The Help

by Kathryn Stockett (Goodreads Author)

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4.48 · rating details · 63,026 ratings · 18,194 reviews

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger.

Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised he ...more

Hardcover, 451 pages

Published February 10th 2009 by Putnam Adult (first published 2009)

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Jun 17, 2009

Annalisa rated it

Recommended to Annalisa by: Jeana Quigley

Shelves: book-club, historical-fiction, voice, wishlist

Here is an illustrative tale of what it was like to be a black maid during the civil rights movement of the 1960s in racially conflicted Mississippi. There is such deep history in the black/white relationship and this story beautifully shows the complex spectrum, not only the hate, abuse, mistrust, but the love, attachment, dependence.

Stockett includes this quote by Howell Raines in her personal except at the end of the novel: There is no trickier subject for a writer from the South ...more Here is an illustrative tale of what it was like to be a black maid during the civil rights movement of the 1960s in racially conflicted Mississippi. There is such deep history in the black/white relationship and this story beautifully shows the complex spectrum, not only the hate, abuse, mistrust, but the love, attachment, dependence.

Stockett includes this quote by Howell Raines in her personal except at the end of the novel: There is no trickier subject for a writer from the South than that of affection between a black person and a white one in the unequal world of segregation. For the dishonesty upon which a society is founded makes every emotion suspect, makes it impossible to know whether what flowed between two people was honest feeling or pity or pragmatism. An eloquent way to describe Stockett's intentions for this novel. I know most reviews will probably focus on the racial relationships in the book, but to me the most haunting statement was that when you are paying someone to care for you and their livelihood depends on making you happy, you can't expect an honest relationship.

I did not expect this book to hit so close to home. After all, I did not grow up in the South and completely missed the racial mind shift in the country. But the book isn't just about racism and civil rights. It's about the employer relationship too. And I did grow up in South America with a maid trying to keep herself out of poverty by making our crazy family happy. As much as we loved her, I can see so many of the pitfalls from these complex relationships in my own history. I know our maid was stuck between pleasing my mother and raising us the way she believed appropriate. I know it was physically hard to work from sunup to late everyday and emotionally hard to never relax because she wasn't the decision maker of our home and at any moment she could be reprimanded for making the wrong decision. She had absolutely no power, and yet she was all powerful to shape and mold us.

I needed her, felt bad for how much I imposed upon her, but I never voiced how much I appreciated or loved her. I took her for granted. Even though she was paid to love us, I know she did. We were her children, especially my youngest brothers. And yet when she moved back home, we lost contact. Was it out of laziness of our own narcissistic lives or was the complexity of our relationship so draining she cut the tie? It is my fear that she thinks we did not return her affection and only thought of her as the maid. I often think about her, we all reminisce about her wondering where she is, and more than anything, I just want to know that she is happy and tell her thank you. It is so strange that someone who is such a vital part of your childhood can just vanish out of your life. "They say its like true love, good help. You only get one in a lifetime." I know.

The story is strong and real and touched something deep inside me. I could so relate to the motherly love from Constantine to Skeeter, see that pain in the triangle between Aibileen and Mae Mobley and Elizabeth, feel the exasperation of Minny toward Celia, and understand the complexity of the good and bad, the love and hate, the fear and security. Stockett captured all these emotions.

I also loved the writing style. When style compliments plot, I get giddy. I don't always love grammatically incorrect prose or books about an author trying to be published, but here it works because it's honest. The novel is about a white woman secretly compiling true accounts of black maids--and the novel is in essence a white author trying to understand black maids. The styles parallel each other as do the messages. The point of Skeeter's novel is to make people see that people are just people no matter the color of their skin and Stockett's novel beautifully portrays that with both good and bad on both sides. Even the cover of the fictional book, blue with a white dove, is complimented by this yellow cover with three ordinary birds, a picture of ordinary life asking to be accepted for its honest simplicity.

This book is definitely Stockett's masterpiece, that story in her that was just itching to get out. From the first page, the voice of the characters took vivid form and became real, breathing people. I loved Aibileen, but think I loved Minny's voice more because she is such a strong character. Besides the maids, I loved Hilly as a portrayal of the white Southern belle with the ingrained belief that black people are not as good as whites, verbalized as "separate but equal" so it doesn't sound racist. My favorite scene was when Hilly says they have to be careful of racists because they are out there. She's a bit over the top, but if you've been to the South, not that far of a stretch. I just would have liked to find some redeeming qualities in her from Skeeter's perspective.

While there are some instances where I felt Stockett was squeezing historical facts into the novel, forming the plot around these events instead of letting them play backdrop, and occasionally I could read the modern woman in this tale pushing her message too hard, Stockett's sincerity to understand and appreciate shines through. She lived this book to some extent and the story is a part of her. Because it's important to her it becomes important to me. (less)

like 100 likes 18 comments

Mar 15, 2010

Ellen rated it

Shelves: novels

The Kindle DX I ordered is galloping to the rescue today...

description

AND, for all the book purists (which would include me), this is a need, rather than a want. Post-several eye surgeries, I'm just plain sick of struggling to read the words on a page.

