Book #19

The Help

By: Kathryn Stockett

I love this book. It is absolutely amazing! Here is a story about three ordinary, Southern women who join forces to create something extraordinary. The setting is perfect, 1960's Jackson,  Mississippi, where the lines between black and white are still very clear. The lines between women and men and upper and lower class are also very clear. The author writes from three different perspectives, and each character has a distinct and important part to play. I always feel that writing a novel from several perspectives is risky business because one character still stands above the rest. This is not the case with the characters in The Help. Skeeter is supposed to be the model of what a Southern lady should be, but she has returned home from Ole Miss with a degree and a desire to do something more than tricking a man into marrying her. She wants to write, and she is feeling restless. She applies for job with a prestigious publisher in New York, and while she is highly under-qualified for the position, she does get a phone call and an offer to look at some of her writing ideas. After her ideas get laughed at, she comes up with a brillant, but dangerous, plan. As Skeeter particiaptes with all her friends in their high society games, she becomes more and more discontent with what she sees, so she wants to tell the story of the maids of Jackson, Missippi. The colored women who clean their houses, raise their children, and sacrifice their lives for the comforts of the white families they serve.

Abileen has worked with the families of Jackson, Mississippi her whole life. She works for Miss Skeeter's friend, and she in very uncomfortable with the way that Miss Skeeter wants to talk to her. First the talk is about what happened to Skeeter's family's maid, Constantine, and then Miss Skeeter has a crazy idea for a book and wants to know Abileen's story. With a little coaxing from Skeeter, and a few instances of racial hate crimes, Abileen agrees to tell her story. She writes down everything, from all the children she raised to the day her son was killed and her world turned gray forever. The problem is that Skeeter needs at least a dozen maids to write her book, and Abileen can't convince anyone to participate. She works and works and works on her friend, Minny, who finally agrees. 

Minny is SASSY! She tends to get fired from her jobs for mouthing off too much. She is full of opinions and shares them without even thinking. She loses her job after playing a cruel joke on her employers daughter, Miss Hilly, who happens to be a powerful and influential woman since she is the President of the Junior League. Minny is able to find a job on the outskirts of town with a woman who is an outsider and therefore, not welcome in Jackson. As these women work together to tell their story, the tension in the town is building. Eventually, Skeeter gets enough women for her book, and the shock that it send through the town is outrageous. And, this is just the tip of the iceberg! There is lots that happens and lots to make a person think! It has been a long time since I have read a book to make me think like this one! I throughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. It would make a great Book Club book...if only I was in a Book Club.