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Feb
09
Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
2009 at 9pm Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
Set for publication February 10, 2009 from Amy Einhorn Books (a division of Penguin)
Kathryn Stockett’s phenomenal debut novel The Help, set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962, is told from the perspectives of three very different women. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan is fresh out of college and back at her parents’ home in Jackson, Mississippi. Her dream is to become a writer. Her mother’s dream is for her to find a well-to-do Southern boy from a good family with a healthy trust fund and get married. Bored with her friends and frustrated by the way they talk to and about their maids—the help—Skeeter dreams up an idea that could change life in Jackson for the better, but it is quite a dangerous proposition.
Aibileen Clark is a fifty-something black woman who works as a maid for Elizabeth Leefolt, one of Skeeter’s close friends. Aibileen has spent her life raising other people’s children and is still mourning her son Treelore, who died in a horrible accident three years ago. Aibileen is stoic and strong, and she knows her place, but she understands what the ladies she works for are really all about.
Only three things them ladies talk about: they kids, they clothes, and they friends. I hear the word Kennedy, I know they ain’t discussing no politic. They talking about what Miss Jackie done wore on the tee-vee.
Aibileen views Mrs. Leefolt and her friends as superficial and sadly disconnected from their children’s lives. She does her best to treat the children with kindness and to teach them, albeit secretly, that color should not matter. But she overhears the ladies’ conversations—lately, they focus on the need for separate restrooms for “coloreds”—and she knows that color still does make a difference. And it’s a very big difference.
After a social gathering at the Leefolts’ home, Skeeter stops to say hello to Aibileen and asks her if she’s really okay with the way things are, or if she wants things to change. Taken aback, Aibileen responds that things are all right, but she can’t stop thinking about Skeeter’s question. At first, she thinks it’s an impossible suggestion.
…Miss Skeeter asking don’t I want to change things, like changing Jackson, Mississippi, gone be like changing a lightbulb.
But as Aibileen reflects on the women in her life—other strong black women who work hard only to be treated like dogs—she begins to change her mind.
I think about all my friends, what they done for me. What they do for the white women they waiting on…And all of it roll on top of me. I close my eyes, say the Lord’s prayer to myself. But it don’t make me feel any better.
Law help me, but something’s gone have to be done.
As Aibileen warms up to the idea that change just might be possible, Skeeter hits on what she believes is a great way to launch her career as a writer. Reflecting on her affection for Constantine, the maid who raised her, and increasingly agitated by her friends’ insistence on supporting segregation, Skeeter decides that it’s about time someone told the other side of the story. She asks Aibileen to tell her the truth about working for white women. It takes some time, but Aibileen gets on board with the project and feels so freed by writing her own story that she sets out to recruit her friends to the project.
Aibileen and Skeeter have a difficult time finding women who are willing to talk openly about their experiences because so much is at stake. If they are found out, the black women’s jobs–and even their lives—will be in jeopardy, and Skeeter risks losing her friends and her career before it even gets off the ground. Finally, Aibileen’s friend Minny, the third narrator of The Help, agrees to participate despite her resistance and fear. Minny tells us she couldn’t pass up the opportunity because
It’s something about that word truth. I’ve been trying to tell white women the truth about working for them since I was fourteen years old.
And later:
Truth.
It feels cool, like water washing over my sticky-hot body. Cooling a heat that’s been burning me up all my life.
Not one to keep her mouth shut, Minny, who is much closer to Skeeter’s age than Aibileen’s, has been fired from more jobs than she can count. When we meet her, she is embroiled in an all-out battle with Skeeter’s close friend Hilly Holbrook, who just happens to be heading up a movement encouraging whites to build separate bathrooms in their homes for their colored help. Minny isn’t the only one who has a problem with Hilly, and the drama surrounding Hilly’s constant agitation and posturing are a key focus of the action in this novel.
Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny are an unlikely trio, but their work on the project unites them under a common cause and proves to them that women can connect with each other regardless of their color. As they collect stories from more and more women, Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny are deeply affected by what they hear. For Skeeter:
These things I know already, yet hearing them from colored mouths, it is as if I am hearing them for the first time.
Though telling her stories is often painful, Minny discovers
I like telling my stories. It feels like I’m doing something about it.
And she begins to think about the possibilities of freedom—from racial segregation and from her abusive husband—in a way she never has before.
Who knows what I could become, if Leroy would stop goddamn hitting me.
The women undertake this project with the hope that the book will be published and will instigate change in Jackson and throughout the country. Regardless of the results (which I won’t spoil here), the process of sharing their stories and the journey they take together is more than enough. Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny come to understand that the point of the book was
For women to realize, we are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I’d thought.
Along the way, we get to know the women that Aibileen, Minny, and their friends work for, and we understand these women through their maids’ eyes and from Skeeter’s perspective of them as her peers and former friends. We also see the melodrama of Skeeter’s interactions with Hilly Holbrook and her society friends, her frustrating relationship with her mother, and her forays into dating. We see Aibileen and Minny in their formal clothes at work and in their comfortable living rooms at home, where they let their hair down and support each other like women friends do.
Kathryn Stockett paints a full and vivid picture of life in a small Southern town that is just on the cusp of civil rights and great change and is caught up in all of the controversy and heat that go with it. She succeeds in giving Aibileen and Minny realistic black Southern voices that the reader can just almost hear. Stockett peoples her small town with characters that we come to know and feel we’d be able to recognize if we passed them on the street. The types are familiar—all of us know a Hilly Holbrook and a Celia Foote—but the individuals unique.
The Help is addictively, compulsively readable. I couldn’t put it down. Stockett’s debut is well-written, and it is clear that she really understands Southern life and has made great efforts to understand what life was like for black women who served white families. She presents sad stories that leave a great glimmer of hope, and though she examines our differences and our mistakes, she highlights our humanity to wonderful effect. And while this is a serious book, it also has wonderfully lighthearted moments, humorous moments, and strikingly funny insights into women and their behavior.
I loved this book and can’t recommend it highly enough. This is a wonderful first novel that hints at the promise of a very bright career. 5 out of 5.
[...] Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett [...]
I have been eagerly awaiting this one…even more so now!
Can’t wait to get to this!
I can’t wait to read this one. It sounds so good and I think the cover is gorgeous.
I loved this one too. It succeeds brilliantly on many levels – I can definitely see it as one of my favorites for the year and it’s only February.
This is the first I’ve heard of this one. Wow. If you recommend it this highly, then I’ll have to put it on my list.
I haven’t heard of this one either, but your review makes me want to read it NOW!
[...] The Book Lady’s Blog [...]
[...] two book reviews this week, but one of them was a chunkster. I loved The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and judging by other reviews around the blogosphere, it seems that I’m [...]
[...] 5 Minutes for Books. Jennifer gave this new title such a glowing review that I can’t resist. The Book Lady also recommends this one, calling it “addictively, compulsively [...]
[...] The Book Lady’s Blog (The Help)122. The Book Lady’s Blog (Voluntary Madness)123. Beth F (Dragonslayer)124. Afterthoughts [...]
[...] Recently Reviewed I’m Sorry You Feel That Way The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Callisto Voluntary Madness The Help [...]
I really loved this book and gave it a rare 5 stars! (on Goodreads) It has been a while since I read something that I literally couldn’t put down, but this one was that kind of book for me. I laughed out loud at times but then would just as quickly grow so frustrated that I wanted to climb right into the book and smack Miss Hilly’s self righteous face!
Set in Mississippi during the 60’s, The Help explores the relationships of colored maids and the white women that employ them. I found the characters to be genuine people that I couldn’t help but pull for and, in the case of Miss Hilly, pull against. I found Minny to be so endearing that I am genuinely going to miss her now that the book is over.
For a first novel, Kathryn Stockett really hit her mark. This book was certainly worth the hardcover price-I am so thankful to The Booklady for the recommendation!
