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Search - The Help
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Book Description:
Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.
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Top Member Book Reviews
Bree G. (
9 member(s) found this review helpful.
I love love loved this book from the first page. Three points of view and a wonderfully developed story that grabs your attention immediately. It is the best thing I have read in a long time. Most books I have read lately, once I'm done and close the book the story simply evaporates, but this story was one I could not put down and it lingers fresh in my mind. I want to pick it up and read it all over again. It has many emotional turns, sometimes funny, sadness, and critical awareness.
I love Abilene, Minnie, Miss Skeeter, and I will never forget the hateful bully, Miss Hilly. Plus, many more memorable characters who sent me back to a place and time best not forgotten.
Bravo! I hope Kathryn Stockett continues to write great stories.
Nancy G. (
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
I’ll be the first to admit that when an author writes in multiple voices it takes me a couple of chapters to keep everyone straight, with that being said, The Help is the exception. Katheryn Stockett clearly voices each character and smoothly transitions between them all in a way that has them portrayed more along the lines of real live people then just single dimensional characters in a book.
1962 Mississippi is no place to be, white, privileged Eugenia, more commonly known as Skeeter because of her likeness to a mosquito has recently returned home from college and much to her mothers disappointment there is no ring on her finger. Aibileen has just returned to working for a white family since the death of her own child and Minnie, the best cook in the county is quite hard pressed to find a family to work for since she has quite of habit of speaking her mind, something that a white family just won’t put up with.
As each woman’s story is told a truer picture of the segregated south emerges. When they decide to work in unison to write a book from the black domestics perspective looking at the white families they have loved and served a whole new picture emerges. The fear of being discovered, of actual prison time becomes all to real, but it’s a story that has to be told. A story that in a way will free them all.
At times you will be shocked, mortified, and laughing out loud, these women will have you hearing what they have to say for a very long time.
Vivian Q. (
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
Stunned by how wonderful this book was. The characters are unforgettable and their stories are riveting. Incredible that this is a book written by a first time novelist. One of the best books I've read this year. I hate to part with my copy, but feel this book should definitely be shared. Can't wait for her next book. Very highly reccommend.
Cozette M. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
The is by far the most touching, best book I've read in 2009. What is it like to be a black maid in Missippi in the early 60's? In fact, what is it like to be a white lady that hires the "help" at that time. Are the feelings between you real emotions or colored by the circumstances. Which of you are influenced, even when you don't want to be, by your peers? The world of black and white are a'changing and they are going to affect each of you.
This book is emotional, funny, horribly true and I couldn't put it down. You will love and you will hate as you read this book and you might even be surprized at which emotion is aimed at which character.
Stephanie W. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Addictive from the very first page, this fiction novel examines what it's like to be black, white, rich, and poor in Mississippi during the early 60's. Told from the perspective of three very different characters, the book tackles racial, social, and class tensions with honesty and poignancy. I laughed, cried, and saw a part of myself in each of the characters.
I highly recommend buying this book; you will want to read it over and over again. Excellent debut from Kathryn Stockett.
C. L. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Bravo! A most excellent gift from a new author. The individual narratives of several black maids set in 1960's Mississippi give voice to this time in history. When Skeeter, a young, white aspiring writer, wants to record their stories, drama ensues. Filled with humor as well as sorrow, you will have a hard time putting this book down as you find yourself involved in the lives of all the women in this story.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is probably the best book I've ever read. Ms. Stockett captures the authenticity of the South and the relationships between the races. Her writing flows smoothly and the story is captivating; it's hard to put this book down. I highly recommend it!
Lynn M. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great book; I couldn't put it down. Wondering, though, what any African-Americans who've read it think about it (seeing as how the author is caucasian and part of the book reads from the African-American "help's" POV). Also, wondering if the author interviewed any living African-American maids or "help", or is it just based on her memories of the maid who raised her. (I know, I know: it's listed as fiction; but still...)
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Not many books grab my attention from the first chapter - The Help did! Wonderfully written, great book!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
You have to read this book. I sailed through it-Throughly engrossing, written from three different women's point of view-You finish this book with a better understanding of what it was (and still is?) like to be a black woman raising white women's children-Well written-Hope that Ms. Stockett writes another soon.
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Please Rate these Book Reviews
I had a hard time stopping while reading this book. When I wasn't reading it I found myself thinking of the characters and wondering what they were going to do next. The plot was fantastic. I found all the characters fascinating. However, I do wish there was even just one chapter for Miss Hilly & Miss Celia. Aibileen was my favorite character. Her love for white people is amazing, she seems to have a heart of gold. Though Miss Skeeter and her "risks" are admirable. I find it different for Aibileen as she is the one who has been mistreated her whole life and could have had a heart such as Minny's in the beginning. I'm looking forward to Kathryn Stockett's future books. I imagine The Help will be hard to follow up.
Great book! Didn't want it to end! Impressive first novel.
This book was an engrossing fictional account of the life of a domestic back in the turbulent sixties. It's main character took the bold step of writing a book about the domestic help and the challenges and injustices they faced as they worked and lived in Mississippi.
The Help is one of the best books I have read recently. It tells, in three woman's voices, a tale of black maids working for white families in the 60s in Jackson, Mississippi. There are many colorful characters in this book, the Junior League wanna-be who comes to an event in a revealing, sexy gown when the protocol is no cleavage. There's the loud mouthed black maid, Minnie, in an abusive relationship who finds a home in which to work as well as her sense of dignity. Included is the heiress who begins the whole idea of having maids anonymously tell their stories about their employment. The most touching part of the book for me was the relationships between the white children and their black nannies. Those tales were the best for me. This is an amazing first novel for Kathryn Stockett.
Amy H. (Amazing! I absolutely loved this book! For a first attempt, WOW, I am looking forward to what Kathryn Stockett comes up with next! I couldn't put this book down. Normally I probably wouldn't have chosen a book about the 1960s Civil Rights Era. However a friend recommended it to me and I thought I would try it. But this book was fascinating. I loved the way there were 3 distinct main characters and how the chapters were each written from the perspective of each of those characters. I did not find it confusing at all, because each character talked so differently that it was easy to keep track of who was who. I find it amazing that a white woman could so easily write about the lives of the black maids in Mississippi in the 1960s. The way she wrote their words, I could honestly hear them talking in my head. Very realistic! Loved it loved it loved it and would highly recommend!!!
This was just the BEST book I have read in 2009! well actually I listened on audio! It was fabulously written and the characters came to life. Dont miss this one.
Karen D. (I really loved this book.I couldnt put it down.I loved the characters They seemed so real.
I would defiantly recommend this book.I also felt for the characters.This book also had some funny things in it that made me laugh.this book transports you back in time so you feel like you are there.I hope this author writes another story since this one was so good.
Nancy M. (This is a book that draws you into the South during the 60's. How a white, college educated woman decided to tell the stories of the colored domestics and the repercussions.
Fascinating from a historical perspective, a woman's perspective and a "suck you in you have to finish this story" perspective!
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Book Wiki
Common Title
Series
Original Publication Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
People/Characters
Skeeter (Primary Character)
Aibileen (Primary Character)
Minny Jackson (Primary Character)
Hilly Holbrook (Major Character)
Elizabeth Leefolt (Major Character)
Real Places
Fictional Places
Important Events
Awards and Honors