The Help

Alright, next book on the list was The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. It wasn't going to come up quite so soon, but it was the choice for the book club this month, so there you go. Thank goodness I looked for it now, because I was placed 391st on the list at the library! So... I bought it.

SO! Here's the scoop. I feel like in most novels, there's a point about fifty pages (or so) where I say, Yep, I'm going to LOVE this book. Once I hit this point, I'm never, ever wrong. I found that point on page three.

"She already got the blue dress on I ironed this morning, the one with sixty-five pleats on the waist, so tiny I got to squint through my glasses to iron. I don't hate much in life, but me and that dress is not on good terms" (p 3).

The author's voice, the distinct differences between the narration of the three main characters... I was in heaven. Stockett is a wonderful storyteller.

The plot, you ask? What's it about? Well, I'll keep it to the bare minimum, because you should read it for yourself and discover everything. But essentially, the story is set in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi and involves the complicated relationship between white and black women in the South before integration. For such a heavy topic, the book is surprisingly lighthearted at times, with stories that are beautiful and complex.

Please, please, please... just read it. You'll thank me. As a matter of fact, let me take a second to say thanks... to Stacy for first recommending this, to Katie for picking it for the club, and to the Powell's staffer that chose it for the list. This miiiiiiight be my favorite book so far.

Will you read it? Have you already? What are your thoughts?