If you haven't already started reading The Help, Stephanie's review will provide the motivation. Thanks Steph!
"I read The Help in about 3 days. It is compulsively readable. I couldn't put it down. The characters in this book were taken from real life. This is Kathryn Stockett's first book. To me, it is clear that she really understands Southern life and has made great efforts to understand what life was like for black women who served white families. She writes about sad stories that leave a great glimmer of hope, and though she examines our differences and our mistakes, she highlights our humanity to wonderful effect. And while this is a serious book, it also has wonderfully lighthearted moments, humorous moments, and strikingly funny insights into women and their behavior. It's about people of different races and classes coming together in a spirit of unity and love. It's about how we help each other as human beings I loved this book and can't recommend it highly enough. I hope that you all enjoy it, too.
– Love, Stephanie"
Please send in YOUR comments as soon as you've finished reading The Help.
You is kind. You is smart. You is important.
ReplyDeleteI read the book over the summer and couldn't wait for the movie to come out. I made Mike take me right before school started. I was thrilled that I enjoyed the movie as much as the book even though there are some significant differences. Take tissues!
On the cover of The Help, NPR.org is quoted as saying “This could be one of the most important pieces of fiction since To Kill a Mockingbird...if you read only one book......let this be it.”
ReplyDeleteAfter reading that and hearing so many people rave about the book I guess I expected too much. Don’t get me wrong......I REALLY liked it; couldn’t put it down! But I think NPR overstated it a bit and I was just a tad disappointed. To Kill a Mockingbird seemed so wisdom filled, I underlined like crazy. While there was great wisdom in The Help it seemed written more to entertain than to enlighten. And I did find some of the language and accounts a little too graphic for my taste. I think perhaps if Harper Lee had written this book she would have used more restraint and in the long run, accomplished more.
Like Jenn, one of the things I loved most in the book was Aibilene’s “You is kind. You is smart. You is important” to Mae Mobley. And Minny’s response to Leroy’s “If I didn’t hit you, Minny, who knows what you become” made me want to cheer!
Looking forward now to the movie!
I read this book two summers ago, loved it and recommended it to everyone I knew. But, I agree with Aunt Louise... sometimes if a book is hyped too much, I like it less! So, reading it before it was compared to To Kill a Mockingbird was probably a good thing- haha!
ReplyDeleteAli took me to see the movie for my birthday and I thought they did a great job! Although there were a few differences, the feeling of the book was able to shine through. For me, that's really what makes a good book to movie transition... I want to feel the same way about characters and situations in a movie as I did when I read the book.
I'm looking forward to the movie! I loved the book and am glad I finally read it after hearing so much about it. Yes, it was really built up, but for the most part I think it lived up to it. But I agree with what mom and Tori said about all the hype. I know this will probably make me sound so...naive I guess, but I just can't believe we still had problems like this in the 60's. It just doesn't seem all THAT long ago and it baffles me that we weren't more decent to each other by then. I'm sure there are still issues with this kind of stuff and it just makes me sick. Maybe it's because I've never been exposed to it that it just seems so foreign and ridiculous. So it's good for me to read about issues like this that make me think outside of my safe bubble. It made me wonder what I would have done had I been in all of the character's shoes. Would I agree with Hilly? She obviously thought she was doing people a favor and didn't consider herself a racist. Would I be as bold as Skeeter? Would I put myself at risk to help others? I don't know. I'm glad I don't have to have an real answer at the moment.
ReplyDeleteLoved the read, it made me think, it made me cry, it broke my heart and gave me hope. It was good.
Peachy & Roland, and Richard & I went to see the movie last weekend.... and loved it! In fact I liked the way the movie interpreted some events even better than the book. But I'm glad I read the book first.
ReplyDeleteGrandma Mary wrote: I enjoyed reading The Help, but have to admit that it worried me somewhat. Were conditions really that biased in the South? I would hope there is more tolerance and understanding between races now. There certainly is in most of the United States. I think I have become more tolerant of other people as I look at others and make comparisons.
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