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The Help

Product Details

  • Author: Kathryn Stockett
  • Publication Date: 2009-02-10
  • Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
  • Product Group: Book
  • Manufacturer: Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam
  • Binding: Hardcover, 464 pages
  • Features:
  • Package Dimensions:
    • Dimensions: 910L x 690W x 170H
    • Weight: 140
  • List Price: $24.95
  • ISBN: 0399155341
  • ASIN: 0399155341

The Help

Product Description

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken. Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed. In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women—mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends—view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t.

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Customer Reviews

Average Amazon User Rating: 4.5 stars

4 stars Insightful Story about Southern Women in the 60s 2010-01-05

Reviewer: A. Nandy

I chose this book based on a recommendation I received from a fellow traveler at the airport. What a great decision. Although historical fiction is not always my interest, I found that the author did an excellent job tying the events of the fictional story to those steps that were being taken on a national level towards civil rights.

Although the time-period plays a significant role, the focus of this book is on the story of friends. It is told through the events of every-day life, allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the culture and the norms of the decade. The author spends her time relaying the facts, allowing the reader to generate their own decisions.

The author's style makes it easy for anyone to enjoy this book. She introduces the characters so that the reader can easily draw connections and understand relationships. The larger plot, is of course, what has us all wondering what happens next, but I found myself enjoying the day-to-day happenings in this small Mississippi town just as much.

Other Opinions:
I didn't find this book to be a 'page-turner' or something that would keep me up all night, but as I said before, it is definitely a good read. It is told from the perspective of three different women, and daily events center around socials, cooking, and child rearing - so it may not be suited to all readers.

2 stars Well written, but boring 2010-01-05

Reviewer: C. Wall

This is the first review I have written. I felt compelled because I was sucked in by all of the positive reviews and I was left sorely disappointed. Mind you, I am not hard to please. Although I felt like the character development was well done, nothing happened. I kept waiting and waiting, but I was never satisfied. It is a well written story, just boring as all get out. Even when it was over, I couldn't tell you how it finished. You should always remember how a book ends. If you are desparate for something to read, give it a go, but if you have any other books on your list, start with those first.

2 stars Wanted to like it but couldn't. 2010-01-04

Reviewer: Band Fan

I agree with most of the comments made by the 1 and 2 star reviewers. The characters were cartoon-like stereotypes. The worst flaw in the plot was that the so-called hero, Skeeter Phelan, embarks on this project not for altruistic reasons but for a selfish one - she wants to become a journalist. True, she ends up having some feelings for the subject of her writing. However, if Ms. Stein from NY had liked Skeeters idea of writing about illiteracy, The Help would never have been written. In fact, I detected quite a bit of racism in Skeeter. The REAL hero/writer was Abileen.

5 stars Excellent 2010-01-04

Reviewer: Mi

Timely, well written and superbly crafted. A gem I thoroughly enjoyed. I particularly liked the author's candid revelations at the end of the novel, both in regards to her humility and her own past in the South.

5 stars Wonderful novel! 2010-01-04

Reviewer: B. Thomason

I was sad to finish this book. Such a fascinating and enlightening read, especially if you grew up in the south! I am recommending it to everyone I know!