The Help: Best Book I have Read All Year!!!

I don't ever mention it lightly when I say a book is fantastic...I happen to read an awful lot of trash just because I enjoy reading in general.  "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett is an absolutely gorgeous novel that everyone should at least try to read.  I picked it up on a whim from a charity shop, I had been told it was good, but I honestly didn't expect such an original, heartwarming yet important piece of fiction.  I decided to move it to the top my reading pile due to the imminent film release, and am so glad I did.

The novel is told through the eyes of three very different, very distinctive voices.  We open with Aibileen, a maid that works for Mrs Leefolt, a woman with a sad back story and a warm heart.  We also meet the seemingly audacious Minny, a sass mouthed maid in need of new employment and Miss Skeeter, a white lady who strives to discover why her beloved maid has vanished from her life.  As the story progresses a dangerous yet warm friendship develops between these three women that shapes and distorts the world around them.  The novel is set in Jackson, Mississippi during the early 1960's, a time of radical change and a very dangerous place to live in if you were black.  It is rather difficult to explain the narrative without giving too much away, however, one of the main pivots of the story rests in the determination of one Miss Hilly (a white, rich, housewife and busybody) to create separate outside toilets for the black help in order to prevent cross contamination.  This triggers a silent outrage in Aibileen and allows Miss Skeeter to learn a lot about Jackson, a town plagued with racial discrimination.  Miss Skeeter decides she wants to write a book....a collection of life stories told by the Help, not the white women who employ them and of course, nothing is ever that easy, what maid in their right mind would want to speak with a white lady on a mission in such dangerous times?

In her own admittance Stockett has bent the facts in places to fit into her story, so don't expect the real world references to tie up perfectly, but that really is not an issue here.  This reads like reality, and it is that which makes this novel so endearing, shocking and completely addictive.  Compared to and said to be a contemporary competitor to "To Kill a Mockingbird" it is so easy to see why.  Miss Hilly becomes the embodiment of an opinion, and by the end of the novel even her popularity doesn't hide her for the monster she really is, Stockett hammers this home further as a sore appears at the side of Miss Hilly's mouth...the ugliness within finally makes it's way to the surface.  On the flip side of this, the plain and sweet Miss Skeeter sheds her stereotypical clothes and her frizzy mousy hair to become a confident and beautiful woman, a revelation of her true nature of course. 

By far my favourite character was Minny, a loud, cheeky and bold black maid.  Her story is fantastic and her friendship with Aibileen is timeless.  Both turn to each other in times of great need and violence in their community, the world around them is terrifying yet they find solace in each others company.  But what is so amazing about this multifaceted character is her weaknesses, that she manages to hide so well.  It is fantastic to see Minny overcome her fears and her beliefs as the narrative develops and I guarantee you will fall in love with her too.

A very daring book for a debut, I will be interested to see how well the film relates to the novel.  Check out the trailer above (after all it was the watching of this trailer that made me want to read this amazing book). 

I did try to read "Skippy Dies" by Paul Murray after I finished this novel, and failed miserably.  Expect a kid's book review next as I am devouring a reading copy of "Ruby Redfort", the soon to be released new novel by Lauren Child (of Charlie and Lola fame).