The Help – Kathryn Stockett

This book has been doing the rounds for a few years now and one of those books that I felt I ‘should’ read but never got round to it. I felt that it had been done a gazillion times and as much as I loved ‘The Color Purple’ and ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird,’ I just didn’t fancy reading another book set in the Deep South, brimming with racial tension.

Then I went with ‘my girlies’ to the movies, where I sat next to my friend Karlee who loves ‘The Help.’ She was gobsmacked to say the least (and very excited!) when a trailer for the movie version came on. We’re a bit behind the times here in Australia, so we had no idea that the book had even been made into a film! Immediately, K and the others said that we would have to go and watch it as soon as it came out. I refuse to watch a movie unless I’ve read the book of it first, so downloading onto Charlotte (Kindle) I went…

I was pleasantly surprise by how quickly I got into this book and how much I actually loved it.  It turned out to be pretty unique in the end and there were so many characters and mini story lines threaded throughout, that I was spoilt for choice as to who and what my favourites were.  I have to say though that Aibileen was probably the one who stole my heart but I just can’t wait to ‘meet’ funny, outspoken Minnie on screen.

Aibileen and Minnie are both African-American maids, cleaning houses for white women in the 60’s and looking after (raising) their children for them.  Skeeter is a white woman who befriends Aibileen and starts to see life from the other side of the segregated fence, so to speak.  She decides to collect stories from as many colured ‘Helps’ as she can so she can write a book about life in Jackson, Mississippi during this time.  Hilly Holbrook is Skeeter’s so-called friend and Minnie’s boss.  She is a force to be reckoned with and a great believer in segregation, such as separate bathrooms for the ‘coloured’ Help, and the character you most want to reach in and slap!  But I guess that’s a separate book (Christos Tsiolkas!)

I am so glad that I read this book and can’t wait to see all the characters come to life on the big screen.  Hope they do it justice and don’t cut out the ‘poop pie’ incident!!