Long time, no reviews! Ah, well. I've started multiple books but haven't finished very many. That's what holidays are for: catching up on reading!
It seems as if everyone is reading Kathryn Stockett's
The Help. I've seen it advertised everywhere; it's in bookstores and superstores all over the country; NPR claims it's the best book of its kind since
To Kill a Mockingbird. Released in 2009, the book shot to the top of the New York Times best sellers list. A movie adaptation with Emma Stone followed soon after.
Is this simple story about three southern women and their controversial book really all it's being touted as? Will it be required freshman reading twenty years from now?
I think the answer is 'yes'. As long as Stockett pulls through a recent
law suit , this book will continue to be read for years to come.
Stockett is a talented writer. Her villains have their good sides; her heroes have dark moments. Just like
To Kill A Mockingbird, the narrative is beautifully while unflinchingly honest and occasionally quite funny. It presents all of life, not just the nice parts.
While the Civil Rights era isn't over written, readers are often shown stories from the same perspective, but Stockett takes us in a different direction. In
The Help, two out of three view point characters are black maids. Instead of just reading a book about one of America's turbulent periods, we're shown what it might have been like to write such a book.
The Help defies boundaries and shows readers a different side of a little-explored story.
I'm not suggesting this book is perfect. The one white POV character, Skeeter, came to 'enlightenment' too quickly. Likewise, while the black maids' speech is peppered heavily with slang, the white characters almost never use southern vernacular. All of the problems seem small, though, relative to the powerful characters and the story that they tell. Recommended.
Pros:
*Well-written
*Good characters
*Engaging, unique story
*Actually deserving of it's NYT Bestseller title
Cons:
*Language
*Sexual material
*Other dramatic/thematic material that's not appropriate for young readers
*Skeeter's aforementioned character development issue
*Aforementioned dialogue issue