Kathryn Stockett’s first book The Help is a really good read. She tells many stories within the one. Her characters are complex and come alive on the page and her message is one to take to heart and live. Kathryn, I look forward to your next book.
[...] was just talking about this with some of my coworkers last week! Most recently, I think The Help (my review) has excellent movie potential. The characters are colorful and well-drawn, the dialogue is pitch [...]
[...] A Dangerous Affair (Nicola)43. Lessons From San Quentin (Kristi – Books and Needlepoint)44. The Help (The Book Lady’s Blog)45. The Bishop’s Daughter46. The Bishop’s Daughter (Heather)47. Dark of Night (Randi [...]
[...] have known that Eugenia means “aristocrat,” and I can’t say that my reading of The Help suffered for not knowing [...]
it should be a movie and i forsee Wanda Sykes as Minny and even Oprah and so many wonderful people to round out the cast. the book is a treasure.
I loved this book and can’t wait till our next Book Club meeting so I can recommend it.
I hope some one gives it to Oprah she needs a good book her choices lately have been boring.
For anyone interested in reading this I would like to suggest that you try the audiobook. I’m listening to it right now and am loving every minute of it. There are four different readers and hearing the accents makes it so much more real and enjoyable. Check out your local library for the audio version. I was cataloging it for the library where I work and started listening to it and couldn’t stop. I agree with some of the other comments that it will make a great movie. Oprah as Aibilene!
[...] school English teacher, a high school librarian, an author, and three other avid readers, chose The Help for our first discussion, and I couldn’t have been happier with that decision. I loved the [...]
I listened to this book on audio-loved it! But was the end really Skeeter saying “thanks” to Aibeleen? I didn’t want it to end there…
I cannot believe what an awesome read “The Help” was. I, who never allow a book from the library to be overdue let this one be as I started to read too close to the due date.
I can hardly wait for your follow-up novel. And I will certainly be voting to have “The Help” added to next year’s reading list.
Wow! A winner! Having spent my life in SC, I feel qualified to say this is THEIR and OUR story!
Another winner is A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn…1950s South Africa Murder Mystery/Story of aparthaid. Just out June 2009.
[...] 7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett [...]
I just finished the book. I could not put it down. Best book I read in years.
Dear All,
I am trying to find a book to recommend to a lady’s church group. Does this book have any profane language or sexual content? Thanks Carol
Language doesn’t faze me much, Carol, but I don’t recall anything offensive. There may be a few curse words, but there isn’t any sexual content. It depends on how conservative your church group is, but I think this is a wonderful book for discussion groups.
I began to take THE HELP seriously as I noted the interplay of characters from colliding worlds from the beginning. And the sense that I was reading an important book grew on me as I watched Abileen and Minny become the engine, Hilly try to stop the train, and Miss Skeeter teeter her way toward clearer awareness with the humility to notice where the huge gaps remained in her own mind and heart. Especially clear is the marvelous magic having shaped her into a thinking, caring adult – the love and caregiving of her own Constantine, now lost I loved this book and am recommending it to all my friends – makes me recall the strong impact of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD..
Kathy,
I am a big fan of audio books and I think this books was one of the best audio reads ever. The readers chosen for this book absolutely brought this book to life.
Carol,
This would be a PERFECT book for a lady’s church book club. My book club loved it. If cursing and sexual content are key to understanding the characters and circumstances why would your discussion group reject that? I do not understand how one can learn about the human condition if you have to “censor” books and only read those that are free of anything “objectionable”? By the way, this book does not have anything that I think your group would object too. I do hope they open their minds along with opening the book and enjoy!
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[...] The Book Lady’s Blog [...]
Do all the readers read this book without being judgmental? If so, did it make your think of your own prejudices to your fellow man , either black or white and how you treat them?