However, despite the visual challenges, I read all 451 pages of The Help yesterday. Clearly, the book held my interest. However, I spent last night pondering why the book wasn't as good as my nonstop reading would indicate ...more

like 58 likes 29 comments

Apr 08, 2010

karen rated it

Shelves: it-is-for-class, littry-fiction

enthusiasm!!!

this book and i almost never met. and that would have been tragic. the fault is mostly mine - i mean, the book made no secret of its existence - a billion weeks on the best seller list, every third customer asking for it at work, displays and reviews and people on here praising it to the heavens. it practically spread its legs for me, but i just kept walking. i figured it was something for the ladies, like sex and the city, which i don't have to have ever seen an ...more
enthusiasm!!!

this book and i almost never met. and that would have been tragic. the fault is mostly mine - i mean, the book made no secret of its existence - a billion weeks on the best seller list, every third customer asking for it at work, displays and reviews and people on here praising it to the heavens. it practically spread its legs for me, but i just kept walking. i figured it was something for the ladies, like sex and the city, which i don't have to have ever seen an episode of to know that it's not something i would enjoy. i figured that this book was on the ladder one rung above chick lit. so i am to blame for my snobbish dismissiveness, but have you seen this cover?? what is with that sickroom color scheme? and i hate those stupid little birds. what is chip kidd so busy doing that he can't just pop over here and lend a hand?? it is not my fault for thinking it was a crappy book when that cover wanted me to think it is a crappy book.

but this book is good. really, really good. again, i thank you, readers' advisory class, for fixing me up with this book. it has been a long time since i have read such a frankly entertaining book. (if a book about the emotionally-charged early days of the civil rights movement can be called entertaining.) this is just an effortlessly told story, split between three different women, whose voices and perspectives never run together - the secondary characters are also completely believable and are all different brands of repellent, with some token sympathetic characters tossed in for the halibut. i don't even know what to say, i just feel all "aw, shucks, i loved this book" about it - there were several times i would catch myself grinning at a turn of phrase or a situation, and every time i would start to doubt myself, that maybe i would like sex and the city. or buffy the vampire slayer or all these things i have formerly judged without having read/seen/eaten. maybe i am like these white women in the book, taking their help for granted and assuming they have nothing to say to each other because of their unwillingness to talk to them and know them as human beings. maybe buffy and i have so much to learn from one another...

then i would snap out of it and remember that my gut opinions are 99.99% foolproof.

so for you other people, who need to be swayed by hype - i give you hype. this book's hype is merited - it would be a perfect book to read this summer when you are melting from the sun and need a good story.. this is a very tender and loving book, about hope and sisterhood and opportunity, but also about beatings and terror and shame.

still hate those birds, though. (less)

like 49 likes 50 comments

Apr 30, 2010

Meredith marked it as maybe-not-later

Recommends it for: read Coming of Age in Mississippi instead, please

Recommended to Meredith by: Linda Harrison, Gibney

Shelves: reviewed

I have this terrible, dreary feeling in my diaphragm area this morning, and I’m not positive what it’s about, but I blame some of it on this book, which I am not going to finish. I have a friend who is mad at me right now for liking stupid stuff, but the thing is that I do like stupid stuff sometimes, and I think it would be really boring to only like smart things. What I don’t like is when smart (or even middle-brained) writers take an important topic and make it petty through guessing ...more I have this terrible, dreary feeling in my diaphragm area this morning, and I’m not positive what it’s about, but I blame some of it on this book, which I am not going to finish. I have a friend who is mad at me right now for liking stupid stuff, but the thing is that I do like stupid stuff sometimes, and I think it would be really boring to only like smart things. What I don’t like is when smart (or even middle-brained) writers take an important topic and make it petty through guessing about what they don’t know. I can list you any number of these middle-brained over-reachers (incidentally, all writers I'm pretty sure my mad friend loves. For example, The Lovely Bones, The Kite Runner, Water for Elephants, Memoirs of a Geisha, etc.). These are the books for which I have no patience. They’re books that hide lazy writing behind a topic you can’t criticize. The Help is one of these.

You’ve got this narrative telephone game in this book. The telephone game is pretty fun sometimes, and it is really beautiful in monster stories like Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights because they don’t have anything trustworthy or serious to tell me anyway. All of the seriousness in monster stories is an impression or an emotion reflected back through the layers of narrative. I don’t feel that way about the topic of The Help, though. In this book, a white woman writes from the point of view of a black woman during the Civil Rights movement, who overhears the conversations of white women. It's an important topic, and I don't want to hear it through untrustworthy narrators.

So, I can basically get on board with the dialect of the black maids, but what throws me off as a reader is when the black maid is quoting the white women and they’re all speaking perfect English without a trace of an accent. It becomes particularly weird when one of the black maids starts to comment on the extreme accent of one of the white women, whose written dialogue continues to be impeccable. Who is this narrator? Why does she choose not to speak proper English if she can speak it? Also, usually the layers of narration in a telephone-game book are only within the book. In this case, it’s the author’s voice stabbing through the story. It gives away the game.

