I was on the edge of my seat reading this book as if it was something in the mystery/thriller genre. But the feeling inside of me was one of pure fear....fear that these women would get caught...fear that all of their plans would be futile and fear that a heroic act would not somehow be rewarded.
This is a story set in the early sixties in Mississippi when "colored" people were forced to use separate water fountains, ride in the back of buses, be persecuted or prosecuted if they were caught speaking to white people and made their livings working for these same white people who enacted all of these laws. Having lived in the north, I can't even imagine what this was like. I went to school in Brooklyn in the early 60's and sat in classrooms with these same people who were being persecuted in the south and ate lunch with them and played with them and never even thought anything otherwise about it. I'm not saying this to sound sanctimonious....I'm just telling it like it was. So to read this book was a real eye opener for me.
There's a real heroine in this book in the form of Skeeter Phelan. She has just graduated from college and is interested in a career in journalism. Many of her friends are already married and have "help" working for them. As Skeeter looks on and sees how they are treating their "help", she sets in motion something that could spell disaster not only for herself but for many of the maids working for these families. She decides to write a book about it and enlists the aid of some of the same maids working for her friends. Talk about an eye opener...this will be a book written from the maid's perspective....something never done before because no one has ever given them a voice. As much of a heroine as Skeeter is, the true heroines will be these "colored" maids who are risking everything, even their lives, to tell it like it is. You can just imagine what's going to happen if this book gets published.
I have to say that I was on the edge of my seat reading this novel as Skeeter was sneaking around in the stealth of the night trying to interview these different maids. It is so well written and is such an inside look at the way things really were. The author herself is from the south so what she is writing is obviously based on first hand knowledge. One of my favorite quotes in the book might even be something she heard while growing up -- "They say it's like true love, good help. You only get one in a lifetime."
When I think of maids, I think of people who might cook and clean and tidy up. In the south, however, these maids actually raised the children of the white people for whom they were working. These young children grew up loving these maids sometimes more than their own mothers. So the goodness pouring out of the hearts of those considered as "help" far exceeded anything I've ever imagined.
If you want to read one great book this year, pick up "The Help". There is no way you will be disappointed. In a few of the other reviews here, others have mentioned reading Mudbound after reading "The Help". I've already ordered it and look forward to continuing my education on this important time in history.....one many would like to forget but one that definitely needs to be acknowledged.
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