Ecmh CD

THE HELP is told in three voices and from three viewpoints. Two voices belong to Aibilene and Minny, African-American maids or “help” assisting white families with housework and raising the children in Jackson, Mississippi. The other viewpoint is Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, a 22-year-old graduate of Ole Miss, white daughter of a cotton farmer, unsure of her place in life. She’s unmarried and wants a career, and her mother’s primary goal in life is to get her settled close to home, married and pregnant with “help” of her own. The setting is the South (you can feel the heat and humidity) and the time is 1962-1964, the years of Medgar Evers’ murder, Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream..” speech, the March on Washington, and great civil unrest. Each woman is unique and completely memorable. In fact, this entire book is peopled with characters that are vivid, well-rounded and seem to jump off the page. As different as their lives are, Aibilene, Minny and Skeeter will come together to write a book in secret (oh, very much in secret) about the lives and stories of black maids in Jackson. During this process, each woman will change, grow and learn so much about the others and also, more importantly, about herself. The reader is privileged to take this journey with these wonderful women and share their discoveries. It is a rare treat.

I loved this book. I loved these women. I want to know them and follow their lives after this book. I think that Kathryn Stockett has written a very compelling debut novel. It would be a great book for book groups with lots of discussion potential.
2x Digital Telephoto Professional

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