Helpful Score: 1
This is an entertaining and poignant story of courage in the face of racial oppression in Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. I was completely torn between not being able to put the book down and not wanting it to end.
There's a real heroine in this book in the form of Skeeter Phelan. She graduates from college and is hoping for a a career in journalism. Most of her friends are married and have their own "help" working for them. As Skeeter witnesses how they are treating their "help", she sets in motion a chain of events that could spell disaster not only for her but for many of the maids working for these families. She begins to write a book about their experiences and enlists the aid of some of the same maids who work for her friends/family. This is where the story really takes off and what led me to stay up very late unable to put it down! I have bags to prove it.
I fell in love with the voices of the 3 main characters - Skeeter, Aibileen and my favorite Minny. I felt as though I actually knew these people. They were developed so well they jumped right off the page at you. I ached for the women who had to learn how to adapt to the pre-civil rights restrictions of their race. The stories of black servants and their white employers wrenched at my heart and created a bitter knot in my stomach. I cried and was genuinely affected by what I read. The attitudes of (most of) the white characters in this story are a real embarrassment to me. I know it's just a novel, but I also know these attitudes unfortunately are not just fiction.
This book is not just about race though. This book is about the struggle to find one's identity and the means of preserving that identity while trying to fit into society. Skeeter was a heroine as she took this journey and I rooted for her the whole way. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath and was captivated from beginning to end. If I had to say one thing that let me down Id say I was a little taken back by how abrupt the ending was. Parts of the story felt incomplete to me. I would have liked to know how Celia felt about what happened at the doctor (dont want to spoil it by saying more). Aibileen did she ever write again. It was as if the author had a tight deadline or maybe a sequel is in the works I would hope so. I do still highly recommend this book. Its definitely one of my all time favorites, proven by the fact that I will keep it and not offer it up for a swap.
There's a real heroine in this book in the form of Skeeter Phelan. She graduates from college and is hoping for a a career in journalism. Most of her friends are married and have their own "help" working for them. As Skeeter witnesses how they are treating their "help", she sets in motion a chain of events that could spell disaster not only for her but for many of the maids working for these families. She begins to write a book about their experiences and enlists the aid of some of the same maids who work for her friends/family. This is where the story really takes off and what led me to stay up very late unable to put it down! I have bags to prove it.
I fell in love with the voices of the 3 main characters - Skeeter, Aibileen and my favorite Minny. I felt as though I actually knew these people. They were developed so well they jumped right off the page at you. I ached for the women who had to learn how to adapt to the pre-civil rights restrictions of their race. The stories of black servants and their white employers wrenched at my heart and created a bitter knot in my stomach. I cried and was genuinely affected by what I read. The attitudes of (most of) the white characters in this story are a real embarrassment to me. I know it's just a novel, but I also know these attitudes unfortunately are not just fiction.
This book is not just about race though. This book is about the struggle to find one's identity and the means of preserving that identity while trying to fit into society. Skeeter was a heroine as she took this journey and I rooted for her the whole way. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath and was captivated from beginning to end. If I had to say one thing that let me down Id say I was a little taken back by how abrupt the ending was. Parts of the story felt incomplete to me. I would have liked to know how Celia felt about what happened at the doctor (dont want to spoil it by saying more). Aibileen did she ever write again. It was as if the author had a tight deadline or maybe a sequel is in the works I would hope so. I do still highly recommend this book. Its definitely one of my all time favorites, proven by the fact that I will keep it and not offer it up for a swap.
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