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Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project.
Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and Creative Writing, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. This is her first novel.
Tarasview
Posted February 13, 2009
I absolutely LOVED this book. Kathryn Stockett did an amazing job. I loved how the story was written from the perspectives of the different women. I enjoyed seeing the world through their very different eyes and watching them develop throughout the story. The beautifully descriptive writing drew me in and made me feel like I was right there. This is an intense story of how these different women deal with the issue of racism during the civil rights movement. It is a poignant and deeply moving novel. I didn't want the book to end. I think this book would make an amazing movie as well. I would highly recommend this book to everyone.
247 out of 261 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 23, 2011
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This is one of the best books I have read. It's touching, inspirational and absolutely unforgettable. From the beginning of the book I was drawn in, felt with the characters and learnt from them. Awesome read- that will want you to put this book on your top shelf.
204 out of 210 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 3, 2009
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Kathryn Stockett has written a marvelous book -- the southern voices are right, the stories of the women draw you in with their resourcefulness and courage. Memphis, where I grew up, was where the Delta began, and she described that world perfectly -- the maids in their uniforms, the restrictions, the distrust. I couldn't put it down, but then I was sorry when I finished because I wanted to read more about Skeeter and Minny and all the others. I hope she writes a sequel.
137 out of 149 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 23, 2011
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This was a fun read. I loved the story. Can only recommend.
127 out of 155 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 2, 2010
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Set in Mississippi in the 1960's, Stockett captured the personalities of the black maids and Southern Belles so perfectly, it read like a non-fiction biography. What an inspiration to human beings everywhere! The insight into human behavior couldn't have been done better! This book should be mandatory reading in every school curriculum! Touching! Heartfelt! Heartbreaking! Uplifting! Inspiring! Such compassion! Such strength! Such perseverance! Such courage! This is a TRUE MASTERPIECE!!!
Some other books I've read that left their messages imbedded in my mind forever, I recommend...
50 out of 56 people found this review helpful.
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Posted October 23, 2009
I originally purchased this as an audio book for a 15 hour cross country drive. The characters fostered such a range of emotions in me that all that mental activity just kept me charged up for the entire drive. The author offers first person narration as a tool for getting the reader inside the head and heart of the books main characters. There is tension and suspense and alot of humor. Thank heaven for the humor! When I was finished with the audio book, I gave it to this friend and that friend to take on their trips, but I so missed Skeeter and the other characters that I went out and bought the book, so I can carry it with me and read the characters' narrations at different points in the book. I haven't enjoyed anything about the South this much since Credence Clearwater Revival's Southern Rock or Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
38 out of 46 people found this review helpful.
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Posted April 30, 2011
Great story! Would read others by this author. Would like to see a sequel
32 out of 37 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 19, 2010
I became completely immersed in the story of the 3 main characters. As a resident of a border state, I remember taking a Greyhound bus through southern states as a young teen enroute to visit my Grandfather in FLA during the early 60's, and being apalled at the "white" and "colored" signs on restrooms, drinking fountains, etc., and the shantytowns we traveled through. And I remember my own working Mom hiring a black woman to do some ironing in our home, and wondering when and how she could do that all day, 6 days a week for different families, and still take care of her own 5 young children. Later, I knew people in CA whose Mexican maids and nannies raised and loved their children, though the employees' own kids the same age or younger, had been left behind with relatives. I suppose that still goes on. This book makes you think about segregation, civil rights and the race/class divide in the south like Uncle Tom's Cabin made people think about slavery. I understand why H.B. Stowe, a white woman, had to be the one to open our eyes about slavery in 1857--but not why a gifted black author didn't beat Kathryn Stockett to the presses with an equally-well-written (as The Help) account of life as experienced by domestic servants in white southern households during the pre-civil-rights era.
29 out of 32 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 10, 2010
Such an amazing book. My only expectation going in was that it was on the bestsellers list, and I've heard a lot about it. I didn't realize what an addicting story these three women had me in store for. It was suspenseful at times, touching, supremely entertaining, and finally wonderfully pulled together. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in quite a few months. If you haven't read it yet, please pick up a copy and get to it!
26 out of 29 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 26, 2011
This book is a excellent read from cover to cover!! I could not put it down!! The best book I have read in a long time!
17 out of 22 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 1, 2010
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This is a wonderful portrayal of the painful, unfair bias and prejudice of the time but also about human kindness, goodwill, and fairness. I loved the different vantage points, so the reader can see into the thought process of all concerned. This is full of wonderful lessons to us human beings, some probably won't GET IT but I'm quite sure most will be brought to tears if there is a heart beating in their chests!
16 out of 18 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 26, 2010
I jsut finished this book yesterday, and I was suprised that I liked it as much as I did. A friend of mine recommended it to me, and it's not typically the type of book that I usually pick. However, with that being said, I'm so glad that I gave this a chance. I felt that the author did a great job with the dialect of the maids, and that she captured the time period in the South perfectly. I will recommend this book to my family and friends.
15 out of 16 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 4, 2010
I can't believe that this author could begin to explain or describe the inner feelings of an African American. I wonder where she received her information from to write this book...................
We have come so far in life, atleast I think so, then to find a book like this on the best sellers list seems unreal.
13 out of 96 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 12, 2011
one of the best books of 2011 five stars
11 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I am midway through this book and am totally involved in the story and the characters. For a first novel this is beautifully done. Others have given more detailed reviews, all I can say is, read it.
11 out of 13 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I am a voracious reader who enjoys bestsellers, classics, poetry, all types of literature. This is one of the best books I have ever read. It is touching, inspirational, a compelling plot and characters. When I finished it, I had chills all over! Must read for anyone.
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 27, 2010
I picked this book up on a whim. No previous knowledge about the book or the author. Absolutely loved reading it and in the dialect it was written, at times, was a joy to read it out loud. This was a very touching story about people and the times in which they lived. I had a few laugh out loud moments and shed a tear as well. Reminds us all to remain vigilant and keep the word of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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Posted January 19, 2010
I have seen this book every time I went to the bookstore. But the cover never really kept me captivated enough to want to go buy it. Over Christmas my sister-in-law recommended it to me. But I was skeptical. A week later I was getting my car oil changed and another woman was reading this book. She was halfway through it and recommended it. I had just gotten a nook and decided to download the book. I could not stop reading it. It's not "thrilling" or "suspenseful". But it is by far a beautifully written novel that makes you think about the lives of the women in the south in the 60's and the huge discrepencies between people at that time. I didn't want the book to end and towards the end I was crying. The book did indeed feel as if you were watching a movie. I do hope they make this book into a movie. I would recommend this book 10 times over anyone. This is a must read!
9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I woke up early and stayed up late to read this book! I finished it in 3 days. I enjoyed the writing style and the flow although I do feel that as it wraps up it becomes less realistic. This book sparked a debate between my husband and I regarding whether or not a white writer is capable of portraying a black woman in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's. I was pleased to see in the author's note (in the back of the book) she addressed this issue as something she greatly struggled with. No one can be fully put into another person's shoes but the struggle to understand each other is how we grow as a human collective. I highly recommend this book. It was an easy read, I felt I was able to connect and care about the characters, and its thought-provoking.
8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 20, 2010
I had seen this book on the bestseller lists for ages, but didn't think it was something I would be interested in. Finally I broke down and bought it and discovered a great new book! Now, I've sent the book to my mother, sister, and friends.
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
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Overview
Limited and persecuted by racial divides in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, three women, including an African-American maid, her sassy and chronically unemployed friend, and a recently graduated white woman, team up for a clandestine project.