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The Help

Kathryn Stockett

Start date: March 1, 2023

Finish date: March 31, 2023

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What Members Thought

Oct 11, 2009 Phyllis | Mocha Drop rated it did not like it

While I am a fan of novels with Southern settings, I opted to quickly skim this book after Chapter 1 -- a true rarity for me, especially considering that this is a Vine Voice book I am obligated to review. Perhaps my expectations were too high after reading the synopses and praises heralding it as a "lush, original" story told "through authentic voices..." I was really looking forward to reading it along with my book buddy, but unfortunately she must proceed without me.

The story's setting is 19 While I am a fan of novels with Southern settings, I opted to quickly skim this book after Chapter 1 -- a true rarity for me, especially considering that this is a Vine Voice book I am obligated to review. Perhaps my expectations were too high after reading the synopses and praises heralding it as a "lush, original" story told "through authentic voices..." I was really looking forward to reading it along with my book buddy, but unfortunately she must proceed without me.

The story's setting is 1962 Mississippi and Aibiliene works as a domestic for white employers. Having lost her only child tragically and unexpectedly, she pours her heart into caring for her white charge (the seventeenth one) as her own. She has a sweet, non-threatening disposition and has seemingly worked diligently, obediently, without protest in the homes of some disrespectful (and I suspect) racist women -- the same women (and their children) that she knows better than they know themselves. The author coats Abiliene's diction with broken English (which is acceptable considering the region and era); but her attempt at the African American vernacular left me a bit frustrated and insulted. She uses a somewhat different choice of words using phonetically yet functionally incorrect substitutes (if there is a literary term for this, I obviously do not know what it is). It may be a nit that bothered only me, but to clarify, here's an example: Law = Lord, a course = of course, spec = expect, and doe-nob = doorknob. This "pitch perfect voice" (as described on the back flap) of the the childless, faithful, church-going, make-everything-all-right-for-the-white-folk, black maid -- was a bit too much for me in roughly ten pages. I was sorely disappointed in Aibileen's voice and her story from the onset; I lost interest immediately. I closed the book attempting to flush the stereotypical modern day "mammy" image from my mind!

While this review is obviously in the minority, I must rate it low per Amazon's scale -- I did not care for the characters (or their voices) I met and heard in Chapter 1 and could not fathom spending the time and energy reading another 400 detailed pages of it. Maybe I was not the target audience? I am not sure. I finished the book by skimming through the following chapters and sadly there was nothing that I read within the pages to make me reconsider reading the novel in greater detail. Maybe fans of Clara's Heart, The Secret Life of Bees, and other similarly themed works will enjoy this offering. While I did not care for the content and themes, I will note that mechanically the author writes well and is a good storyteller. ...more

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Jun 19, 2009 JanB rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club

Great book! A page-turner and fun to read, while dealing with plenty of weighty subjects. When I turned the last page I was sad to say good-bye to the characters I had come to love. Highly recommended!

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Aug 24, 2011 Candace rated it really liked it

I enjoyed Stockett's novel. She is good with characterization. I closed the book feeling as if I knew Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny. ...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Ruth Quiles rated it really liked it

Update from 2020 me: obviously I had no idea how to read a book like this critically back before I became a librarian. Leaving this here for time capsule and personal development purposes.

2011 me: Great story. The ending took me by surprise--I didn't realize the book was ending when it was. I sort of...ran out of story and I had to back track and re-read with the understanding that I was reading the final thoughts. I enjoyed the contextualization from the author afterwards and I LOVED the chara ...more

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Dec 02, 2009 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, 2009, historical-fiction

This book tells the story of a few different women living in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. One woman is a white woman, Skeeter, who dreams of being a writer. The other two women (Aibileen and Minny) are black women who work in the homes of white women. Skeeter comes up with an idea to write down the stories of Minny, Aibileen and other black maids in Jackson while exploring the mystery of what happened to the maid that raised her and suddenly disappeared. This is really a story about being able to ...more

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May 08, 2010 Alisha Marie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: tearjerkers, historical, e-books-i-ve-read

The Help is one of those books that has been hyped up like you wouldn't believe as soon as it was published. So, naturally, I put it off for years waiting to see if the hype died down. It didn't (what with the movie coming out soon and everything), so I talked myself into reading it telling myself "Maybe this book absolutely deserves the hype" while not really believing it. I am now KICKING myself repeatedly for putting this amazing book on hold for so long. I absolutely loved The Help.

The Help The Help is one of those books that has been hyped up like you wouldn't believe as soon as it was published. So, naturally, I put it off for years waiting to see if the hype died down. It didn't (what with the movie coming out soon and everything), so I talked myself into reading it telling myself "Maybe this book absolutely deserves the hype" while not really believing it. I am now KICKING myself repeatedly for putting this amazing book on hold for so long. I absolutely loved The Help.

The Help is terrible in a way because it describes in detail the close-minded, bigoted thinking that was going on in the world during that time. It's even more terrible when you think that it's still going on one way or another today. It's sad that there are still close-minded, bigoted, and ignorant people out there trying to tell everyone else what they can or cannot do. What they should or should not do. It's absolutely sickening. That being said, The Help is not without hope. Sure, there are terrible things (and ideas) happening in the book, but there is a sense of...optimism in the book. A sense that maybe things have improved and surely will keep on improving.

