The Help

This Christmas I received The Help as a gift from my sissy. I had so many other books ahead of it so I did not pick it up until recently. At first I started slow but as soon as I made the decision to get through it I could not put it down. The characters were so wildly different yet exactly the same. When reading the book you really think about what it was like to be a black maid in Jackson during the 60s, how harsh white women treated these maids, or how cruel white people were in general to African Americans. It isn't until later in the book you realize what the hidden message is, well hidden until the end. The author, Kathryn Stockett, also reveals the cruel ways of women towards each other no matter what race they are. In the novel you see how one white women destroys her friend because they think differently.

It made me realize how horrible we treat people because we are threatened by their differences. When reading about how the whites where treating the blacks it made me think about how that is still a problem today, the mistreatment of a certain group that is. It brings to my mind the way gay individuals are mistreated, these days you see and hear a lot of horrible things. I do not want to talk about my political views, since I think arguing about such things is silly sometimes. But I often wonder when we will be able to accept people for who they really are and not categorize them based on something silly like race, sexual orientation, religion, etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it was a great story plus it made me think about the issues, which I always like. Kisten and I had a great little conversation about it, I always like a discussion amongst friends.

Here is the link to the New York Times review of The Help if you are interested and learning more about it. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/books/19masl.html