Good Help is Hard to Find

The Help by Kathryn Stockett takes place is a world that is totally alien to me. A world where everybody has a maid. Where the lines between black and white people are carefully drawn. And where speaking out against the status quo can get one killed.

It is 1963 in Mississippi and the civil rights movement is only a murmur in the distance. The white women in town can’t live without their black maids, who cook their food, clean their homes and take care of their children. Yet, at the same time, they don’t want these maids using the same bathrooms as they do. When a young white woman sets out to write the stories these maids have to tell about their lives, we get a keen insight into these color lines and how they affected people both black and white during this turbulent period.

Stockett draws interesting and very well rounded characters and the story is compelling. The white people are not shown as evil ignorant Southerners, just people with some very deeply imbedded ideas about how the world should be. And the black people are not portrayed as noble martyrs but simply as human beings hoping for something better.

Though I know a lot about the civil rights movement, I was touched by the personal stories of bravery in this book. Though they are fictional, I could see how the smallest act of defiance during this time period could be an important step in equality and freedom.

Besides the historical and political themes of the book, it’s also just a great read. There are some terrific characters that you’ll simply fall in love with. I would highly recommend it!



Reviewed by Lori M

To find this book in the Library, go to our website at www.newberglibrary.org