The Help
Bookclub Day!
Well, this was good book… actually; ANY book that takes me two days to read – with two kids – is something special.
So where do I begin with this one…?
I guess just saying it was awesome won’t cut it will it?
I applaud any book that has me at page one. Upon reading the first page, I had walked into 1960’s Jackson Mississippi, sat down at the kitchen table with Abileen and I let her tell me a story.
And what a story it was.
Divided into three perspectives, The Help, was about heart, courage and personal struggles. It was also an example of how the ordinary woman, with even the smallest voice, could be heroic. An idea that resonated throughout the voices of its three main characters, Abileen, Minnie and Skeeter.
At times I wanted to curl up into Abileen’s arms and hear her tell me I was just as smart and pretty as Mae Mobley, or be the fly on the wall the day Minny gave Hilly that pie. And as I read every page of Skeeters monologues I wanted her to know, that I knew she could become anything she wanted in life.
There are so many issues I want to talk about in this novel. It is so thick with feeling that I don’t know where to begin, nor do I want to go on a long tirade about all my initial impressions– that’s what the discussion if for! Lol
So I will address the two that resonate currently in the forefront of my mind.
First, this idea of having another person, essentially, raise your children for you. Given the context of the novel, one would assume that any self respecting (white) woman would have undoubtedly hired a colored woman to help mind the children and keep the house. But how does this action directly affect the roles and relationships within the family? Throughout the novel we are given many positive and negative examples of how hired help does change the family dynamic, and it made me wonder is this any different than modern daycare, European aupairs, or Hispanic nannies, or have we simply learned to call it something else?
Granted Stockett’s novel is far deeper than the usual stereotype. She portrays a world which makes you wonder what happens to the children of a mother who is absent, off raising someone else’s child to support her own family. She also contradicts the ‘mammy’ stereotype focusing on the notion that these ‘helpers’ were actually real women, with personalities, far beyond and diverse than the usual ‘yes mame’ rhetoric.
What I found particularly interesting was the way in which Stockett, incorporated so many other voices into the novel. Minnie and Abileen were obvious vehicles to translate the differences of women working in white homes. But the tender snippets of other minor characters, who recounted their own tales are the real heart of the story.
Now, I can’t say I fully appreciated the book until I read the afterward written by Stockett herself. In it she recounts her own experiences as a child growing up with a much loved nanny, and I believe this excerpt offered a lot more validity to the novel which I think it had started to lack in the final chapters. I felt the book ended a bit abruptly, and had felt like i was missing something. It wasn’t until I read the afterward that felt like I had heard everyone’s voice.
The second thing I wanted to mention was about the Constance story line. From the beginning we were made to wonder what happened to Constance. I think, part of my motivation for reading the novel so fast was because I WANTED TO KNOW!
When her storyline started to finally unravel… it felt a little flat.
I had built up so many scenarios in my head, that by the time it came around to the “big reveal” I was left a little… disappointed. I hate to say it, but I had felt like something worse had needed to happen to her. I assume Stockett did not want to cause a lot upset between Skitter and her “I’m not dying anymore” mother. Perhaps Stocket felt like the reader couldn’t read something that would made them change their mind about her thinking it may have upset the flow of the novel…
I, however, do not buy that.
I had already spent the whole novel thinking she had been lynched, and hating Skeeters mother…. my bad.
There were so many people to love and hate in the novel… your thoughts?
Let me first say that The Help was not on my 2010 list of books to read. Then I joined this bookclub and reminded myself that one of the reasons one joins a book club is to read books that one might not otherwise have read.
The Help had me from the first page and quickly became a ‘take it everywhere, recommend to everyone, best thing that I have read in a long time’ book.
In 1962 I was eight years old; I would witness the events of the sixties through the grainy, black and white news broadcasts. Water hoses and German shepherds being used to subdue the race riots, the humiliation of fighting for a stool in Woolworth and four little girls who were killed in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family who talked about everything, so while I had the opportunity to understand what was taking place, the why was harder to grasp.
Stockett brings the south of the sixties to life through her characters and she weaves the history through their stories with an apt hand. Where perhaps she fell short was as Alanna says in the ending of Constantine’s story. The same can be said of Chapter 25′s The Benefit when many of the characters were under one roof. Suddenly she seemed uncomfortable with her own book, so she started to wrap things up. Her delicate touch became a bit heavy and predictable but still in fairness she didn’t completely lose her way.
