I just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. In a word: Wow. This book is so well written that I couldn’t put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
When I first started reading it, I had thought to myself, “okay, it’s about black nannies and housekeepers…it’s set in the early 1900s or so.” Ya…not so. I know in my head when all these things happened, (and I know that this is fiction) but it totally blew my mind that all this was set in the ’60s!! That doesn’t seem that long ago – and I just can’t wrap my brain around the fact that people treated others like this not-so-long-ago (Although, I suppose some still do…)
I loved the way that there were a few chapters at a time dedicated to the various main characters. You weren’t bouncing around too much, but you got to see how the minds of each character worked. One white lady, Skeeter; and two main “Help” ladies, Aibileen and Minny. I also loved the way that one chapter wasn’t from the point of view of any of them so we could see the entire dance scene from ALL of their points of view.
*SEMI SPOILER* I may be slow, but it took me until about 1/2 way through the book to realize that THIS book is supposed to be THAT book – the one they’re writing! I’m not sure why it took so long, or exactly when the Ka-Thunk happened, but I was tickled to my toes when I realized it…again knowing it’s all fiction, but it’s still fun to think that these events were as they happened because this book is about the book in the book. LOL
*END SEMI SPOILER*
One of the things I will never forget – even though it didn’t really have anything to do with the storyline, was when Aibileen was just randomly thinking away one day about how she was now breathing in the air someone from Chicago was breathing out 3 days before…and it made her wonder if she was thinking about Sears and Roebuck or Shake ‘n Bake because that person had been while he was breathing out. Crazy thoughts that I would think myself 🙂
I would recommend this book highly to anyone who will listen to me. Have you read it? What did you think?
Filed under: reviews | Tagged: book review, Kathryn Stockett, The Help |
The Zimmer Zoo 
I loved this book! I read it in 1 day over summer vacation and have passed off to a dozen people. I felt really bad for the “dumb” wife, and kinda felt like that would have been me in the group. I have no sense of social awareness either, but really, really want to fit it 🙂 It also made me really wish we could afford to have someone full time to do my cleaning and cooking! I loved the one scene where one of the husbands came home for lunch and wanted fried chicken, so (I think it was Minnie) whipped up some fried chicken! I would LOVE that! 🙂
I read it too (last year for book club) and LOVED it. 🙂