Thursday, May 14, 2009

The Help By Kathryn Stockett

Amazing Journey

Skeeter Phelan just graduated college and is trying to go about her day to day living like a good white Southern woman should. She is a active member in the Junior league, she plays Bridge with her friends, and even goes out on a date that her best friend Hilly set her up with. Her over bearing mother wants nothing more for her daughter than to marry, live in a nice house, and have a black maid. So what' s wrong with her? Why isn't this enough?

Skeeter has her own aspirations and dreams big for a southern white woman. She wants to actually make use of her college degree and become a writer. She sends her resume to Harper and Row in New York City. Amazingly she actually hears back from the editor. Not with a job but with some sound advice. Skeeter quietly follows it.

On her path to becoming a writer, Skeeter starts to question the norms of the southern society she lives in. This is when she forges an unlikely friendship with two black maids. The book is narrated in turn by Skeeter and the two maids, Aibileen and Minny.

This is an amazing book about race relations in the south during the Civil Rights era. Reading this book was like Kathryn Stockett put me in a rocket and transported me back in time to the 1960's south! I lost hours of sleep and had a hard time prying the book out of my hands.

The character and plot development were stellar, that of a seasoned writer. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this is Stockett's first novel! I rarely read a book more than once because there are so many that I want to read however, this book is worth a return visit! I see quite a promising writing career ahead for Kathryn Stockett and cannot recommend this book highly enough!

5/5

8 comments:

  1. I bought this for my mother-in-law, altho I haven't read it yet myself. I've heard such fabulous things about it, so this may be one I can't wait for and put it on the kindle, ha.

    Excellent review!!!

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  2. Great review! I loved this one too!

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  3. I am so excited to get to read this!! I won it from Alyce's blog a while back. I keep hearing such great things about it. Thanks for a great review!

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  4. Michele, I would categorize it as a must read. I will be interested to read you opinion once you read it.

    Thanks Alyce!

    Congrats on the win Bethany! What a score. I will be interested to her your opinion on it.

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  5. From the first time I saw it it spoke to me, and after your great review. Yup officially up there on the list

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  6. I agree, I was about half way through the audiobook when I learned this was Stockett's first novel and that fact blew me away.

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  7. Blodeuedd, I can almost promise you that you will love it!

    Jen, I was surprised too.

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