The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Enter a vanished world: Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Where black maids raise white children, but aren’t trusted not to steal the silver …

There’s Aibileen, raising her 17th white child and nursing the hurt caused by her own son’s tragic death; Minny, whose cooking is nearly as sassy as her tongue; and white Miss Skeeter, home from college, who wants to know why her beloved maid has disappeared.

Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny. No one would believe they’d be friends; fewer still would tolerate it. But as each woman finds the courage to cross boundaries, they come to depend and rely upon one another. Each is in search of a truth. And together they have an extraordinary story to tell.

This was always going to be a good meeting. This book has got everything needed for a lively discussion on all the emotional issues close to our hearts. Racism, apartheid, inequality, social standing and women’s rights. The fact that it takes place during the 60s in the southern states, USA did nothing to diminish our enthusiasm and in fact tended to educate some of us more in the ways of this part of the world.

We all loved the characters, found them well-rounded and believable, even if a little stereotypical.

Most of us were aware of the tension running through the story and felt some fear for the blacks as Skeeter continued to meddle in the long standing way of life in Jackson. Ann found it interesting that we, as white people, felt compelled to point an accusing finger at Skeeter, believing she was putting herself first in pushing for the Help’s stories. Did she really care about the danger they were placing themselves in? It was an interesting turn of the table. Would any of us have had the courage to go through with such a plan?

Some wanted a little more history and thought the writing purposely kept light for the popular audience. We touched on the Freedom Rides and Rosie Parks a little, and someone mentioned that the ending seemed a little abrupt. This, we generally considered to be unavoidable, as this story has the possibility to be eternal. How much of this is still going on today we all wondered and were able to admit that America is not the only place one finds such attitudes. South Africa and closer to home, Australia itself, has been guilty of racism and apartheid, so throwing stones was never going to work.

There was much more said and debated, as this book has such a full cast of characters, incidents, and underlying themes that were no doubt written with a screenplay in mind. Some of us have seen the movie, but we were unanimous in finding The Help an extremely readable story. One that we feel confident in placing high on this year’s to read list.