I’m not finishing this one, and it’s not because I think people shouldn’t like it, but rather because I’m almost 100 pages in and I can see the end, and it’s failed to engage me. Again, I don’t have a problem with stupid books, but when it’s a stupid book disguised as an Important Work of Cultural History, all I want to do the whole time is tear its mask off. It becomes unpleasant; I become unpleasant; it’s bad news. If you loved this book, though, (or, really, even if you hated it) I want to hear what you think of Coming of Age in Mississippi, so I command you to read that. I think that book is one of the more important records of American history. Plus, it’s beautifully written, inspirational, and shocking. I can’t say enough good things about it. (less)

like 12 likes 19 comments

Jul 16, 2009

Christine E. rated it

Shelves: audiobook

I'm listening to this as an audiobook and I'm guessing I'm about halfway through, but I feel justified in giving it 4 stars. I might add or subtract a star when I'm done listening to it.

I'm glad I'm listening to this one, rather than just reading it, but I will probably buy the book too. It's written in the first-person, alternating among 3 women in early-1960's Mississippi - 2 black maids and one young white woman who has just graduated from college and is seeing the community she ...more

like 14 likes 11 comments

Sep 15, 2008

eb rated it

An engrossing, vivid, funny, and important book about three women living in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. Stockett writes in three first-person voices: 1. a middle-aged black maid who specializes in childcare, 2. a hot-tempered black maid who cares for a once-poor, now-rich white woman, and 3. a white girl who's just graduated from college and is floundering around. The Help is "about" race and feminism, but not in an earnest or heavy-handed way. Story is Stockett's first concern, ...more

like 46 likes 2 comments

May 09, 2009

Laurel rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction

This is a wonderfully written book told from the perspective of three very different (but all incredibly strong) women living in Jackson, MS at the brink of the civil rights movement.

Eugenia (known to everyone as Skeeter) is a young white woman and aspiring author who has just returned home from college. At a bridge club meeting with her now married childhood friends, she finds herself troubled to hear of one of these friend's initiative for every household to have a separate bathro ...more This is a wonderfully written book told from the perspective of three very different (but all incredibly strong) women living in Jackson, MS at the brink of the civil rights movement.

Eugenia (known to everyone as Skeeter) is a young white woman and aspiring author who has just returned home from college. At a bridge club meeting with her now married childhood friends, she finds herself troubled to hear of one of these friend's initiative for every household to have a separate bathroom for the "colored" house keepers, so that whites could be better protected from the diseases some so ignorantly thought they carried. With the mild support of an editor in NY, Skeeter comes up with an idea to write a book containing interviews of the local maids (often referred to as "the help") as they describe in detail their daily lives serving white families. Skeeter slowly secures the assistance of Aibileen, who raised 17 white children throughout her life, and Aibileen's friend Minny, who keeps getting fired because she has a habit of speaking her mind.

Initially, the fear of discovery and retaliation keeps the maids from fully trusting Skeeter with their stories, even though they are promised to be kept anonymous. They (along with several others) ultimately want so deeply for their voices to be heard that they eventually agree to talk, risking their lives to do so.

I fell in love with each of these wonderfully vibrant characters and was moved by the bravery of their plight. The audio version of the book is magnificently read by 3 wonderful actresses who do an amazing job at bringing these rich characters and their stories to life.

The Help is at once charming, heart wrenching, eye-opening, funny, uplifting and empowering. It is also not without flaws, of course. Some of the characters (particularly Miss Hilly) are a bit overly stereotypical, and the ending wasn't quite as satisfying as I'd hoped. However, I felt these flaws to be minor and they did not take away from my overall enjoyment. Overall a wonderfully written, poignant first novel by an author from whom I will be anxious to read more in the future. (less)

like 9 likes 6 comments

Jul 04, 2010

Joe rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: gift, mlis-book-club

I read the first paragraph of The Help, absorbing the words, but suddenly being caught off guard by the dialect. I stopped reading.

I shifted the book in my hands, flipping to the author's biography and photograph on the back of the dust jacket.

Staring up at me was this:

I'm a white person!

Oh, sweet Jesus, I thought. An affluent, white Manhattanite. Great. And one who apparently fancies herself a master at Southern Black Vernacular. Even better.

I rolled m ...more

like 15 likes 4 comments

Jan 18, 2010

Alison rated it

Recommends it for: everyone, the good people of Mississippi

Recommended to Alison by: Cindy D. and Jennifer L. and many other female friends

"Mississippi and the world is two very different places," the Deacon say and we all nod cause ain't it the truth.

Coming from anyone else, that line might offend, but coming from Kathryn Stockett, former Jackson, Mississippian herself, I have to smile. Cause ain't it the truth.

The Help is the story of a college graduate, Skeeter, coming home to Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's after completing her degree at Ole Miss. Skeeter wants to be a writer, but is encou ...more "Mississippi and the world is two very different places," the Deacon say and we all nod cause ain't it the truth.

Coming from anyone else, that line might offend, but coming from Kathryn Stockett, former Jackson, Mississippian herself, I have to smile. Cause ain't it the truth.

The Help is the story of a college graduate, Skeeter, coming home to Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's after completing her degree at Ole Miss. Skeeter wants to be a writer, but is encouraged by a New York City publishing company to write about something more interesting that household cleaning tips.

