The Help

We were at my sister's house a month or so ago for dinner and one of our friends (we'll call him 'John Burt') asked me if I had heard of this book called The Help that takes place in Jackson, Mississippi. I had not heard of it because, unfortunately, every so often I totally fall out of the loop in what is hip and happening. However, since Michael and I lived in Jackson once upon a time, anything at all that pertains to the area catches my attention — hence my rushing out to buy the book shortly after John's suggestion. Oddly enough, John claims not to have read it yet, but he should — because it is marvelous. Truly.

The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett, begins in 1962 during the early stages of the Civil Rights Movement in Jackson. The title refers to the black maids that work in white households, and it is narrated, in turn, by three women — Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter.

Aibileen is a maid who has raised 17 white children throughout her long career. After her own son is tragically killed, she ends up working in the household of Miss Elizabeth Leefolt. Elizabeth, like all her friends, is very young, in her early 20s, and a new mom. Her daughter's name is Mae Mobley and she is the character that broke my heart throughout. So, brace yourself for that. There will be many a time that you will want to slap Elizabeth flat and it is not only because of her treatment of Aibileen.

Minny is another maid who seems to get fired more often than not. She is an excellent cook, but cannot — or will not — bite her tongue with her employers. She is eventually able to find a job working in an enormous house for Celia, a 'white-trash' woman who married into a wealthy Jackson family.

Skeeter, or Miss Eugenia Phelan if you are her mother or don't know her, is a recent college graduate who returns to her parents' cotton plantation unsure about what to do next but knowing that she would like to write. Also, Skeeter is a friend of Elizabeth and the rest of the Bridge Club, all of whom happen to belong to the Junior League. And by 'the rest' I mostly mean Hilly Holbrook. Hilly is essentially The Help's version of Lord Voldemort. She is the one responsible for the Home Help Sanitation Initiative, which essentially promotes a bathroom being built in the garage of your house for the help to use, so as not to spread diseases, as it were.

Through a series of events these three women come together to tell their story. Or rather, Aibileen and Minny (and eventually several other maids) tell their stories to Skeeter who spins them into a book. It is all done with the utmost secrecy and anonymity, as was absolutely critical considering the times. Stockett does an excellent job portraying the death of Medgar Evers and myriad other atrocities that occurred during this time, including the assassination of JFK, and places them on a very personal level, told through the eyes of these three women.

Admittedly, I was a bit leery picking this book up because I did not know what to expect. Actually, that is not true — I expected it to be an angry tirade that blasted the whole of Mississippi and everyone living in the state. And yes, that is an element of the book. However, it is only part of the book. Stockett balances everything beautifully. There is not a character that could walk away being viewed as perfect — well, maybe Aibileen. And there is not a character who is thoroughly, to-the-core, rotten. She-who-must-not-be named is honestly the best mother in the book — but that is her only redeeming quality. Each of the characters is perfectly pitched, and you find yourself almost wishing to be friends with them — go ahead and try not to like Celia.

Another bonus to the book for me was the discovery of Google Maps. Apparently both Elizabeth and Hilly lived 2 streets away from our old house in Belhaven, so I had a grand-old-time with the 'street view' option of the neighborhood. Also, I had to do a search for the old Robert E. Lee Building downtown because it gets mentioned so much as 'the place to be', if you're white, in 1962. Apparently the Robert E. Lee used to be a fancy restaurant and hotel back in the day but chose to close its doors rather than integrate. I know that is not funny in the least, but it honestly strikes me as hilarious. I mean, really. Anyway, I guess they showed them — now it is an office building for Medicare, or something really boring like that.

This is the book I read while we were on vacation in Maine. Right when Emilia would go down for her nap, I'd hop to a comfy chair and read like the dickens. I couldn't put it down. When I only had 50 pages left I forced myself to slow down, because I didn't want to finish it so quickly. Alas, I still finished it — and it was marvelous. I truly, truly loved it. And I still love Jackson, of course. But I can't help wonder if part of the reason Miss Stockett now resides in Atlanta has anything to do with her writing of this book. And I also wonder how popular the book has been in this town in which she was born and raised (with a maid, mind you) — Jackson, Mississippi.