Review of "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

I can’t get The Help by Kathryn Stockett out of my head! I feel like I sat there, in Aibileen’s kitchen with Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter listening to their stories. Throughout the entire book, I felt heartache, joy, fear, and every other imaginable emotion going through these women’s journey. Never have I been so caught up in a fiction novel. History has never been a strong point for me. Reading this book though opened my eyes to the way things were during the 1960’s. It’s hard to imagine that races were so segregated less than 50 years ago. My mother and father witnessed all these events. At least half of our population witnessed, and lived through these events. Being born in the early 1980’s, there is, and never was, anything strange about drinking from the same fountain, using the same restroom, eating at the same table, or any performing any other daily functions with someone of a different race. It just doesn’t matter. Like Aibileen tries to teach Mae Mobley, we’re just people.

The end of this story was very stressful for me. I kept waiting for someone to hurt, even kill, Minny or Aibileen. Every time they got nervous or suspicious, I’d clench my jaw and read as fast as I could to make sure they were okay.  I was so proud of Minny when she finally took a stand for herself and left Leroy. That was brave, just like she was throughout the entire story. Minny is one of those interesting characters that seem harsh and crude all the time but she turned out to be a pretty sweet person.

The interaction Aibileen has with Mae Mobley is so loving and sincere. I was so nervous for Mae Mobley at the end. The way Stockett describes her as “scary hot” made me wonder if her mother would know what to do for her. Mrs. Leefolt has spent her daughter’s first four years completely ignoring her. How is she going to know how to tend to a sick child? By four years old, a mama should know what’s going on with her child. Mrs. Leefolt, more than likely, doesn’t.

Mrs. Hilly really got to me. I guess it would be hard to keep up her appearances like she did. Always in people’s business is probably a stressful life to lead. How does one person obtain so many people’s approval? How does she keep friends and why is everyone so afraid of her? I understand the maids being scared, she held their future, their jobs but the white girls who are in the same social class, how can they stand to be her puppets?

There is so much more that could be discussed from this book but I would be writing for days. It was truly an incredible novel. Stockett does an amazing job portraying the characters, the reader feels like they know each character. She also describes their emotions and trials in such a way that when they hurts, so does the reader; when they laugh, so does the reader; when they cry, so does the reader (at least I did); and when they are afraid, so is the reader.