An Awfully Big Adventure

minstreloffire:

IAMSOHAPPYexceptthatmyspacebarstoppedworkingsothiscouldbeproblematic.

The Help – Kathryn Stockett

This is maybe the first book I’ve ever read only because I saw a trailer for the movie. If I see a movie based on a book, I will most likely never read the book. Curiously, this is not true the other way around. But the trailer for The Help was just too interesting. Emma Stone and Allison Janney? Baby, I’m there. I had to know what this book was about.

So, maybe not the noblest reasons to read. But I’m hoping maybe this can be your reason. The Help is novel about the lives and hardships of black maids working in white households during the early sixties, the rise of the civil rights movement, in Jackson, Mississippi. If the first thing you just thought was racism, you’re right. But The Help is more than that.

It tells the story of Aibileen, an aging maid who is growing tired of her treatment; Minnie, her best friend, a fiery maid with troubles keep a job because of her mouth; and Skeeter, a young white socialite who aspires to be a writer in New York City. Together, they begin writing a book describing the lives of black maids raising white children and the discrimination they have to face.

Now, Miss Kathryn Stockett is not black herself. But the way she writes Aibileen and Minnie is still flawless. Normally I can’t stand when writers don’t use proper grammar (I put down Push after one page), but in this book, it just seems real.

Still, like I said, this book isn’t just one about racism. It’s about love. Aibileen just wants the little girl she’s tending to be raised right. Minnie, hired by a poor-girl-turned-rich, struggles when the normal boundaries of maid and white-lady-boss are broken. And, even though Skeeter’s mother is amazingly racist, you can’t help but fall for the beauty of a strong woman who refuses to bow, even to death.

This book is long. Not just in pages, but in time. It will take a while to read because you are literally reading life. But goddamn, is it worth it. It’s worth it, just to read about Aibileen’s super-prayers, to take glee in the Terrible Awful Thing Minnie did to the Terrible Awful Miss Hilly. You’ll regret it if you don’t meet crazy-beautiful Miss Celia, my favorite character in the book, or Yule Mae, a brief picture of strength. Because if you don’t read this book, you’ll never shudder at the wrath of a white lady and you’ll never find out which characters were what you least expected them to be.

As Charlotte Boudrea Cantrelle Phelan said: it’s like true love, good help. You only get one in a lifetime.

- Lady Gee