Skeeter, who developed a close bond with the African Amercian maid who raised her and then inexplicably disappeared, sets out to tell the story of black maids in Mississippi, and uncovers some beautiful, multi-dimensional characters and a wealth of wisom for the reader in so-doing.

"It's true. There are some racists in this town," Miss Leefolt say. Miss Hilly nod her head, "Oh, they're out there."

Written about a time when the word racist had not even been truly defined, due to the status quo of indignities firmly implanted in the times and the culture, The Help goes back to an era when people didn't even fathom that what they were doing was actually an injustice. You'll be shocked, you'll be embarassed, but the beauty of this book is in it's final message...not that much separates us, and kindness knows no lines.

I think what I loved most about The Help (not generally known to be a sap, I cried through large parts of this book), is that it shows how even the persecuted can win just by having their own inner peace. And the ones who think they are winning, because they feel more powerful, or because they have come to manipulate other people and situations, they are actually the ones who suffer. They are the ones who, by having to live with themselves and their unending need for boundaries between people, come to exist in their own private hell. And most of the time they are completely oblivious to the fact.

Which brings to mind some words from another wisom-inspiring passage...

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. (Matthew 5:7, NIV)

(less)

like 7 likes 2 comments

Jan 18, 2009

Suzanne rated it

Recommends it for: everyone!

This first novel by Kathryn Stockett is amazing. This is one of those few books that grabbed my emotions and interest so deeply that I could not stop thinking about the book when I would set it down to attend to other activities (like eating, sleeping & working!). I was engrossed and couldn't wait to read more, while at the same time savoring every chapter as the story developed.

Stockett makes the characters come to life with her scene and character descriptions; writing in the ' ...more

like 37 likes 1 comment

May 06, 2009

Lucy rated it

Gush, gush, gush, gush, gush! I cannot gush enough about this book.

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, follows the lives of three women living in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi. Two of the women, Aibilene and Minny are black, hired as help to wealthy, or trying to appear wealthy, white families. Eugenia, or "Skeeter" as she is called, is a white woman recently graduated from Ole Miss University and trying to become a writer. She is what probably most of us are, kindly ignorant of the ...more Gush, gush, gush, gush, gush! I cannot gush enough about this book.

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, follows the lives of three women living in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi. Two of the women, Aibilene and Minny are black, hired as help to wealthy, or trying to appear wealthy, white families. Eugenia, or "Skeeter" as she is called, is a white woman recently graduated from Ole Miss University and trying to become a writer. She is what probably most of us are, kindly ignorant of the world around her. Raised on what her mother embarrassingly still refers to as a "plantation" she lived in an environment with all the privilege and prejudice you'd expect from a southern belle. Living at home again, Skeeter doesn't quite fit in anymore among her friends, who are all married with children.

When a feminist editor from New York rejects one of Skeeter's submissions, she includes with that rejection the advice for Skeeter to write about what disturbs her. It is while playing bridge with her friends, and she becomes aware of her friend, Miss Hilly's, crusade for every home to have a separate bathroom installed for "the help", to contain the germs blacks carry that whites are more susceptible to, that Skeeter realizes she has found her subject matter.

Skeeter is the least developed character of the three but she is the means in which this uniquely uplifting story can be told. Without Skeeter, who at 22, finally and lonesomely comes of age, The Help would simply be another shocking look at the racial inequality that existed still so recently in the South. It is Skeeter's character, and her ambition to write a book that matters, that strips Aibilene's and Minny's blatantly mistreated, funny and irresistible characters out of their perfectly pressed maid uniforms and into each of our lives.

I don't want to give away too much about Abilene and Minny, who became women I loved. They mattered to me. Aibilene, especially, is so vividly written, that her voice, her mannerisms... her unguarded moments... took solid form in my imagination. More than anything, I wanted her to thrive. To triumph.

As rich as this book is in both characterization and plot, its real accomplishment is that it encouraged me to examine my own prejudices. Racism has always been a frustrating topic for me to think about, as has sexism. My mind has a hard time wrapping around the idea that there was a time when educated people - enlightened people - sincerely believed that any race or gender was superior to another. It seems our spirits must have always had the capacity for understanding that this could not be so, but The Help showed me how such beliefs are possible.

Stockett, a southern white woman herself, exposes this possibility with an experienced sympathy. Using a variety of characters, she demonstrates how many Southerners in this particular chapter of our nation's history weren't racist because they were mean-spirited or elitists, but because tradition and bogus science had supported their belief. Foolish traditions, yes, but they were able to be easily convinced that a separate toilet was not only desirable but necessary because they lacked scientific understanding about germs and contamination and genetics. They only thing available to counter such painfully offensive actions was personal reflection and, perhaps, their consciences.

More so, and what was really eye opening to me, were the attitudes of "the help", and how their own actions and attitudes were also heavily influenced by tradition and fear - as much so as their white counterparts. Whites, with control and power, dosed out injustice after injustice that was defended by their fear and blacks adjusted to the degradation based on their own learning and fear. Minny was taught by her mother how to behave as a maid in the home of a white woman - what to say and do and how to say and do it. She also experienced first hand the consequences of breaking with that tradition, being fired and blacklisted and unable to provide for her family. The difference between what excuses the fear as loathsome or imaginable was the availability of recourse. Blacks had none. Or very little.

