Book Review - The Help by Kathryn Sockett

This is an adult novel.

Set in the 1960s, Sockett weaves a tale of the entangled lives of Jackson, Mississippi's black maids and the white ladies whom they serve. She creates the characters of Aibileen - the main character - a maid who has a talent for raising white children and for writing, Minny - Aibileen's best friend - a maid who has a talent for telling it like it is, and Skeeter, a white aspiring writer who is trying hard to make it in the business. Their lives come together when they try something revolutionary at a time in history when it was dangerous to fight for Civil Rights.

Sockett does a good job developing the characters of both Aibileen and Skeeter, but it’s Minny that the reader wants more of. Her story and that of her boss Miss Celia is the most interesting and yet it fell flat at the end. Additionally, Sockett does not do a very good job establishing Aibileen as her main character. It felt a lot like what it was – a white lady who grew up with a black maid trying to write from the maid’s perspective. For me, it just didn’t feel authentic so it didn’t work. Overall, the idea is original and it’s written about an interesting topic in an interesting time period. I’d say it’s a 3 out of 5.