Message 80 of 6433

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Bookwrm suggested this book several weeks back & I've just finished it. Thanks to Bookwrm & all others who raved about this book. I enjoyed it so VERY much - definitely one of my favorites for the year.

Briefly and without spoilers, it's the story of 1960's Jackson MS women. One is a young white woman who writes the stories told by the black maids who work in the white homes & raise their children. It's a good portrayal of the times & people, IMHO.

You care about the characters both black & white. None of them come off as caricatures and I truly cared about the writer & the 2 primary maid characters.

I had bought this book for a friend based on the recommendations here. She loved it & was kind enough to loan it to me. The wait list at my library was looooonnnnggg.

We know I'm a high scorer on books but I gave this one a 98 on the Slopok scale.
tnbopeep's profile
I thought this was very educational for someone like me who lives in a northern state is white. I really learned from this book what it was like to be black even in the 60's when they should have been free.
MarySchroeder's profile

27 days ago
Oh now i need to buy it for my Sony Reader!
mudqueen's profile

26 days ago
I keep hearing great things about this book, and I keep holding off reading it, but I will, I will....
barbincolorado's profile

26 days ago
read it, read it, read it...
nine's profile

26 days ago
wonderful book. very thought provoking. for those of us who have never lived in the South, it was a real eye opener.

The author is white and based the black characters on people in her own life. She had a black maid in her family home growing up and had a good relationship with the maid. However, like many other whites, she took many of the injustices and inequities as the norm.

I found myself getting angry se\veral times during the book and having to put it down for awhile before picking it up again.

Definitely thought provoking...
Ladycliff's profile

26 days ago
I liked the book. It brought up issues I had never thought of since I live in the north. A good read.
pauletta's profile

26 days ago
Sounds like it might be a good choice for a group read/discussion....
barbincolorado's profile

26 days ago
my local book club had a spirited discussion of the book yesterday
Ladycliff's profile

25 days ago
Gotta read this book. I was raised in the deep south and we had an old black lady that practically raised my brother and me, she always seemed old as far back as I can remember. She kept us, not because we were well off, but because my parents both worked in the cotton mill. I loved that woman like my own mother. She died while I was away in the service. This was from mid 1940 until 1967. I never knew her last name...only Miss Penny.... She wore a handkerchief on her head with cabbage tucked up under it. Said it kept her head cool..I tried it and it didn't seem to work..she said it was because I was white... She also had "whipping authority" and she didn't spare the rod when it was called for...A finer person never lived.
slopok's profile

25 days ago