The Help

The Help

By Kathryn Stockett

So not too long ago while playing Bunco with the girls one of my friends starts talking about this book that is a must read. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Just listening to her describe the book about three women during the 1960's who meet covertly to write about domestic help in Jackson, Mississippi had me intrigued. She was so enthusiastic about the book and these women I thought I'd like to see what it's all about. So I get my copy and actually hold on to it for a few days before I get the chance to start reading it. During a car trip driving the long road from California to Utah. I cracked that spine of the book and instantly was transformed to a different time and place.

We start with Aibileen who is a domestic that has just recovered from her son's tragic death. "Mae Mobley was born on a early Sunday  morning in August, 1960. A church baby we like to call it." Right away I get a sense of who Aibileen is and I warm to her real quick. Just reading her voice and getting into her character from her point of view I am reminded of a warm hug and an easy smile. I can almost here her humming as she cleans. I just get this sense of comfort from Aibileen as she talks about her sons tragic death and the process of her healing. In Aibileen you get the first sense of the community she lives in and how her friends support her. How they all support one another.

Then there is Miss Skeeter who has just graduated from Ole Miss and her mother is terrified Skeeter will soon be an old maid. Constantly harped at and feeling low about herself, Skeeter is searching for her identity and purpose in life. She takes the advice of a New York publicist and writes about about what she knows. Domestic help and the women who employ them. Awkward Skeeter is caught between two worlds. She doesn't really belong in either world but it's all she knows.

Miss Skeeter and Aibileen recruit Aibileen's super sassy best friend Minny into helping write their book. Employed one day and unemployed the next Minny is always suffering for her inability to control her tongue (She and I are so alike!) She has gotten herself into some hot water and needs a little help from her friends.

The stories that transpire from this trio of conspirators will have you laughing on one page and scared for them on the next. This is a definite page turner of a book. I am so glad my friend raved about The Help, I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise. I highly recommend it. 5 Stars!

Until Next Time, SoCal Marisa