly easy to digest due to its heavy subject. The story is well told and well written, I loved the anecdotes in the book, in which the reader is privy to some funny moments and the plot twists are very good.  The characters are, by large, three dimensional and vivacious, here and there are some characters that come along which are not drawn up entirely well.

The middle of the book lags in some places, but the narrative picks up the pace as you read along.  Also, some of the plot devices seem forced, but that doesn’t take away that much from the story which keeps getting more interesting as you read along.

I have heard complaints about a white woman talking in the voice of black women and how  degrading that was.  To be honest, I’ve never been in Mississippi so I couldn’t tell if the accent was accurate or not.  The issue of a white author assuming the voice of a black woman doesn’t bother at all, nor would a black author assuming the voice of a white characters.

I do however wonder why only the black characters had southern dialects.

The one constant theme which was on the foremost of my mind throughout reading the book was how many people are willing to take a stand against their friends and families for something they believe in?

How many people are willing to get ostracized for their beliefs?

Not many, in my opinion.  Those of you who are in a worker’s union know exactly what I’m talking about.

Synopsis:

“The Help” tells the tale of three woman.  The white unemployed recent college graduate “Skeeter”, the regal and wise black maid Aibileen and her best friend, the sassy maid Mimi.  These three women come together to complete a secret project, a non-fiction book which is filled with anecdotes of black maids to white families in Jackson, Mississippi.

Set during the 1960’s, when the civil rights movement was gaining speed and racial atrocities went unnoticed, the book’s existence could provide life threatening if published.  Gathering the material in secret he story juxtapose between the three women to reveal secrets and harsh truths.

Find out what all the hoopla is about – Buy The Help today*
More Books by Kathryn Stockett*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I bought this book.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account, the money is usually spent on books

Related articles

• Kathryn Stockett, Author of The Help (time.com)
• ‘The Help’: In Service to Servants Poorly Treated (politicsdaily.com)
• The Book Advisor | Never apologize for your reading tastes (mywinegrapevine.com)
• ‘The Help’: Can a Rich White Woman Write Honestly About Black Servants? (politicsdaily.com)

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