The Help

by Kathryn Stockett

Book Overview

The #1 New York Times bestselling novel and basis for the Academy Award-winning film. Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who's always taken orders quietly, but lately she's unable... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399155341
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.4" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Book is always better than the movie

This was already my favorite movie but not it is my favorite book. Little details that you wonder about are all there. Its such a beautiful story about resilience and power. Def Top 5.

Tempered vengeance and discreet justice

Every woman especially, and probably every man, should read this book. Shedding light on the lives of those who are often less than an afterthought, this book

I Rarely Give 5 Stars To Anything I Review!!

I loved this book even more than I loved the movie (as is usually the case) because the story is told the way the originator wanted it told. There's no way that a film can recreate the entirety of a story as told by an author--it would have to be a mini-series!! There is much more to the story as related by Kathryn Stockett; the author and if you haven't read it and have just seen the wonderful film; you'll just have to buy it and read it!!

A classic must read!

This book is riveting and insightful. The character development is superb, and the storyline compelling, with some nail-biting scenes! You won’t be able to put it down. I highly recommend this book!

So eye opening!

This book and then the movie was such a revelation for me. I do not feel that I am racist or prejudicial, but this book/movie really makes a white woman look deeply within. It opened my eyes to the wrongness of racism. I know that all colors and nations have been slaves to some other people at some time in the history of the world and that it continues today. This book really makes you take a hard look at people and how their upbringing continues into adulthood.

loved!

I feel like the maids are my friends, it was such a good read!

This book is a must read!!

I love how the author took us on a journey through the pages. I felt as though I was a part of the story.

The Help

Truly a lovely piece, hands down. Makes you understand how our current times have come to be and how we must think and act to influence future generations. Beautiful women taking hold of their identities and refusing to let anyone else hold them. Sad to have finished the novel and could cry a million tears just thinking about it.

Great Condition

This book has a great message about what it was like to live in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's. Stockett does such a great job of explaining all the racism and hatred that went on during that time while also keeping it simple enough for young reader to understand . I would recommend for anyone over the age of 12 and also the movie is amazing!

Love it!

Just plain straight out loved this book!

Loved the book it's one of my favorites

Loved the characters in this book

One of the best books you'll read

An excellent book, "The Help" speaks to racism in hidden places and reminds us that we're all human, regardless of our skin color. It's a beautiful, funny, and heartwarming novel.

Story is better than the book.

I love this book. It is my favorite book ever. The quality was a little disappointing though. I was expecting a nice book, gently used. What I got was a book with the cover bent up. I was disappointed but getting this book at such a low price is still good.

One of my all time faves.

exquisite

One of the best books I have read. I have owned it for a while and have read it about 6 times. Every time I do I can't put it down! I recommend it to everyone!

Must read

Could not put it down!!!!

I adore this book!!!! Some parts made me cry and others made me laugh. I watched the movie which was also great and just had to read the book. I wish I could rate it higher than a five but it absolutely a must read !!!

I wish I could give more than five!!

I LOVED this book. I mean I LOVED this book. I could not put it down, and when I had to, I was thinking about the characters and could not wait until I had time to read again. I grew up in the South in the 60's and my whole neighborhood had housekeepers or "Help". We had someone who worked for us, we called her Nursey, and she was my friend, and my caretaker. After my parents got divorced, she was my rock. This is way to personal, but my stepmother was a witch, and when I think what Nursey had to put up with to stay with me and my sisters, to help take care of us, I just don't know how to express it. She did not leave because of us kids. This book gave me so much to think about and brought up so many feelings, so many good, and so so many not so good. I'm grateful when I think about the last conversation I had with Nursey before she died, I was married already, living out of town, and I talked to her on the phone. I was able to tell her I loved her and to say thanks for everything she did for me. Was it enough, did it matter? Who knows, but I'm glad it was said. This is such a beautifully written book, so absorbing..and I don't know how else to describe it. But I do want to say thanks to Ms. Stockett for this wonderful book, that even though I closed it the other day, I cannot quit thinking about. By the way, I read this on Kindle, and I have decided to buy a hardback copy as well to put on my bookshelves with all my other favorites. I find it hard to believe this is her debut work, I look forward to whatever else Ms. Stockett has to offer us, she is a wonderful storyteller.

The Best Book in Years! An Instant Classic!

The Help is about a young white woman in the early 1960s in Mississippi who becomes interested in the plight of the black ladies' maids that every family has working for them. She writes their stories about mistreatment, abuse and heartbreaks of working in white families' homes, all just before the Civil Rights revolution. That is the story in a nutshell - but it is so much more than just stories. This is the best book I have read in years! I can't recommend it enough! It is fabulous and I think they will make a movie out of it. I would compare it to the writings of Carson McCullers, Harper Lee, Truman Capote and even Margaret Mitchell. The story grabs you and doesn't let you go. You can smell the melted tar on the Mississippi roads, the toil in the cotton fields, the grits burning on the stove. The theme is the indomitable will of human beings to survive against all odds - because of the color of their skin. It is a heart-wrenching account and you will never fondly remember the times of the Jim Crow laws (if you ever did). The pure, down and out bitchery of the white ladies who become dissatisfied with their maids and proceed to ruin their lives is portrayed vividly. The desperation of the maids' circumstances is truly touching. I have laughed and cried my way through this book and plan to re-read it. I highly recommend this book because it is going to be talked about as the best book of the year.

I can't say enough good things about this book

I loved this book. The characters were so real they seemed like friends. The voices were so true it was hard to believe they were fictional. When I came to the end I was sad that it was over and I knew that the story and its message would stick with me for a long time. This is a book about love and suffering, hatred and faith, fear and courage. It is about women of strength and dignity who carry on and manage to care about others despite an unjust system. It is a beautiful book, unforgettable in many ways. It is touching, thought-provoking, humorous and compelling. It is one of the best books I've read on race relations in the 1960s Deep South. It is gentle, yet powerful, moving without being melodramatic, and most of all, realistic in every detail. I can't recommend it highly enough. PARENTS AND TEACHERS: Mild, infrequent swearing, painful race issues/gross injustice, oblique/slang references to sex, references to domestic violence, a graphic miscarriage scene, and one short scene in which a crazy white man exposes himself to a maid and her employer.

a treasure of a book

I was lucky enough to come across an advanced reader copy of this book. Set in Mississippi during the civil rights movement, the story is narrated by the three principal characters...Minny and Aibileen, two black maids, and Miss Skeeter, a young, white woman newly graduated from college. The characters are wonderfully developed, as are the historical background and setting. As each character took her turn at narrating, she became my favorite character until the next one took over again.I was torn between not being able to put the book down and not wanting it to end.