The Help – Kathryn Stockett

The Help by Kathryn Stockett was the Bloggers’ Book Club Book for February. I had read the book last year and really enjoyed it (if enjoyed is the right word).

The book is set in 1962 in Mississippi and tells the story of black maids working for white families. Some of the maids are treated like dirt by the families they work for. It’s awful to think that’s what it was like. They couldn’t use the same toilet as the families they worked for and yet they were expected to look after their children and do everything around the house.

The maids in the book are Aibileen and Minny. Aibileen is a quiet, strong woman who more or less expects the treatment she gets. Minny is a real fireball and her mouth gets her into trouble on more than one occasion.

Skeeter is the heroine in the book. She remembers her childhood and how much she loved her maid (who has since left without leaving any details to Skeeter). She decides to get all the maids together and writes a book to help them tell their side of the story.

At first I found it a bit difficult to read the book with the ‘Southern drawl’ that was throughout it but I soon got used to it. It was a fantastic story. I’ve since seen the film which I loved. It was heart wrenching in places but also very humorous.

I would highly recommend this book. You can read Lorna’s review here.