I must believe, as a human being, that there is something inside each of us that witnesses the value of our souls. However, blacks, then, had even less access to understanding and knowledge than their white peers which left them with little other than their own consciences as proof of their worth. How frustrating to be human whose freedom is limited by the understanding of others. It made me wonder which of us are like Miss Skeeter, Miss Hilly, Aibilene or Minny. Are we currently kindly ignorant, arrogantly holding all the answers, quietly giving the best of ourselves with what society allows or protecting our vulnerability with a tough outer shell?

Perhaps, we are all of them, at different times of our lives, progressing at our individual rates of enlightenment and courage. As Skeeter explained, "Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, 'We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought'."

Amen.

Now, go read this book! (less)

like 45 likes 15 comments

Feb 04, 2009

Jackie rated it

Recommended to Jackie by: Roy L

Shelves: 5-star, work-review-related-reading

This book focuses on 3 women in the early 1960's in Jackson, Mississippi. Two of them are African American (or "negra" in one of the kinder terms of the time) housekeepers/nannies, and one is an awkward white woman, raised by a friend of theirs, who just can't accept the system as it is for ANY woman at the time. She's also trying to break into journalism and a New York editor challenges her to find a story that no one has done before. She chooses to write about her home town from " ...more

like 11 likes 2 comments

Mar 17, 2010

Dawn rated it

Recommended to Dawn by: Annette

This is a very good book which kept me up late reading it. Strong, real characters with perfect voices and a powerful, truthful story told so well by Stockett. To say it's about the life of black maids in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's describes it, but doesn't do it justice. The author succeeds in her effort to show that we are more alike than we realize. I'm very thankful for the brave women and men of the civil rights era who stood up for what was right despite paying a heavy price. ...more

like 6 likes 8 comments

May 10, 2009

Boof rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone!

Recommended to Boof by: Gloria

Shelves: arc-and-review-copies, comfort-reading, my-most-amazing-books, read-in-2010

I finished this book this afternoon after trying to drag out the ending as long as possible. I did not want to leave these characters behind; I wanted to continue on their journey with them, make sure they were OK – I miss them already.

I have been hearing about this book and have read lots of positive reviews for the longest time but sometimes I get put off by books that have so much hype around them and end up passing them by. Oh how glad I am that I didn’t do this with The Hel ...more I finished this book this afternoon after trying to drag out the ending as long as possible. I did not want to leave these characters behind; I wanted to continue on their journey with them, make sure they were OK – I miss them already.

I have been hearing about this book and have read lots of positive reviews for the longest time but sometimes I get put off by books that have so much hype around them and end up passing them by. Oh how glad I am that I didn’t do this with The Help. It is worth every glowing review, every recommendation and every superlative ever written about it.

The book is set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 and is narrated by three women in turn. Aibileen and Minny are black maids and Miss Skeeter is a white college graduate who mourns the disappearance of her old maid and wants to do something more with her life than marry a local boy and have her kids raised by maids.

The story takes us with these women as the embark on a dangerous journey to try and change decades of prejudice and pave the way for a better life for the next generations. Through the words of each of these women we learn how rife racism and intolerance was back in the 1960′s deep south. There are tales of unbelievable cruelty and humiliation but also tales of tenderness and real love. It was so good to hear a story told primarily from the point of view of the black maids too and refreshing to hear both sides in all its rawness; the distrust and even hatred on both sides. The book also successfully managed to avoid being sensational or over-egging the pudding. Despite the subject matter (which is so important) the book never feels too heavy or preachy: it is as light as one of Minny’s famous caramel cakes and aswell as riotously funny and tender.

I implore you to read this book – you will fall in love with Aibileen, roar with laughter at Minny and rootfor Miss Skeeter for 450 pages. And I guarantee that Miss Hilly is one of the best bitches you will come across in any book! She is truly awful but so brilliantly drawn and you will root for her to get her just desserts (pun intended ☺).

I feel like I have lost friends now I have finished this book. It is a true gem and I highly, highly recommend.
(less)

like 5 likes 10 comments

Feb 04, 2009

Chris rated it

Moving, riveting, a must fiction read for anyone interested in the real modern history of this country, told from the point of view of the black women who cared for white families in the South of the early 1960s. Even as those families largely maintained a fierce blindness to the concerns and troubles of their devoted 'help', these women made it possible for the South to live up to its reputation for 'gracious living'. As a white woman who grew into adulthood in the 1960s I felt compassion and ...more

like 9 likes 4 comments

Jul 24, 2009

Joanna rated it

Shelves: fiction-21st-cent-

I've completed 69% of this book on Kindle, and must wait a week to read the rest. Roger is taking my Kindle to Ireland, so I'll be reading a different "real" book this week.
I LOVE this book, with it being one of my favorite book ever. The Help is well written and well researched, giving unique insight into the black maids living and working in the southern US during the early 60's. As a child growing up in Atlanta, Lillie Frazier came to our house three times a week. She love ...more

like 9 likes 5 comments

Apr 08, 2010

Valerie rated it

Recommends it for: Well anyone really

Shelves: 100-book-challenge, historical-fiction

I don't know what I can add to what already has been said because so many people have read this book already. And yes I'll admit that I read it because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I couldn't believe how enthralled in the book I was. I didn't read it fast, though I was pretty much hooked after the first chapter about Aibileen. I could just feel the south just oozing out of her words, and you can't really get more south than Mississippi.

