The Help

I finally got my hands on a copy of The Help. I was looking forward to reading this book for a long time. First, I thought someone would be willing to swap their copy of The Help with one of my books that I had listed on swap.com but I soon realized that the books I had listed on swap.com were not drawing any attention :). Having waited a while I decided to buy my own copy. I had a gift card from Barnes and Noble that I wanted to use so I checked their website. They had and still have a good offer for paperback books. You buy 2 paperback books and get the 3rd for free. The selection is kind of limited but I think they do include great books. So that is how I bought a copy of The Help. And of course I did get 3 books. I am also looking forward to reading the other 2 books that I got with the deal :).

The Help - Original Book Cover

   

I have a couple of comments that I want to share with you about The Help. Unfortunately, I am not that familiar with the African-American Civil Rights movement (1955–1968). However, having watched movies and documentaries about the era I have some idea how it was like back in the 50s and 60s for African-Americans. I am still fascinated by how a country like the United States could have gone through such awful events. I think we take for granted most of the rights we now have and it is pretty hard to imagine how life would be if, for example we were not allowed to attend a school because of our ethnic background. Of course, as human beings we still have lots of growing up to do in terms of learning how to treat others. However, we don't even have to be nice, just be respectful and even this will be appreciated.

Going back to the contents of the book. Again I'm not that familiar with The Southern dialects, especially the ones that existed 50 years ago but I did some research and found out the different pronunciation(s) of some words that are found throughout the book. For example, the word "Law" in the book means "Lord" and the author tries to imitate the dialect of a southern black woman in the 60's by using Law instead of Lord. The story is interesting and if most of it is an actual representation of the South during the 60s then I think by reading this book I learned something, i.e. the life of African-American women who were "The Help" to the white ladies. It is weird how the white ladies didn't seem to have regular jobs, yet they had help raising their children, cleaning the house and cooking. Nowadays, if you're a housewife (or a stay home dad) then you are expected to at least take care of your children. Of course, if you're rich then you don't even have to do that but the point of becoming a housewife is to take care of your home with occasional help from outside. In the book, it seemed like if you came from a somewhat middle class family then you would be able to afford help on a regular basis. As I was growing up we only had cleaning ladies that would come once a week and my mother was not a housewife. So, I have to say I feel like the white ladies were supposed to look pretty and organize some social events during the 60s and organize their housework but don't actually do the work themselves. I may be wrong but that is what I understood when I read the book. 

I found the story interesting and I suggest you read the book before watching the movie. I still haven't watched the movie but I'm looking forward to it. The Help is a nominee for the Best Picture and we'll see if it will snatch that Oscar today :). 

That's all for today! Hope you always have a good book and a warm cup of tea to keep you company this winter :)