The Help by Kathryn Stockett

[Jenny]

I'm going to start this book the second week in March, if anyone would care to read along or discuss!

[Barb]

Jenny,
I just read this with my book club and I really loved it. Hope you enjoy it too.

[Jenny]

Oh good! Hopefully you can join in the discussion with me when I get there! I've heard lots of good things about it.

[Jenny]

I have to confess I'm having a really hard time getting into this one and I'm disappointed.

[Barb]

Jenny,
Sorry to hear it.
What's the trouble?

[Jenny]

It's just not pulling me in. I think the dialect may be part of the problem. I'm not giving up on it, but I had a couple of books arrive that I've been dyuing to read, so I'm going to set this aside for a bit and come back to it. Did the book start slowly for you? Tell me what you loved about it.

[Barb]

I know that some people had a problem with the dialect, I did not. I was hooked right away and found myself trying not to cry during my son's gymnastics class while I was reading about Abilene's son passing away on page four or so. I really loved the characters and the humor that was sprinkled throughout. I just loved it.

[Mary]

I usually have trouble with reading dialect--it sooooo slows me down that I stop--but this didn't bother me in the least. Maybe because it is so perfect to the region. Although I didn't live in Mississippi, my father's family is from there and I certainly visited it often. This was one of my favorite books of 2009, so keep at it. I think it will pay off for you in the end.

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

My mom read this book and liked it. I havn't read it yet but i'm going to.

[Molly]

I liked the character development along with the setting which was something I had not given serious thought to in terms of what maids in the south experienced. I read the book when it came out so specifics escape me now. I do remember really liking (and disliking) some characters which made the story interesting for me.

[Kathy]

I absolutely LOVED this book! Love that period of time and place both and the characters were just so much fun and so funny. Can't wait to see the movie!!

[Kathy]

Reminded me of The Bee book set in South Carolina in the early 60's, another tongue in cheek funny as hell book.

[Sara]

This books is one of my favorites! When I read the first sentence of the book I thought there was a typo but then you realize it's her dialect! Once you get into reading it though the dialect isn't a problem, not to mention you won't want to put it down!

[Mary]

Jenny - for the first 83 pages, I hated (maybe "hated" is too strong a word - let's say "really disliked") this book. But I told myself it must have some redeeming qualities since everyone else on earth loved it.

By the time I got to page 84 though, I was hooked and thought it was an excellent book for the remainder. Maybe it's just hard to describe so many characters in the beginning? I don't know. Anyway, stick with it.

I will say that the ending had me furious. Furious. But I don't really care for spineless people in general.

[Kurt]

Jenny wrote: "I'm going to start this book the second week in March, if anyone would care to read along or discuss!
You might want to check out this blog discussion of the book, Sept 20, at www.MostlyHistoricalFiction.com. Some of the comments were excellent. --Kurt
"

[Jenny]

Thanks guys! I've still got the book sitting on my shelf, but I haven't picked it back up. I will try it again someday...

[Tracy]

I read this one a few weeks ago. It was quite the page turner and one that I stayed up all night to finish.

And, yes, it reminded me a bit of "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd.