Read and Review: The Help

Verse of the Day: Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the lord, so walk ye in him.

Nothing nourishes my mind more than a good read, but "The Help" written by Katheryn Stockett, provided much more than that. It reminded me, it hurt me, made me laugh and cry, comforted me and painted a vivid black and white picture for me as it would for any person of color today.

My thoughts: Told through the eyes and words of three women in Jackson Mississippi, follows the story of three unlikely intertwined lives, each in a prison of their own, in search of a way out. For Mrs. Skeeter it is the curse of socialite life and just never seeming to fit in with her circle of house wife representatives with their cheap gossip and 20 cans of hairspray. Their association with them seems to come from a place of pity than genuine friendship which sets the stage for how things will unfold between them as the story progresses. Her mother...(dear God) only added to the fuel with her constant dismay over her daughters appearance and ability to capture a mans heart. "Forget being a graduate from Ole'miss pursuing a writing career, can you clean the stains out of your husbands collar or prepare a meal for your children?" is all that comes to mind when reading her character. Mrs. Skeeter had my sympathy from chapter 5 when her story begins till the very last when her world opens up for the better.

Aibleen is the kind of woman I wish I'd more of around me in my youth. Someone black or white could truly appreciate her character and look up to her with admiration and respect. She was sensible, kind and strong in her faith, her belief to do what was right. Her true power came to play when the "bitter seed" was planted, during the wake of her only sons death. However, just as this seed bore to her heart a new realization that she indeed despised her position as "the help" to a group of people who looked to her as beneath their pet poodles, to children who she raised that would one day be her boss, another seed fell with the winds, that revealed in her that she could and was indeed far more than that. Mrs. Skeeter was it's gardener, it's name was redemption. She had her own way of making her experiences almost living words. You could feel the anguish in her tone whenever hers son was mentioned, sense her weariness when Mrs. Hilly or Mrs. Leefolt were brought up. You could taste the sour fruit that came from that bitter seed each time she spoke of what she overheard or witnessed in Mrs. Leefolts home, and the tenderness of her heart when she spoke of her baby girl, Mrs. Leefolts poorly treated daughter. Mrs. Aibleen had the keys to her freedom in her words to be released. It wasn't Mrs. Skeeter alone,

it was her decision to step out on faith that freed her from the walls of Mrs. Leefolts home and the bondage of her own mind that she could be nothing more than a ghost in white woman's memory after she's dismissed or her prime target when angered.

Minny?, lil miss sass mouth Minny? (ha!) did I ever get a laugh when reading about this steaming kettle of a woman! Now, I've been raised around a lot of Minnys in my youth: unafraid to speak her mind no matter the consequences, quick to fly off the handle, always frank, has to keep a mental mantra to keep calm (although they hardly ever work.) However, Minny wasn't all mouth and hips, she had her own unique way of showing she cared, even if it did not look that way. It was sweet, blonde Mrs. Celia that brought that to the light and I couldn't keep myself from grinning at the bond they developed in their chapters together. They needed each other. For Minny, it was seeing that not all whites were the same, that they have hearts and the ability to feel things other than entitlement, to see that not all of them were born with silver spoons and that those that weren't were probably worse off than the colored help. For Minny to find someone who saw her as a person, more than a maid or the help or a good cook was the start of a turning point in her realizing her own value, enough so that she could see that she did not deserve the domestic violence she experienced with her husband and the shame she endured from previous bosses. Mrs. Celia helped her realized this and more. That was valuable and beautifully unique. For Mrs. Celia, that darling Marilyn Monroe look alike needed to be told in too many ways that not fitting in those prunes was the best thing that could have happened to her. She was beautiful inside and out which posed as a threat to anyone opposite of her which was pretty much every woman under the authority of Mrs. Hilly. Her desire to belong somewhere was heart breaking and it took a strong character like Minny to give her some balance to hold her head up above what people perceived of her. they brought each other to a brand new light, that they were both people with a need to feel treasured because they were both precious.

Dear lord, let me be brief and to the point about Mrs. Hilly and Leefolt. Mrs. Leefolt is about as spineless as they come. It goes to show that not even the best opportunities of character development can't help someone who is ignorant by CHOICE! Mrs. Hilly is a lesson and warning to us all. Never underestimate a woman with influence, especially negative influence. There is no changing people who desire no change of heart, That's God's job and Mrs. Hilly is one hell of a piece of work. she illustrates a point that lacks discussion: not every heart is meant to be changed for the better, if there were no darkness to stray away from, we wouldn't look to God's light. Mrs. Hilly and all those bitter bats of followers teach us that some things may change, some don't, the question therein is: will and how will you? and do you want to? I'm left asking myself, am I free or under the impression that I am?

My rating: 5 out of 5 Quills would read again and highly recommended

not my pic but taken from wix