Saturday, October 22, 2011

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is such an amazing book! I could not put it down, and when I HAD to put it down, I kept thinking about it nonstop. Whenever my husband called me from work, I would always start telling him about what I had just read. Such a powerful book that stays with you for a long, long time.

The Help is about white women in Jackson, Mississippi, and the black women who work for them. It takes place during the civil rights movement in the 1960's, and tells of one woman's efforts to show society what life is really like for a black woman working in a white woman's home. She works very hard at befriending the maids in her friends' homes, and getting them to trust her enough to share their experiences with her.

Stockett does such a wonderful job at showing this topic from all angles and perspectives. She does this by frequently changing narrators throughout the book, so we can hear from several main characters and take in all of their memories and experiences at once.

Stockett gently and carefully explores the themes in her book, showing not only the ugliness and inhumanity of segregation, but also the love and tenderness many of these women felt for each other, regardless of race, age, or background.



5 comments:

  1. That was an excellent book to be sure!

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  2. My book club plans to go see the movie soon. I heard it was done very well and fans of the book won't be disappointed.

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  3. I have been waiting to see a review for this book. I have heard great things but this is the first review i have read. I might check it out. Thanks for the fabulous review!!

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  4. You are very welcome. This book is definitely Gibbee!

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  5. Nice review. I liked this novel a lot, and also enjoyed the film.
    New follower here.
    Lindsay
    http://thelittlereaderlibrary.blogspot.com/

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