It doesn’t matter if you’re a girl or a guy, black or white, tall or short, movie fan or book fan, or anything in between, The Help is something that should be on your must-read list.
The Help is about African-American maids that work for white women in Mississippi in 1962. The story is told in the voices of two maids, Aibleen, her best friend, Minny, and a white woman named Miss Skeeter. Aibleen is a wise woman raising a white baby, Mae Mobley Leefolt. She is haunted by the death of her son, and takes comfort in raising Mae. Minny is a short, sassy, fat black maid who likes to talk back to her white bosses, but has amazing cooking skills. She has been fired from every maid job she’s ever had because of her big mouth. Miss Skeeter is 22 years old and just graduated from college. She is happy with just her college degree and dreams of becoming a writer, but her mother wants her to get married right away to fit in with the rest of the women in Mississippi. She is also very curious to find out what happened to her old maid, Constantine, who raised her but went missing.
Miss Skeeter takes part in a Bridge Club. The women come together every week as a part of the Junior League, play bridge, and, of course, gossip. The meetings are usually held at Miss Leefolt’s house. Miss Leefolt is Aibleen’s boss. The topic of discussion was whether or not Miss Leefolt should build a separate bathroom for her maids. This leads Miss Skeeter to evaluate her standing in the Junior League. She decides to write a book from the perspective of 12 different black maids, one of which is Aibleen.
Aibleen agrees to help Miss Skeeter write the book but is uneasy about it. The characters in Miss Skeeter’s book are based on her friends who hired maids such as Aibleen. Miss Skeeter names the novel, The Help, and publishes it anonymously. The Help becomes a best seller, and after the ladies in the Junior League make the connection between the characters in the book with themselves, they exile Miss Skeeter from the Junior League.
The author, Kathryn Stockett, does an amazing job of combining the voices of the three different women. I loved Minny’s sassiness as a character. From the beginning, I was very intrigued by this novel. Stockett also emphasizes the importance of friendship no matter what color the person is. I love books that show an impact on society, which happens in The Help when it becomes a best seller; the town in which they live is changed for the better. Stockett also shows her funny side, with Minny’s sass, and the seemingly lack of common sense in Mississippi. I had a few laughs throughout.
Along with an amazing story, Stockett’s writing is impeccable. As I said before, the narration was great. At times I would get confused by who is narrating what chapter, but other than that, each character has a voice, and that is what I really admire in any book. This is Stockett’s first novel, and I am truly amazed by it. I cannot wait to see what else Stockett has in store for her fans. I suggest that everyone read The Help; it’s a great book to read, and it’s been adapted into a movie, too, a review of which you can read here[hyperlink to help movie review].
