The Help
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4.7 • 37.9K Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The #1 New York Times bestselling novel and basis for the Academy Award-winning film—a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t—nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read.
Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who’s always taken orders quietly, but lately she’s unable to hold her bitterness back. Her friend Minny has never held her tongue but now must somehow keep secrets about her employer that leave her speechless. White socialite Skeeter just graduated college. She’s full of ambition, but without a husband, she’s considered a failure.
Together, these seemingly different women join together to write a tell-all book about work as a black maid in the South, that could forever alter their destinies and the life of a small town...
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Set in the segregated households of Jackson, Mississippi, at the violent height of the civil rights movement, The Help illuminates the fraught relationships between a group of black maids and their white employers. Kathryn Stockett’s explosive novel is a heartbreaking story that’s also a triumphant celebration of the elemental forces binding us together. The book’s fiercely determined protagonists remind us that truth is a potent rejoinder to ignorance and hate, making this period piece powerfully relevant.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
What perfect timing for this optimistic, uplifting debut novel (and maiden publication of Amy Einhorn's new imprint) set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Miss., where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing "about what disturbs you." The budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams. Assured and layered, full of heart and history, this one has bestseller written all over it.
Customer Reviews
Unexpectedly brilliant
I was unprepared for how amazing this book turned out to be. When I had finished reading it I was sad. Not because of how it ended, which can happen with a lot of books these days, they start off well but by the end one is ready to fling them across the room in disgust or pat it on it's proverbial head because you feel bad for it. No, I was sad merely because it was over and I had read it too quickly and should have paced myself.
The characters are wonderful and there are so many moments where I laughed out loud. Kathryn Stockett's narrative is wonderful.
I am so looking forward to her next book.
Can't stop reading
Fantastic story, I would never take the time to write a review, but this story gives me the feeling of reading a book during my teenage years. I am no teenager anymore! I hope the writer would keep on writing and give us more of this! Liking this story has nothing to do with my iPad and yes, I love it too.
The Help
Better than I ever expected.