I loved the characters in The Help. I found them all so wonderfully drawn out particularly Miss Hilly Holbrook. It would've been real easy for her character to come off cartoonish due to her pure evilness, but she didn't. She may have been the most intriguing character for me. Every time she did something terrible, I couldn't help but think "My God, didn't SHE have a colored maid she loved? Or was she always this vindictive, manipulative, and evil?" Hilly just came off as such a layered character (even if all those layers were evil). I also loved Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter. I loved their relationship. I loved that they were people whom you would least expect to bring forward change, particularly because Minny and Aibileen were the help and because Skeeter, at first, didn't seem to have that presence where she could get a whole room of people to actually listen to her.

The Help was an amazing book and no matter how much I talk about it, it will never fully express how much I adored that book. I was dreading reaching the end and when I finally did, I was still in shock that it actually ended. I could've read about Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter and their various relationships for 400 more pages. In fact, I'm still foolishly holding out hope for The Help 2. So, yes, if you haven't already, go out and pick up The Help, you won't regret it. Can't wait to see the movie.
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Mar 11, 2011 Christina rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 52-books-in-52-weeks, historical-fiction, contemporary, adult, adult-fiction, novels, books-i-would-read-over-and-over, drama, american-southern, book-club

Amazing is what this book is! Initially, the book started off kind of slow for me, but as I moved from Aibleen to Minny, I was addicted to the story. Historical fiction, and I do classify this as historical fiction has always piqued my interest. The way Kathryn Stockett writes, is perfect. Her ability to capture the dialect of the times, the culture, and the people are fascinating. I would have imagined trying to write as an African American woman (several African American women) would be challe Amazing is what this book is! Initially, the book started off kind of slow for me, but as I moved from Aibleen to Minny, I was addicted to the story. Historical fiction, and I do classify this as historical fiction has always piqued my interest. The way Kathryn Stockett writes, is perfect. Her ability to capture the dialect of the times, the culture, and the people are fascinating. I would have imagined trying to write as an African American woman (several African American women) would be challenging, daunting, and possibly nerve-racking. However, she does a fantastic job in capturing the lifestyle of these women during the 1960's.

It is amazing and shameful at the same time how white women lived during these times. Especially after trying to be so independent in the 1920's, that they would fall to the level of "ignorance is bliss" mentality. Having a maid in the 1960's showed a certain level of class, financial status, and superiority for women. If you didn't have a maid, then who were you?? A nobody. The white women though, treated these maids like trash, second class citizens, and almost like slaves! I understand that the 1960s were very turbulent with the uprising of the Civil Rights Act that were to happen in the very next year, and coming off of a lifetime (seems like) of sharecroppers, cotton pickers, and slavery. These white women in this book were down right evil, well some of them. The stories these maids told had me shocked, appalled, and crying. These maids were segregated, made to watch and raise children that weren't their own, never had time for their own families, and some were abused at home by husbands who were in a perpetual drunken rage.

I could not imagine myself working for white families, let alone, working for someone who thought my skin color was a disease. Making me use the bathroom in a separate facility because she thought I could pass along germs and diseases to her and her family. Yet, she would eat the cooking, allow me to raise her kids, and handle her laundry. Many of these "rules" just did not make sense. The Jim Crow South was another time, and this country has made huge strides away from that, but there are some racism still alive. This book puts the racism in perspective for the world to see, and I appreciate that.

Ms. Skeeter was a brave woman for putting herself, and her family in jeopardy for the backlash and rage of racist whites. She defied the laws of the Jim Crow and wanted to showcase how stupid it was to continue living as they did. White women were ignorant to how to cook, how to tend to children, how to take care of a house, and how to wash clothes, amongst other things. For black women to be so "dumb" as they thought they were, the white women always came to these maids for advice, to help with watching their children, for ironing/washing clothes, for everything! Even to talk to about their problems! How then is it that these maids had no sense?? I didn't get these white women's reasoning behind this.

Ms. Skeeter lost all of her friends, boyfriend, and status just to put forth the truth. She then was able to publish a book about this way of life in the South for the entire world to read, she got a job offer to write/edit (her dream job), and she made sure her friends knew where she stood.

Aibileen, Minny, and the other maids all did a brave job in sharing these stories. Horrific as many of them were, I was glad to see some stories were a happy ending. At the end of the book I was looking for more! I wanted to know more about how Aibileen did after she "retired", and how Minny fared as a single mom of multiple kids after leaving her husband. Kathryn Stockett did a wonderful job! I will definitely pass this book on to my daughter to read.

I would rate this book a 5. I recommend this book to everyone. ...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Kathleen rated it liked it

Shelves: general-fiction

I admit it. I don't read much fiction by Southern women. I don't really understand the complexities of that culture. The gentility and focus on propriety authors like Lee Smith, Fannie Flagg, (and now, Stockett) often depict frustrates me. So, my review of the book is at least as much about what I bring to it as about the book itself. If I could, I'd give _The Help_ a 3.5 over all. Certain aspects of the book are worthy of a 5, but there just was not enough gray in this book. Certain characters ...more

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Aug 24, 2010 Laura rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved listening to this book. Probably one of my all time favorites. The story is told from three different characters living in Mississippi in the early 1960s, read by different readers using southern accents, It feels like you've been dropped into a different time and place. It was such an eye opener for me - this civil rights history that's really so recent. ...more

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Nov 17, 2009 Melissa Rochelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, amyeinhorn

Loved it. Great story about women in Mississippi during the Civil Rights movement.

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Jan 13, 2011 LeeEllen rated it it was amazing

This is one book that lives up to the hype...One of the best books I have read in a long, long time... you will laugh and you will cry... and you will think long and hard about your true feelings...

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