The Help stays pretty air-tight ...more

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Dec 19, 2009

Melissa rated it

I've been debating for the last 24 hours on if I should give this book 3 or 4 stars. I did really like this book, but the language, while not the worst I've read, was still a little much for me (remember... I'm a bit of a prude).
And the whole naked crazy guy scene was just too weird. I get why it was in the book, but I really felt the strength that was shown by one of the characters could have been presented in a different way.
Okay - negative out of the way, this was a good book! ...more

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Sep 26, 2009

Nancy rated it

Shelves: fiction, historical-novel

The Help is both funny and serious and based on some of the experience of the author's experiences growing up in Jackson, Mississippi.
Eugenia Phelan has her journalism degree, but no experience and she wants to work in a large publishing house in New York. Advised by an editor there, she starts her career by paying some dues writing a housekeeping column for the local paper. This is a pretty tricky proposition considering the fact she knows absolutely nothing about keeping house.
...more

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Aug 11, 2009

Barbara rated it

Recommends it for: MARIA,EILEEN,KELLY & VANESSA

In 1946, Laua Z. Hobson's book, "Gentleman's Agreement" was a best seller, followed by an equally successful film version. The story was based on a writer, who posed as a Jewish person to find material for magazine articles on anti-semitism. In particular, it delved into the practise of restricting people from many facets of life because of their religion. I am "mature" enough to have remembered much of this from my own and my family's experience. I could not resist the thou ...more In 1946, Laua Z. Hobson's book, "Gentleman's Agreement" was a best seller, followed by an equally successful film version. The story was based on a writer, who posed as a Jewish person to find material for magazine articles on anti-semitism. In particular, it delved into the practise of restricting people from many facets of life because of their religion. I am "mature" enough to have remembered much of this from my own and my family's experience. I could not resist the thoughts of this book in comparison to "The Help". Both deal with ignorance, cruelty, misinformation and destruction in the treatment of others who are not of one's class or "status".

Kathryn Stockett has sensitively written this insightful,compelling novel. It appears that much of the background material is semi-autobiographical. The story is seamlessly told in the voices of three women, two black maids and a young, eager, white author.Initially I was annoyed to discover that one character was speaking in an uneducated, southern dialect, but as it futher developed, the narrative seemed to flow. It became clear that even though uneducated, these black women were intelligent, sensitive individuals. In contrast, their employees, many of whom attended fine colleges, were lacking in any sense of humanitarianism or common sense. They selfishly sought recognition for their possessions and minor, inconsequential achievements. Stockett creates tension for the reader as we see that much risk is being taken by those who are trying to write about their existences in a society dominated by white people.

As a child in the 50's, I had visited with relatives in the South. On one occasion after boarding a bus, I dutifully "stepped to the rear of the vehicle". My sweet, soft-spoken, little aunt admonished me to move forward; the rear was reserved for the "darkies". Even in those tender years, I was shocked by this, along with the restrooms with four doors, two for each sex with designations for "appropriate" skin colors. The separate bathrooms were a familiar, disturbing issue in this book. Those periods prior to and during desegregation were vividly portrayed for the reader.

Stockett has produced an impactful, moving first novel which I will not quickly forget. (less)

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Jul 01, 2009

Donna rated it

Shelves: 2008---2010, book-club

I began this book prepared for a so-so read on a topic that has been done so many times before, racial tensions in the 1960s southern US. It took a while for me to appreciate that Stockett really did take a fresh approach, and that this was as much a book about women in general as it is a book about black maids. After completing the book, I found an interview with the author where she quotes a line from the book which I had noted myself: "Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to r ...more

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Jun 21, 2009

Claire S rated it

Recommended to Claire by: GR Reviews

Shelves: ---human-damage-healing--fict-, ---struggles-of-use, ---synthesis, --human-poison-aired-out--fict-, --id-constructs----race--gender, fictionalized-history, historical, novel, obama-term-1, pol-historical, pol-luminescent, politics-learning, pol_fact_v_fiction-as-activism, pov-content_african-am, psyche--of, religion-morality, u-s--hist_diversity-of-people, u-s--hist_labor, u-s--hist_slavery, u-s--hist_women, women, workplace

'The Help' is one of those gently brutal books that makes it possible to sit still for the telling of a terrible reality. It is about women in the South in the 60's.. turning on the dynamics between the white housewifes and the black women who were their maids and nursemaids. This book rips away the veil on this set of amazinly intricate emotional interactions.

