stockett has made the political personal in "the help." she gives shading to a topic that mostly all americans are familiar with through history books and specials on pbs or the history channel. those are the quick forms we reach to when we think of the 1960's and race relations. your mind can jump to pictures of lynchings, lunch counters, hoses and police dogs. stockett's novel, though, shrinks that large political scene into something intimate. race is played out through the interactions between relatively well-off, educated white women and their relatively poor, uneducated black female workers. if this tale was told through the use of men, it would have been one of violence and aggression but this story shows the more subtle emotional and verbal "violence" of women on women.

stockett's characters are a motely crew of outsiders from skeeter who's true aim is to write and not just be a wife and mother, to celia who's marilyn monroe look shakes the conversative southern coven and minnie who just cannot keep her mouth shut. they're softened by the kindess of abilene who works hard to raise her "children" to be color-blind.

i thought it was a well-written and humorous story that showed while there was hate, there was also love between these women and that we create lines to divide when we're really all just the same! ( )

This rather beautiful books tells the story of three women, two of whom - Aibileen and Minny - are black maids working for white families in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s, when racial segregation meant that black and white people could not mix socially, could not use the same restaurants, and could not go to the same hospitals or churches. The third woman is a white girl named Skeeter, who comes home from college with dreams of becoming a writer. She eventually decides to write a book about what it is like to be a black maid working for a white family, and she, Aibileen and Minny become embroiled in an exciting and potentially dangerous project.

I'm not sure I can accurately put into words how much I enjoyed this book. The three narrators' voices (Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter) come through beautifully and each character is distinct and wholly believeable. We see each character's life through their own eyes, and watch as they cope with their own problems (Aibileen is still grieving over the death of her son, and trying hard to make the young child she looks after grow up to be a nice person; Minny lives with an abusive husband and several demanding children; Skeeter has an over-bearing mother who won't explain the sudden disappearance of Skeeter's beloved childhood maid).

As well as the three central characters, there are a multitude of other people of great importance to the storyline. Hilly Holbrook is a long time friend of Skeeter's, but the bond between them is pulled very taut as the hypocritical and bigoted Hilly dislikes Skeeter's desire for awareness and change. Their other best friend, Elizabeth Leefolt, is Aibileen's boss and it is her daughter who Aibileen cares for (seemingly far more than Elizabeth does). However, my favourite of the 'supporting' players is Celia Foote - Minny's boss, who herself feels an outsider, as Hilly and her friends consider that she is not good enough to associate with them.

Historical events such as the death of JFK and Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech are covered here, adding to the already very real sense of the time in which this novel is set.

One of the things I most admired about the novel is that the author does not just show the characters as either good or bad. She shows them as totally believable people. Some of the nicer people sometimes do less-than-good things, and some of the not-so-nice characters in the book can show that they have a heart.

I loved this book, and would say it is definitely my favourite book out of all that I have read this year. It's thought-provoking, funny in places (look out for the scene with the toilets), and it made me cry in other places. I was riveted throughout; my attention was grabbed on page one, and was held right through to the last page.

Utterly fantastic read, and very strongly recommended. 10/10 ( )

It is 1962 and the world is at a volitile stage. Immediately prior to the beginning of the civil rights movement, a young college graduate - Miss Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan - becomes interested in the plight of colored women working as maids to the elitist white women in Jackson Mississippi. "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." - (Stockett, 2009)

Ms Stockett does a good job of realistically portraying the characters, making the reader a part of the story from page one. Her antagonists (especially the hypocritical and pushy Hilly Holbrook) were so realistic I wanted to tell them where to go, just as I would do in real life with people bearing the same personalities... and I wanted to alternately hug and beat some sense into the annoyingly passive Elizabeth Leefolt. who does only what she's told instead of showing any of her own initiative. Miss Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny are, of course, to be admired for their determination and courage and daring.

Important historical events such as the murder of Medgar Evers and the assinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy were accurately placed at the times where they belong. This helped give a realistic historical sense of the times depicted as well as enhancing the story. The liberties taken with history were minor - using a couple of songs prior to the time those tunes had actually been released - which actually helped the story progress rather than working against it as a major historical flaw would have done.

The Help is one of the best new novels I've read this year - quite possibly the best of the best. It should not be missed.

This review was previously published on Dragonviews ( )

What a wonderful book! Set in the town of Jackson, Mississippi in 1962, it tells the stories of Aibileen and Minny, two black maids working for white families, and Miss Skeeter Phelan, the daughter of one such white family who decides to write a book about the lives of the helps and all the bad, and indeed good, parts of it. This is a dangerous pursuit for all involved, as life in towns like Jackson meant that they could all be sacked, beaten or worse, for their participation in the project.

Kathryn Stockett draws on her own experiences to tell the stories, and a fine job she does of it, including writing the black voices in the vernacular, which worked really well. It's hard for me to put into words how moving and inspirational this book was to read. Aibileen and Minny, and indeed all the coloured maids, were wonderfully portrayed, and that a white woman managed to do that is testament to the author's writing quality. Skeeter too goes on a journey of discovery in the book – worn down by her oppressive home and social life, she carves out a future for herself through the writing of her book.

The book made me cry towards the end, and it was truly a wrench to finish it as I enjoyed it so much. It also made me smile, in fact so many emotions went through my mind as I read it, and I highly recommend it, both as an absorbing and emotional read, and also as a slice of history that should never be forgotten. ( )

This was a great book. The characters were all wonderfully written my favorites were of course Skeeter, Aibileen, & Minny. Skeeter was so ahead of her time or should I say her city and had the strength to do something about it. I loved the humor of the toilet bowls that scene cracked me up and was so well written that I was able to picture it clearly in my head. Also some of the things the help said were so descriptive it made you feel you were in 1962 in Jackson. This book was very memorable and will stay with me awhile. The only downside was I didn’t want it to end; I wanted to know how everyone turned out. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys southern fiction and not so long ago historical fiction. ( )