The Help

I actually began writing this post shortly after I finished reading The Help, which was back in . . . November of last year. (Wow, time flies!) Now, the movie is out, and I suppose this post is still relevant and not one to toss in the trash.

I found this book engrossing.

The Help, by first-time author Kathryn Stockett (who is a Phi Mu from Alabama!), is a good, strong book. The story unfolds from the viewpoints of three women—two black maids in 1960's Mississippi and a cotton-farmer's daughter, who has just moved home after graduating college—Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter.

Kathryn's writing pulled me in and held me down. The maids' vernacular was a little difficult in the first few chapters and inhibited a smooth read. Hearing the talk and seeing it are very different. I have one friend in particular who won't read books written in unfamiliar dialect because it's so distracting. I think that it truly adds to the authenticity and strength of the book, especially this one, so I pressed on.

I laughed out loud at poor Miss Celia and felt my heart wring in pain for her. Minny's notorious stunt completely grossed me out. Aibileen's kindness warmed my heart. And I definitely relate to Skeeter, who, according to Aibileen, keeps her hair "cut short above her shoulders cause she get the frizz year round" (p. 4).

Most people, whether they've read the book or not, know that The Help deals with racism in the 60s. But it goes beyond that; readers will see everything from domestic abuse and mean girls to cancer and miscarriages. The Help tells the tales of the injustices to Aibileen and Minny as they are trying to make lives for themselves and their families, while one is living with an abusive husband. It reveals the shallowness that was embodied in some hoity-toity white women, like Miss Hilly. Not only is she extremely racist, she even excluded certain white women from her social groups because they didn't live up to her standards. The book also follows one courageous young woman's dream to become a writer in an age where women just didn't do that.

The movie is also pretty good, but, of course, the book is better. I really enjoyed the movie in itself. A few things I didn't like about the movie: Skeeter's relationship with Stewart is not developed at all. They may have had four scenes together. Constantine is a really, really old and frail woman, which is not at all how I pictured her. On the other hand, Aibileen is younger than I pictured her. In the movie Mrs. Phelan appears much more sorrowful about what she did to Constantine. I didn't see that in the book. There were several things I loved about the movie: Emma Stone's hair. I think they nailed it. Minny. Miss Celia. Hilly. Mae Mobley. The scene of the Terrible Awful. Perfection.

Have you read the book or seen the movie? What are your thoughts?