For, you see, these ‘maids’ are also entrusted with the children of the household had the option/opportunity/requirement ...more

like 10 likes 7 comments

Sep 15, 2009

Tiffany rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction

I think this is going to be one of those books that becomes known as a classic--as classic as To Kill a Mockingbird. At the end of the book, after the author's acknowledgments, she states that she is 'afraid I have told too much...I am afraid I have told too little.' The struggle that she portrayed so vividly in the book is mirrored in her own real-life story it seems.

I, for one, am glad she wrote it, even if those that it bares naked to the world may not agree. These are the kinds ...more

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Feb 21, 2009

Anderson's Bookshops rated it

Shelves: candys-shelf

Candy said: "This beautifully-crafted story follows three Mississippi women in the 1960's: two African-American maids and a white woman, all awakening to the injustices swirling around them. It's a stunner of a first novel that will leave you with your eyes opened wider to history and how little steps helped pave the wide road we now gratefully travel together. God Bless America (and the amazing talent of author Kathryn Stockett)!"

Gail said: "Everyone at Anderson's Boo ...more

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Mar 10, 2009

Elizabeth rated it

I received this book from Alabama Booksmith as a first edition club selection. Stockett jumps right in with the dialect of a southern black housekeeper from the 60's, and I when I started the book, I thought, "oh, dear." I didn't want to stop reading, though. Having grown up in an Alabama suburb where a black housekeeper worked in almost every white home, I was stirred and sometimes uncomfortable reading "The Help," which shows how far we've come in a few decades but also rev ...more

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Mar 11, 2009

Polly Trout rated it

If you like big juicy cheesy chick-lit historical fiction, you will love this novel. Set in Jackson Mississippi in 1963, it investigates racial segregation through the eyes of black maids and the white women who employ them. It is written by a white woman who grew up in the south in a family that had a black maid, and she explores the ambiguity of the relationship with tender honesty. It is also about the courage it takes to stand up for your truth in the face of persecution.

like 10 likes 4 comments

Feb 26, 2009

Diane rated it

Shelves: a-favorite-read

he Help, by Kathryn Stockett is a simply amazing debut novel that hooked me from the first chapter. It is sure to be one of my favorites for 2009.

The story takes place in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960s. It is a story about the lives of black maids and the white women who employ them. It is also a story filled with hope, about (3) remarkable women set in difficult times. The voices are perfect pitch and even though the story deals with a serious topic, there is much humor fo ...more he Help, by Kathryn Stockett is a simply amazing debut novel that hooked me from the first chapter. It is sure to be one of my favorites for 2009.

The story takes place in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960s. It is a story about the lives of black maids and the white women who employ them. It is also a story filled with hope, about (3) remarkable women set in difficult times. The voices are perfect pitch and even though the story deals with a serious topic, there is much humor for the reader to enjoy, and lessons to be learned by all.

We meet Eugenia Phelan (AKA ...Skeeter) who just graduated from Ole Miss College. Skeeter is back home living with her parents and she is bored with her friends. Her dream is to become a writer, and to move to New York City, but for now she is stuck in Jackson writing for he Junior League’s Newsletter. Her mother, however, has other dreams for Skeeter: to find her a rich husband from a good Southern family. Skeeter is tall, a bit socially awkward, but she is very sensitive. Realizing how badly the black maids –“The Help” are treated by their white employers, she comes up with an idea to interview and write about the black maids in Jackson and their relationships with their white employers. A dangerous project that must be kept secret, but one that has the potential of changing the lives of so many, that to Skeeter it is worth the risk, and it may be her ticket out of Jackson in off to New York City if she succeeds. Abilene and Minny are the focus of the interviews although many more maids agree to participate.

Abilene is a 50 something black maid. She has endured many hardships including the death of her son in a tragic accident. Despite this she remains kind, sweet and dedicated to raising the children of her employers. Although she endures much discrimination, she tries not to judge people, and to remain loyal and kind to her employer, their family and their friends.

Minny is another black maid who has had many jobs. She is angry and bitter and she finds it hard to keep quiet with some of the discrimination she has seen. Minny cannot seem to follow her mother's advice: (7) rules which were preached to her, and can pretty much can be summed up by saying “keep your mouth shut when it comes to white folks business”.

I don't want to say too much more, but to say that this is one of those books that will make you sad when you have turned the final page. The characters and story will live on in your memory long after you've finished this book. I found myself putting sticky notes throughout so I could reread certain parts.

I found it interesting that this story in part was inspired by the author’s own life growing up in Mississippi. Her family had a black maid named Demetrie. The maid died when the author was 16, and she never got to ask her how she felt about being black and working for a white family in Mississippi.

This book is highly recommended. (less)

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Feb 28, 2009

Kimberly rated it

Shelves: historical-fiction

I really loved this book and gave it a rare 5 stars! It has been a while since I read something that I literally couldn't put down, but this one was that kind of book for me. I laughed out loud at times but then would just as quickly grow so frustrated that I wanted to climb right into the book and smack Miss Hilly's self righteous face!
Set in Mississippi during the 60’s, The Help explores the relationships of colored maids and the white women that employ them. I found the characters ...more

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Feb 22, 2010

Kandice rated it

What a beautiful book. It's amazing to me that this is Stockett's first novel. It makes more sense when you read her afterword "Too little, too late", but still...what an amazing debut novel. Stockett found the voice of each of her characters within pages and somehow managed to keep that voice authentic throughout.

