Review: The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It somehow took me some time to get to reading this book, though I came across very positive reviews quite some time back. "The Help" is a wonderful book and the characters of Aibileen, Skeeter and Minny will stay with me for ever.

This book is placed in a town in Mississippi (in the 1960s) and is about the coloured helps of white families in the town. While the book is primarily around race relations/segregation and discrimination, there are lessons around status quo and how what is clearly wrong can appear normal. A story which has been believed and lived since years holds in a environment of fear and threat of subjugation and violence.

Aibileen has been a maid all her life, has accepted that segregation and discrimination is the norm. Skeeter, is a young lady who is quite different from most others. She has memories of the help at her place - Constantine who suddenly disappears. Skeeter develops a strong bond with Aibileen. Minny is another maid who is a close friend of Aibileen. She is frank and direct - as a result of which she struggles to hold on to a job.

Skeeter feels strongly that the voice of the maids should be heard, and she starts a project in secrecy in a hostile environment with a lot of risks. However, will her project help the maids or will it make life more difficult for them, as well as for herself?

This is one of the best books I have read in recent times, with strong characters who hold values ahead of their times and a strong sense of fairness. The conversational writing style adds to the charm of the book, and this is a book I strongly recommend.

View all my reviews