The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This book came to me as a recommendation from my mother who read it in her book club. Turns out this is a highly popular book club choice, and after reading it, I can see why. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, is set in the 1960's in Mississippi and is told from the perspective of 2 black maids (Aibileen and Minny) and 1 white lady (Skeeter), all of whom are tired of the rigid rules and lines that define their lives. Skeeter wants to be a writer and starts the project of writing a book from the point of view of the maids working in white families. She interviews a dozen or so maids in Jackson who tell their experiences working in a white world, even though it's very dangerous to be telling stories, good or bad, about your past and present employers. Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny work hard to see this project come to fruition and eventually influence the way the people in their town view each other.

It took me a couple tries to really get into this book, but once used to the tone and language the story is written in I really, really enjoyed it. There wasn't much of a love story to it, which is usually something I look forward to in a good book, but I didn't feel like the story needed any romance. It had a good amount of suspense and humor and dealt with real life issues. It made me think about what it might have been like to grow up in the south and deal with issues of race. Having grown up in California where diversity was celebrated, I have never really experienced or understood racism. Now living in Virginia, where I think scars of racism still exist, I have been thinking more about how silly it all is. People are people, and that's that. I really love the character of Aibileen in the story. She's this sage grandmotherly/motherly woman who is strong and kind. She takes care of a little white girl, Mae Mobley, and tells her "secret stories" about Rosa Parkes, Green Martian Luther King, and other examples to teach her tolerance and love for everyone, that they are all the same. She tells Mae that she is smart, kind, and good, hoping that she will see these things in herself and be a good person for it.

I didn't particularly care for the ending; I was expecting everyone to live happily ever after, but it didn't end that way. I won't say what happened, but I was hoping for more. But even still, I was left feeling full of love for people, especially the kids I work with. They frustrate me, tire me out, give me bad dreams, make me want to rip my hair out, but I really do love them. Each one is special and it breaks my heart to know that many of them do not get the love they need from home. The take home message for me from this book was about love, and I think that's a pretty fabulous feeling to get from a book. I definitely recommend this one.

5 out of 5 stars