Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Help

As you know, when I do 3 for 2 at Waterstones, I usually pick at least one new author. This time was no exception. I bought two books by favourite authors and then I picked up The Help, a first novel by Kathryn Stockett. The Sunday Times describes it as 'The other side of Gone with the Wind - and just as unputdownable.' I haven't read Gone with the Wind, but The Help was definitely unputdownable. It was superb. I was unsure whether I would enjoy it because the subject matter is about the working and private lives of Black maids in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962, and in particular about their relationships with their white bosses. I was wary because the book is written by a white woman, so I wondered how realistic it would be. But her acknowledgements, at the end of the book, gave more details of her background and how she attained her knowledge and that made the story more believable. It was good to read it after reading the whole book. The book itself, is a narrative, told by three people - two black maids and one of the white children, now grown-up. In places it is hard to read, but not gratuitously so, and it is also warm and surprising, and so tender. It is a beautiful book and one that I cannot recommend enough.