The Help

This month it was my turn to lead the book club discussion.  We chose "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.  This book has been on the best seller list for almost a year for a very good reason; it's a good book, a really good book.  This is Stockett's first novel and she started writing it the day after the 9/11 attacks in New York City, where she lived.  She wrote in the voice that comforted her as a child; the voice of her maid and nanny in Mississippi where she group up in the 1960's.  The book chapters come in three voices. Abilene is a patient and comforting maid.  Minny is a emotional and impulsive maid.  Skeeter (nickname for Eugenia) is a recent graduate of the University who can't seem to fit in at home on her parent's plantation or in town with her young, married friends or with the others in the Junior League.  Skeeter wants to be a journalist.  She gets the idea of writing from the perspective of the black maids talking about raising white children from one of the maids.  She talks Abilene into helping her with the project.  Minny and other maids help with the book.  The town of Jackson, Mississippi is on the cusp of civil rights.  The maids, more than Skeeter, risk a great deal to have their story told.  Minny risks the most of all in order to protect the rest of the group.  We had a great discussion about this book. I told them I would bring a caramel cake to the next meeting.  Caramel cake, along with other great food, is mentioned in the book.  I promised I would NOT BRING a chocolate creme pie. If you read the book, you'll know why it is not a good idea to bring a chocolate creme pie.