I love to read. Okay, that's an understatement ... I love, love, LOVE to read. It's my zen time. Some people watch TV, listen to music, work out, etc. and I like those things too - they have their place - but when I'm reading I am really and truly happy.
About a year ago I read The Help for the first time. And I was absolutely blown away. For those of you who don't know what the book is about (and have clearly been living under a rock) here is a quick description. (I pulled it off of Goodreads, because I thought they could be more concise).
Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
It's a powerful book that let's you see a challenging and powerful time in our nation's history from different points of view. It's the kind of book that makes you laugh and cry ... and can change the way you look at life. It challenges you to have the courage to do the right thing, even when its the hard thing to do. You miss the characters when you finish ... like you could have kept up your conversation for just a bit longer. Love that.
Last week the movie came out. Now, I'm not usually a huge fan of books that have been turned into movies. I generally don't think they do the book justice. But I had high hopes for this one ... and it did not disappoint.
It's hard to condense a book like The Help into a movie (albeit a long movie). But they did a beautiful job - they caught the most important aspects so you didn't feel like you were missing out, without making it cumbersome with detail. The actresses (the movie is pretty much all women) did an incredible job of becoming the people they play. You love and hate them (depending on the person!) and get attached to them. And it moved me (and everyone around me). Not an easy task.
If you're looking for a great read or movie to watch, I can't recommend either enough!
1 comment:
i liked the book too, I want to go see the movie. Good to know someone who read the book liked the film as well.
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