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The Help
Readers who like Southern fiction will enjoy debut novelist Kathryn Stockett's The Help. Set in the south during the early days of the Civil Rights movement, Stockett tells the stories of several Southern women, drawing striking parallels and social commentary between the "help"-black maids working in the stately mansions of Mississippi-and the privileged white women they serve. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is an outsider in Jackson, circa 1962. Tall and lanky with wiry blonde hair, she's recently graduated from Ole Miss and returned home to dull, hot days on her father's plantation. Skeeter isn't exactly cut from the same cloth as the other society girls in town-she listens to Bob Dylan, has a liberal bent, and aspires to become a writer. On the advice of a New York publisher to write about what disturbs her, Skeeter takes a look around her town, her friends, and her family's plantation, and the idea to tell the stories of the "help" is born. Keeping her writing project a secret from her family and friends won't be easy, but Skeeter soon finds that getting the maids to talk is a far more difficult task. With the help of one long-time maid, Skeeter is able to get the others on board and what results are twelve incredible stories that shed light on the previously silent lives of these brave women. But what new dangers will Skeeter and these women face when her book is published to national notoriety?
Recommended by Morgan Miller
COMMENTS
If you want a book that you can't put down, this is it! Not only is it a great read, but it gives you a very different perspective of the civil rights movement in the south. Excellent character development; you will either love or hate the strong women in this book.
This is hands down the best book I have read in the past year. The characters are richly written and wonderful and you will love, (or hate), all of them! I just wish Ms. Stockett would publish a "The Help" cookbook. Look for the movie in the next year or so. I can't wait so see this story brought to the big screen!
I could not read this book fast enough and I was sad when I finished it - great read. I highly recommend this book.
My mom just finished this book and can't stop raving about it. She loved it so much that's she's going to buy a copy just to pass around to family and friends. I'm putting it on hold and can't wait! Thanks for the review.
What an enjoyable read! A great look at the double standard of the southern "help" how the black women can raise the children but can't use the same bathrooms. Excellent main character.