All of the women in my group were very open-minded and receptive to what Stockett was trying to do in the book, but I can’t make that guarantee about all readers, you know? It sparked a very interesting conversation about the parallels between the treatment of blacks in the book and the treatment of gays and lesbians in contemporary society and really did prompt us to re-examine the automatic assumptions we make about people from different backgrounds. This one really is a wonderful conversation starter.
Books should stimulate thought and and as stated above, a re-examination of our feelings toward assumptions and bias.
Having been born in Alabama and lived there until 1953, my parents never had “help” however, my memories are more of the black lady who was my mother’s friend and helped her so much during her battle with cancer. She was Aunt Carolina to us and we loved her dearly. There are two sides as to how southerners treated their “help” who were in most cases, also their friend.
Good conversation …
[...] in the book club made everyone else slow to recommend selections, so I chose our first three—The Help, The Gargoyle, and The Believers—and the other ladies decided it was time to read something [...]
what did i miss in the book….what was the secret that Aibileen had on Miss Hilly at the end of the book?
I like my books like my movies: all the loose ends get tied up and the bad guy gets his/her comeuppance. This book disappoints on both counts. I read to feel good, not frustrated.
Even though pieces of this story are left open (most likely for a sequel, if you ask me), I thought the ending was ultimately very satisfying. Sorry to hear it wasn’t clean-cut enough for you.
Was the ingredient in the pie what I think or did I miss something? I passed my copy on to a friend and am pondering the question of “the secret”.
It’s what you think it was (if what you’re thinking is poop).
Thanks for reinterating the “secret” of Abilene. I just lost a bit of respect for her to choose this route of retribution. I think she had a lot of other “holds”………..a bit too mean spirited for me………..I mean someone could really suffer , let alone die with this act of vengence.
I have to say that I just finished the audio book and loved it! It completely brings this book to life. I have a 1 year daughter of my own and couldn’t help to see her face and think of her when reading about Mae Mobley. It killed me to think a mother could be so distance from her child and made me love abileen so much more for caring so deeply for a child that is not her own! Loved this book! Please get the audio version, you will not be disappointed!!!
[...] 7. The Help by Kathryn Stockett [...]
It was Milly who used the pie, not Abilene
Does anyone know the significance of the cover design? While pretty, I do not understand how it connects to the book. It brings to mind “Birds on a Wire”, but I have done some searches for that, to no avail. Any insight would be appreciated.
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@Maureen, my personal interpretation was that the three birds can be seen to represent Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny, and they are both apart but also the same. That was my take on it, in any case, but I’m sure other people have other ideas.
I’m a “southern white lady” who lived during this time period, and was upset to have “us” portrayed in the negative stereotypical way that seems to come so easily, even to other southerners. I’m not a fan of this book. Even though it’s just fiction, it perpetrates the idea that the majority of white southerners share the negative traits of both the men and women in the novel.
Both my mother and I had “help” and the stories of the people in the book do not ring true to my experiences. Shame on you, Kathryn Sockett. I surely hope this is the last book by you to be foisted on a gullible public who love to hate southerners.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the book, but that is bound to happen sometimes.
I hardly think Stockett set out to make people hate southerners, as she is one herself, nor do I think her goal was to tell the story of southern white ladies. With THE HELP, Stockett is attempting to tell the story that goes untold and to give voice to the people who have historically not been allowed to speak. She never claims that her story represents all white southerners, and I don’t think that was her intention. However, I think it’s fair to say that the women depicted in this book also thought their “help” were happy and treated well….it’s not really about understanding the experience of the privileged because part of being privileged is NOT having to think about what the less privileged are experiencing. This book is a call for members of the privileged class to take a closer look at their relationships with “the help” and see if they are really as rosy as they’d like to believe.
