The book, The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett and number one New York times best seller, is honestly one of the best books I have ever read.The Help takes place in 1962, Jackson Mississippi. This is the time of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King.
Down south, times are tough for the colored folks of Jackson Mississippi. Discrimination is spreading like wildfire and the treatment is getting worse. Not to mention, the tremendous amount of economic troubles colored people are having, being paid little to nothing, with such high expectations of work to be done.
Aibileen, a black maid, after raising 17 white children and one of her own, endures a series of challenges she must overcome. Even though Aibileen lives solo, she still struggles to pay the bills with her low income.
However, Aibileen’s best friend, Minny, who is also a maid, finds herself unemployed after her last job did not end too well. She starts to doubt she will ever find another job after what she did to Hilly, one of her employers. However, having five children of her own, it is crucial that Minny put food on their plates and clothes on their back. This is quite difficult to do with no help from her drunk husband, Leroy.
Surprisingly, colored people are not the only ones concerned with the civil rights movement and treatment of blacks. Skeeter Phelan, who is a white woman of Jackson, cannot find any where to fit in, with her beliefs on equality.
There are many things that make this book very unique and different then other ones. Stockett’s colorful use of words and ability to tell the story from very different characters could be perhaps, the reason it is the #1 New York Times bestseller.
To anyone who is looking for inspiration to get through rough times, The Help is the cure.