JV 's Reviews > The Help

“Do you ever wish you could... change things?”

There are only a few novels that end up in my Home for my heart shelf, i.e. a shortlist of my all-time-favourite books. Those gorgeous prose remind me of limitless imagination, life's trials and tribulations, overcoming overwhelming odds with tenacity, fortitude, kindness, the strength of character, and love; and sometimes, it serves as a personal reminder about that gaping hole that nothing can ever fill. The Help is one of those novels.

“They say its like true love, good help. You only get one in a lifetime.”

Jackson, Mississippi, the 1960s - three different women (Aibileen Clark, Eugenia "Miss Skeeter" Phelan, and Minny Jackson) forms an implausible friendship that soon turns into a remarkable, unforgettable sisterhood that challenges the status quo. From this unlikely alliance, comes the unique set of voices that fought against racial segregation, inequality, discrimination in America while upholding civil rights. Armed with intrepidity, these women transcend boundaries and potentially risk their lives with the hopes of having a better life in spite of racial prejudice and bigotry.

This book greatly expounds on what it means to be poor, coloured, and female during those unforgiving times. There's no doubt that the narrative is feministic in nature. The prose is well-written and believable albeit I couldn't verify the accuracy of the entire narrative. The characters might have been considered a cliché for portraying coloured people, but the story, in my honest opinion, rings true. Its relevance is still felt in the present times. Taking that into consideration, this just confirms that everything is not well when it comes to race and other types of persecution still exist (e.g. gender, gender identity, class, religion, etc.). The dichotomy of love and hatred, black and white, and other polarizing ideologies remains. What a complex and complicated world we have!

Stockett also creates strong, lovable, yet imperfect characters that you'll be rooting for until the very end. My heart goes to both Aibileen and the sass-mouthing Minny. Hilly Holbrook deserves an Oscar for the most despicable villain portrayed by a character in a book!

Overall, this is a well-deserved 5-star read, especially for an impressive debut novel and a heartbreaking ending. As a reminder, I'll leave you with Aibileen's words of wisdom:

“You is kind. You is smart. You is important.”

Audiobook sample and comments:
Read by Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, and Cassandra Campbell. Absobloodylutely fantastic narration! Don't miss this one. Well done, ladies!