Sunday, January 30, 2011

Book Review: The Help


My latest read-

Synopsis

Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:

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 her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town...

If you haven't read this book, I suggest you do. I couldn't put it down. And I was sad when it ended. I will miss reading about Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny. Kathryn Stockett does an amazing job of matching the dialect. I thought it was odd at first. But it became crucial to the story very quickly.

I'm sure it was a fictional story about the 1960s. But it's interesting how much can translate into 2011. The civil rights movement isnt over. Sadly, there are still people fighting to be treated like equals.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have had this book on my "to read" list for a long long time! I was in the PX this morning and had it in my hand and was about to buy it for reading material for our trip to Mexico next week and then ended up buying something else. Now I think I might just go back and buy it.

Unknown said...

Its being made into a move. I think it should be out later this year. Emma Stone is starring in it.

Sara said...

Oh! I didnt know it was going to be a movie! That's awesome! Emma Stone would be great!