The Help
Publication Date: February 10, 2009
Pages: 544
I know, I know, I am the last person on the planet to read The Help. I have been holding on to a copy of this book for more than three years, yet for some reason resisted actually reading the book. I started watching the movie last week when I was on the treadmill and loved it so much that I pulled the book out of my library and read all 544 pages in two days.
In case you are unaware of what The Help is about, it is about a young woman fresh out of college, Eugenia. Or Skeeter as she is known to her family and friends. She has spent four years away at Ole Miss and it could be said that she has he head in the sand regarding the race relations in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi. She starts to settle back into the social routine of Bridge Club and luncheons. It is there that she starts thinking about the injustices that are forced upon The Help. In this example, Skeeter's best friend, Miss Hilly, forces her maid to use a special restroom built specifically for her outside of the house. This gets Skeeter thinking about the maid who practically raised her and she decides that she wants to write a book featuring The Help and what it is like for them to practically raise the children of white families only to have them become their employers.
It is with great trepidation that Skeeter enlists the help of Abileen and her friend Minny to help her write the book that they know will make an impact on the people of Jackson, regardless of their color. Over the next year as tensions rise in the South, Skeeter hears story after unbelievable story from Abileen and her friends. Will they be able to get their book published without being discovered? And in the process Skeeter discovers great truths about herself and her family.
The Help is one of those game changing novels. This is a novel that will likely be read by generation after generation. It is told from the viewpoint of Skeeter, Minny, and Abileen. So you don't just get Skeeter's naive view of things. In fact getting all three viewpoints only highlights Skeeter's naivete. The movie did stay very close to the book. In fact I recognized several lines from the movie as I read the book. The adaptation was nearly flawless. There were *some* scenes that had been tweaked a bit from the book, but not anything that changed the core story.
My bottom line, if you have not read this book you must. Then you must run out and rent the movie. You will be thankful you did, I promise.
I'm shocked you're just now getting to this! It was definitely awesome. I, too held on to it for quite a while but seeing the movie preview made me excited so I read it and then took myself on a date to the movie. =]
You're not the last person in the world to read it, I am! I want to and I own it, but for some reason I keep putting it off...
Sam, you must read this book!
And Sara, I know, I know -- I also have the Harry Potter series and the Hunger Games trilogy in my TBR pile!
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