THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett (Putnam, 2009)
What a debut novel! Set in the early-1960’s against a busy historical backdrop that includes an emerging conflict in Vietnam, the assassination of President Kennedy and MLK’s March on Washington, this novel takes place in a still racially-divided Jackson, Mississippi. A brave, independent and privileged white woman, Skeeter, dreams of becoming a writer and manages to win the support of various local black maids whom she persuades to tell about their “experiences waiting on white families” in The Deep South. The process of stealthily telling, collecting, writing and submitting these stories is told from three alternating points of view – from Skeeter’s, as well as from two of the domestics themselves, sweet and patient Aibileen and feisty, mouthy Minny. There is much at stake in sharing these truths but the reward of blurring the lines among what defines family vs. help vs. race is worth the risk, and these three heroes know that they “done something brave and good here.” This will be a hard act for Stockett to follow (9/10).
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