I just finished the book and really enjoyed it and thought of my mother and aunts who were domestics during that timeframe. While I don’t recall any “horror” stories like those told in the book I do remember hearing them talk about the people they worked for in less than kind ways. I think the important thing about this book is that it gives the perspective of the help. The slaves were not happy dancing for massa and neither were the maids happy cooking and cleaning for the white lady. It was a job and people had to eat. It is not very different today. I worked in corporate America most of my adult life and many times found myself “dancing and smiling in the halls” to keep my job. Young women especially black girls should read this to remind us of how far we’ve come and how important an education is. What happened to Hilly possibly happened many times and it wasn’t always the solid stuff. What do you expect when you can cook the food but couldn’t sit at the same table to eat it. It was crazy. I am hoping for a sequel and definitely am pulling for a movie. Great Read!
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[...] Current Book The Help [...]
[...] reviews at California Literary Review, The Book Lady’s Blog, and Booking Mama. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)The HelpBook Review ~ The Help [...]
I very much enjoyed this book as well, but have one complaint. Did anyone else feel that the end was a bit rushed? The story-telling seemed to switch from cruise to high in the final chapter(s)–sort of like a producer signaling someone to wrap it up (or a publisher pointing to a deadline). On another note, there was a line in the book that totally stuck out to me “I was surprised how loud I thought it.” I loved the idea of volume of a thought to depict deepness of a conviction.
Sweetheart, you are thinking in the context of 2010.
Minny, a black woman in the racist south, has an abusive husband, numerous mouths to feed, a silly white old woman to wait on hand and foot day in and out, she is not even being paid minimum wage; and to top it off, a white woman who is so desperate to put her mother in a nursing home so that she can lay her hands on her mother’s house and money, just informed every single white employer in Jackson that Minny is a Silver thief and you think that this retribution was mean-spirited?
She should have also given her a glass of her piss and told her it was Apple Juice.
Oh Lawsy, Lawsy Lawsy.
You done learn nothin’ from this book. Hilly, is that you? Elizabeth is that you? Instead of opening up yourself to the idea that there were A LOT of white people who were racist and mean to their help, you read it through the lenses of your own experiences. DId the author not include stories about white ladies who were good to their help? Are you in such denial, that you think that it was sunshine and daisies for all the Black Help?
Furthermore, in your white superiority and arrogance, you a) cannot accept that the book is fictitious, and b) that maybe your experiences did not mirror that of your help. Have you thought about that?
No, I felt that everything had to come to a head. To me the book followed the same pace as the fictitious book that was being written. A build up to a satisfying climax.
I’m not old enough to have lived during those times, but I certainly saw my family reflected in the characters, both good and bad. I heard my grandmother’s voice, and a lot of voices I knew from her hometown while reading, which was very bittersweet for me. It felt comfortable yet not, because while the housekeeper/caregiver role isn’t the norm anymore, the prejudice and ignorance in the book is still prevalent in certain parts of America. I bought a copy for my mom, who remembers playing with the field help’s kids on her grandfather’s farm, she is enjoying it in the same bittersweet way I did. Maybe even more so, considering she is roughly the same age as Skeeter would be now.
[...] The Book Lady’s Blog: “The Help is addictively, compulsively readable. I couldn’t put it down. Stockett’s debut is well-written, and it is clear that she really understands Southern life and has made great efforts to understand what life was like for black women who served white families. She presents sad stories that leave a great glimmer of hope, and though she examines our differences and our mistakes, she highlights our humanity to wonderful effect.” [...]
i have been listening to this book on xm radio. the women reading this book make me feel that I am right there.That they are telling me their story.It’s the best book I ever herd on audio
I enjoyed the book; what struck me is how some of the women (Elizabeth, in particular) could not or would not recognize themselves in the book.
It makes me think of all the times in today’s society where we fail to see ourselves in the wrong. It can’t happen here … This is a good community … These are good kids.
The harassment and verbal abuse heaped upon the maids fell within the boundaries of acceptable behavior.
Sure, things are better today. But we can’t be complacent.
I enjoyed this book and could not put it down! I applaud the aurhor for touching on our (americas) dirt little secret of terrible race relations! This should be required reading in schools as it is the perfect catalist to promote discussion on race relations. We as a country have yet to explore this issue together! To be honest in new york & other majot cities domestic workers contine to be exploited as childcare providers ( in home) w little pay, no pto or sick leave benefits working 12 hr days! Many of the women of foreign decent!
