The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
26/02/10 12:15 Filed in: Fiction
464 pages, Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam. $24.96
Reviewed by Stephanie Attebery
I didn't know what to expect when I picked this book up after reading a vague review discussing three southern women narrators of different ages and backgrounds who begin a “project” together. In fact it was the mysteriousness of the set-up that really intrigued me. It didn’t end up being what I expected, but it was so much better.
To give you a bit more to go on: One woman, Aibileen, is a black maid working for an insecure and negligent mother. While she adores her young 2 year old charge, Mae Mobley, Aibileen secretly dreads the day when the young girl will grow up to become just as awful as her mother. She quietly witnesses the injustices in her world and mourns the recent death of her son, while working a dangerous job to save money for school. The second woman, Minny, is a black maid who often puts her foot so far into her mouth when faced with the injustices and plain stupidity of her white bosses, that she ends up unemployed. She's as tough as she is talented at cooking, and yet, somehow, she is also a battered woman who is nearly overwhelmed by her domestic situation. The third is Skeeter, the young white college graduate, who despite all of her privilege and comfort, is tall, awkward. and not the right sex to do what she aspires to, which is to be a journalist. Is she pinned to a lifetime of covering DAR luncheons and writing about home economics for the local journal? What would happen if she began to write down the day-to-day stories of the black maids in town and their dealings with the white women who employ them?
Oh and did I mention the time and the place? 1962. Jackson, Mississippi. I think you can see where this story is going…
It seemed to me, a non-authority on the issue, that Stockett took pain-staking effort to pin down the proper vernacular for both the white and black characters. This really fleshed out the book, from the character’s inner thoughts to the conversations.
Real historical events in Mississippi play a part in the character’s lives, such as a pivotal event that follows shortly after the assassination of Medgar Evers at his nearby home, and the recent desegregation of the lunch counter at Woolworths after months of sit-in protests.
You know those books with villains so awful that you don’t even see the point in reading about them anymore? Every word that comes out of their mouths is thoughtless, hurtful, even menacing. Well, yeah, sure we all know people like that, but Stockett allows all her women more dimension than this, and even the very worst characters reveal some level of compassion. Like Hilly Holbrook, the hands down bad apple. Hilly is the head of the DAR, pro-segregationist, and maker or breaker of the socials lives of every woman in town, and in some cases their livelihood. And yet, she is Skeeter’s old friend and cares deeply for Skeeter’s happiness, however misguided her intentions as a matchmaker are. Oh, but vengeance-seeking readers- don’t worry- she gets what’s coming to her, ooooh does she ever!!
Of course, some of the main characters are left on very tentative footing, but the message is still uplifting and hopeful. This book celebrates and honors the similarity of all women. Check it out for yourself!