I am so excited because the movie I have been waiting to see, The Help is opening today! I read the book The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, and I couldn’t put it down. The setting of the book is in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962. It is told from the perspectives of three very different women: Eugenia “Skeeter”, a sort of town socialite, and two African American maids: Abileen Clark and Minny Jackson.
I am not so sure that I have reacted to any book the way I did the help. I can only hope that the movie will deliver like the book did! There were times that I got so angry at the way things were that I had to put the book down. Then there were other times when I cried about what I read but just kept on reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.
Kathryn Stockett painted a vibrant and rich image of life in a small Southern town that was in the boiling pot of civil rights and the rage and fear that it ignited. The way she told the story was very real to me because I have heard my Aunts and Great-Grandmother talk about being “the help” in real life. Many women in my family were domestic workers for white families in my home town.
Some people have critized the way Stockett wrote Minny and Abileen’s stories because she used a “southern broken english”. I simply found it real and like music to my ears. It sounded just like the strong women in my family. I know ya’ll will probably think I am crazy but sometimes if I closed my eyes, I could actually see and hear the characters!
I can’t wait to see the wonderful yet unlikely sisterhood between Minny Jackson and Mrs. Celia Foote. I also can’t wait to see what the directors of the movie do with the character Hilly Holbrok. Hilly is the town’s controlling southern belle who’s treatment of people is based on fear of what she doesn’t understand.
I am sure there will be some backlash about the way African American males were portrayed in the story. However, the ugly consequences of slavery still damage African-American families and I saw the authors portrayal as such, and I did not take offense. I was blessed to have a wonderful African-American father and I have a wonderful African-American husband who is pheonominal with our girls.
I must say however, reading the book made me so thankful for the blood, sweat and tears that my ancestors shed for me to be able to live the life I live today. It is a fact that because of my Great-Grandmother’s skin color, she could NOT be anything other than “the help”. But praise God, her deferred dreams came true through me. I was able to go to the school of my choice and earn a Doctorate degree.
Although The Help presents some very sad, gut-wrenching stories that many Americans want to believe never actually happened or surely weren’t that hurtful, there were funny moments here and there.
All in all, Stockett leaves a great glimmer of hope with this statement from the book: “Wasn’t that the point of the book?, For women to realize, We are just two people. Not much separates us. Not nearly as much as I’d thought” – Skeeter Phelan from The Help
Acts 10:34
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
This post is part of a weekly meme hosted by Shell over at Things I can’t say! Click the photo below to read other folks’ hearts!
This was such a powerful book. One of the few I've read in the past few years that actually stuck with me after I read. I have heard that the movie adaptation is wonderful and I hope that is true.
awesome review. although i read the book recently, it was before i heard a movie was coming out and the whole time i was reading it, like you, i could envision these characters and hear them as if they were right in the room with me. it's written perfectly for a screen; i hope they don't screw it up!
one of the reasons i love this book so much is the way it's written in the voice of the characters. it instantly reminded me of my all time favorite book, As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.
What a fantastic review. I have had this book on my never-ending “to read” list, and even though I haven't read it, I have heard great things. Looking forward to the movie, but I definitely want to read the book first (that's a thing with me). Thanks!
I read this a few months ago for my book club and really enjoyed it. Right now, I know I am going to go see it…I just have to figure out when! Until today, however, I did not know there was any controversy brewing about the book or the film. Although some things in the book bothered me, overall I thought it was very good!
I'm reading the book now… I've had it for a while, but running around after a 14 month old, doesn't leave much time for reading a good book. I can't wait to finish it so I can see the movie.
I have not read the book yet. In fact, the only book I've read in the past 3 years was Heaven is for Real. Have you read it? I LOVE LOVE LOVE that book. In my old life (pre 3 kids under 3) – I used to read all the time. Do you think if I used a flashlight under the covers I could find some time to read it?
I found your blog from Shell. I love it. I love how you sign each post with a Bible Verse. If you have a minute – come check out my kid's interpretation of the Bible at http://www.alittlesomethingforme.com A few posts ago – I blogged about how my 2 1/2 year old daughter told me to “STOP TALKING” because she was “talking to Jesus over here” … anyway – what were we talking about? The book. I think I will try to read it. Because you made it sound awesome. Kristen