I know I am a little late on reading "The Help", Katherine Stockett’s wildly popular novel chronicling the lives of Mississippi’s elite housewives and their African American maids through the emerging era of Civil Rights. However, the best thing about books is that they’ll wait for you forever.
So when I picked up "The Help" for this week’s Between the Pages book blog, I expected to be blown away. Although I enjoyed it, I was not overwhelmed. To be cliché, I was able to put it down. The story itself was heartwarming and although Stockett’s writing style echoed the Deep South setting, I found myself wondering what all the hype was about with "The Help"?
After thinking it over, it becomes clear the one element that "The Help" differentiates itself by is humor. So many of the stories of segregation and oppression of races hold a depressing tone throughout their entirety, yet Stockett’s balance of humor and outrageousness with the harsh realities of the time period was refreshing. Also, characters such as the menacing Hilly Holbrook provide comedic effect as you realize the villains are just housewives with nothing better to do than stir up drama and use their husbands’ money to finance private bathrooms for the maids.
However, the true antagonist here is the prejudiced society, so deeply rooted in its old ways. The shining light of the whole novel is that of Skeeter Phelan. Her wit and dorky charm mixed with a tenacious spirit to make her way in a man’s world is relatable and inspiring. (She’s also a kick-butt journalist, which gives her bonus points).
Overall, "The Help" was a pleasurable read, but I found myself longing for something it lacked. Maybe I wanted hope for a better life for Aibleen and Minnie, or justice for Hilly and her cruel views. Or perhaps the novel just needed a little something extra in its recipe, like a sweet slice of pie.