This labor of love is still a fine book and one that not many authors have the right to have written but Kathryn Stockett did and she did it very well.
Note to self: Tear up 2010 book list
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Funny you mentioned “The benefit” chapter – I actually thought it was not that bad- it’s saving grace moment – when were realize Hill’s mother wroter her daughters name down to win the chocolate pie.
I think in that moment we saw that the social structures of the novel ran far deeper than the just the racial ones. The relationships within the families were as complex with their own set of rules. Hill’s mother could not fight being moved into a home, or getting pushed out as the matriarch of the family, she she could in hee own way leave an impression. And once again we see another women with a small voice, do something -perhaps not “heroic”- but i think, at least, worth a high five.
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Well, I finally finished the book! I really appreciate all the comments and sincerely agree with all points. It was not a page turner as much for me though, but I did love the characters. I felt the end result story of Constantine weak for our day, however, did appreciate the mother’s version being told. I did feel lead on with the whole mystery and thought of some tragic misfortune had occurred; I guess Constantine dying in 3 weeks just did not cut it for me, as tragic enough, but it does somewhat fit with the simple truths of the story(s). I am going to pass this book along to whoever will read it with and 8 out of 10 from me.
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Yes,perhaps Constantine’s story was one of the simple truths… but the anticipation made you hungry for something deeper. Perhaps it also felt weak because Constantine – although we only got a brief glimpse into her life- just didnt live up to ANY of the other characters strength. She has been idealized the entire novel and when it came time for hear her storyline, we were let down because she didnt have the same courage all the other characters had. Ganted it is probably very painful to give up a child, and that takes courage, it is also very difficult to reconnect with a child you let go, that also takes courage, but when it came down to to the end of the novel, all her courage suddenly disapeared and it felt like that author had to quickly wrap her storyline up. Constantine could have been so much more…
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So, I finally finished the Help. The late post is not a reflection of the book, it was actually a great read; I just rarely find time to commit to it!
I agree with all, that I expected more from Constantine’s story, and I was disappointed with her sudden death after moving away. I guess she was trying to prove a point, but it didn’t really work….I also agree, it made Skeeter’s mom out to be a vilan, and I never really got over that. There was just something about her that I couldn’t get passed, and I didn’t buy into the quick recovery. I appreciate that Miss Skeeter planned to visit Constantine’s grave, it provided a sort of closing – it might have been interesting for her to visit her daughter?
I also thought that the Hilly pie eating story was brilliant – I didn’t realize their reasons for including it, and I thought it was a clear sign of giving themselves away…but they took it that one step further…This is why this book is so great. Just when you are questioning something, they give you a little more and it makes sense!
Overall, it was funny, heartwarming, and intriguing. Yet, I feel like the end was rushed. I also wanted to know more about Ms Celia and Mr. Johnny, which is a testimony to their characters, but really there was nothing left to say. And who does Mae Mobley end up growing up to be? I was left cheering the women on, Miss Skeeter, Minny and Aibileen, as they each tackle a new life.
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As a black woman who grew up in the 60′s I must say that nothing in this book surprised me. It is just a way of life for us in America, even today. Racism is still present in the way it presents itself in each of the scenarios with the maids. However, the scenarios are more sophisticated and making the racism seem more sublte to people who are not of color, but still very blatant to those who are.
The story was little more painful to me because I personally know their pain. Not because I was an uneducated southerner who was a maid, but translated to a master’s prepared northerner who has always been an administrator. The story is the same.
The book was hard to put down and I loved each and every one of the characters and their strength. I did however HATE the ending. I feel that it just left you hanging. It needed an Epilogue at a minimum so you would know the long term effects of their struggle and the risks they took.
Skeeter should be ashamed of herself for creating havoc in those women’s lives then moving on to New York to pursue her dream when the going was getting rough. She exploited them in my opinion. Used them then moved on. Again, so much a part of the life of people of color.
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You’re right the ending didn’t belong to Skeeter, it should have been given to Aibileen. The very premise of the book wasn’t written for a ‘happily ever after’; it was about awareness and truth.
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