This is a story told from the alternating point of views of two black, domestic maids and one white, young woman who was basically raised by her family's maid. Th ...more What a beautiful book. It's amazing to me that this is Stockett's first novel. It makes more sense when you read her afterword "Too little, too late", but still...what an amazing debut novel. Stockett found the voice of each of her characters within pages and somehow managed to keep that voice authentic throughout.

This is a story told from the alternating point of views of two black, domestic maids and one white, young woman who was basically raised by her family's maid. There is one chapter told as straight omniscient narrative where we see things from every angle. This adds to the magic of the other POVs because we see how harmless events can look without personal feelings. Without background, fears, hopes and dreams tossed in. The magic of Stockett's technique is that she shows us both side without changing a single fact. Just one extra piece of information can change the way something feels, looks, sounds. A seemingly bland comment can come across as incredibly threatening when you know the history of the speaker.

Of course the book is about the need for change. We all know how wrong things were in our country between the races, even as late as the 60's. The South was the last place the much needed turn around took place, and it was not the smooth, gradual, self-inflicted transformation of the North and West. It was a painful, dangerous and scary change that took a lot of courage, anger and above all patience. It seems unfathomable in this day and age that the "colored help" would have been required to use their own, seperate bathroom in the houses where they cleaned, cooked the food and basically raised the children. How does that equate? "You can kiss, bathe and diaper my child, but I will NOT sit on a toilet seat you have also sat on." Ridiculous, but true.

I like that not every story told about relationships between the help and the employers was horrid. There were good people on the white side. My one complaint is that almost without exception, the white employers that had any compassion for their help had their own reasons to feel different, ostracized or "less than" those around them. I would like to have seen one main character feel for the help simply because it was the right way to feel, not because they identified for personal reasons, but simply out of shared humanity.

I look forward to reading whatever Stockett writes next.

(less)

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Feb 08, 2009

Kaye rated it

Set in the early sixties in Jackson, Mississippi, The Help is an incredible debut novel told from the point of view of three different narrators: Aibileen, a single black woman in her fifties is a domestic for a young family with one child, Minny is a younger married woman with a houseful of kids, an abusive husband and a very sharp tongue that has lost her many a job. Skeeter Phelan, a white,single recent graduate from Ole Miss still residing with her parents, is the only woman in her sor ...more
Set in the early sixties in Jackson, Mississippi, The Help is an incredible debut novel told from the point of view of three different narrators: Aibileen, a single black woman in her fifties is a domestic for a young family with one child, Minny is a younger married woman with a houseful of kids, an abusive husband and a very sharp tongue that has lost her many a job. Skeeter Phelan, a white,single recent graduate from Ole Miss still residing with her parents, is the only woman in her sorority sisters' bridge club that has a dream to do something with her life. Skeeter wants to become a writer and manages to interest a publisher in a possible book about black domestics and their relationship to their white employers. In a dichotomous society and a time of increasing racial tensions, this was a dangerous thing to do, both for Skeeter and for the maids. Racing against a seemingly impossible deadline, Skeeter, Aibileen, Minny and 10 other maids manage to secretly write the book that eventually causes a social brouhaha while changing the lives of all involved. Although they had some fears and doubts at times, these courageous women were but a small beginning catalyst in the fight for civil rights.

This book made me run the gamut of emotions; from mad to sad to glad. It made me mad to see how the white women treated the black women as if they were invisible and unfeeling. At one point in the book, Aibileen tells Skeeter that she had commented that black people attend too much church and that comment had stuck with Aibileen. Skeeter wondered what else she had said ,"never suspecting the help was listening or cared". They expected their maids to do all the housework and cooking while paying them next to nothing. It seems ludicrous that while the maids were entrusted with the most important job of virtually raising their employers' children, they were not even allowed to use their employers' bathrooms. It made me sad to see how they were treated as if they had no human feelings at all and how they were supposed to be grateful, never complain or feel any indignity at their treatment. The book also made me glad because Skeeter,one of the kindest of the white women, managed to put one of her own sorority sisters in her place. She also came to understand they were all sisters under the skin and to get an idea of what the domestics had to put up with in their lives. Aibileen tried to give the white children she raised a sense of respect for themselves and other people at the same time that she gave them a lot of love.

Ms. Stockett does a wonderful job giving voice to all her characters bringing them, their surroundings and their feelings so vividly to life. The social tensions of the times are also very well done. I found it extremely easy to visualize every scenario in the book and deeply empathized with the characters. It's heartrending, poignant and uplifting all at the same time. The Help is one book I found really easy to become immersed in and hard to put down. Ms. Stockett is a very talented writer and I am sure this is an auspicious beginning to her career. Be sure to read her, Too Little Too Late thoughts at the end of the book after the acknowledgements. It will give you a sense of the influences in how and why she came to write the book . Highly recommended. 5*

(less)

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about Kathryn Stockett

Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and creative writing, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing for nine years. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and daughter. She is working on her second novel.

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"Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought." — 86 people liked it

"You is kind. You is smart. You is important." — 74 people liked it

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