I also enjoyed this book and could not put it down. However, I am not sure if the book is really all about race relations. A lot of issues between the white ladies and the help were just like any employer – employee relationships. It is very rare when a boss treats an employee as a friend or family. Usually people in power take advantage of it.
I have been inspired to read this book from the above book review, comments, and the announcement that it will be filmed primarily in my hometown, Greenwood, from today’s newspaper.
This book is fabulous. I grew up white in the South and could relate to all of it. I especially liked the author’s precise spelling and speech of the dialect! It is the first book I have ever read that accurately spells out the dialect. I felt so at home. I will not recommend it to my black friends, however, for they may not completely realize what their great grandmothers lived through and it may hurt too much. Neither my family nor our friends had maids or any other help, but I still believe that it speaks true. I couldn’t put the book down!
So I know I’m late, but I’ve just finished reading “The Help” yesterday. I’m a 29 year old bi-racial (black/white) woman. I didn’t grow up in the south, though the relationships between blacks and whites have been at the forefront of my upbringing. The complexities of these relationships are the hardest to articulate and I feel Kathryn has done so brilliantly. I admire her honesty at the ‘in here own words’ at the end of the book. There something about it when an author has drawn pieces of a story from their own life. These stories of segregation are so hard for me to except not having lived through it, but only hearing about the experiences from my elders. They are stories that need to continue to be told and people who think they can change the history books (Texas) just puts us back 100 years. I think black, white, latino, asian…everyone should read it. People should get angry about what happened and maybe people will get fired up and make sure it never happens again. We can’t hide it. This book represents us moving forward by facing our demons and praying we never repeat this attitude of inferiority and racism again. Thank you Kathryn Stockett!
At my school the faculty and staff have summer reading just like the students. This summer we have the opportunity to choose our book from 4 selected books. We have been challenged to find a blog and follow it as we read. I have found your blog. I have read the book once. But I was enjoying it so much that I rushed through it. I am looking forward to re-reading it and savoring the characters and the plot.
Welcome! It’s been a year and a half since I read THE HELP, but I hope you’ll find plenty of other good recommendations here.
I HAVE RECENTLY READ tHE hELP.iT WAS A BOOKCLUB BOOK THAT OUR LIBRARY PURCHASED.i ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE BOOK FOR SO MANY REASONS.I READ FRONT TO BACK AND SIMPLY COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. THE SUSPENCE, THE DIALOGUE ,THE CHARACTERS ALTOGETHER CREATED A UNIFIED PICTURE OF A TIME IN THE PAST WHEN ATTITUDES WERE STARTING TO CHANGE IN A PART OF AMERICA.SIMILARY ALL OVER AMERICA AND THE WORLD THERE WAS A WIND OF CHANGE ABLOWING. LIBERATION OF WOMEN,MUSIC,SEXUAL ATTITUDES,HUMAN RIGHTS OF MANY OPPRESSED GROUPS AND SO ON.WHAT A GREAT TIME TO READ ABOUT THOSE TIMES AND EXAMINE OUR TIMES WITH AN OPEN MIND AND AN OPEN HEART.BEING AWARE AND BEING HONEST WITH OURSELVES ABOUT OUR BELIEFS AND OUR ATTITUDES IS NOT ALWAYS EASY FOR MANY PEOPLE.lETS FACE IT THOSE THINGS DID HAPPEN AND LETS NOT FORGET OR GET TO BLIND IN OUR COMFORTABLE LIVES AND FORGET THAT ,THOSE SORTS OF ATTITUDES ARE STILL ALIVE AND WELL IN 2010.HIRED HELP LIKE HISPANIC PEOPLES,FILOPINO MAIDS AND CLEANERS(PARTICULARY ABUSED THROUGHOUT MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD) ARE ONLY A COUPLE OF GROUPS THAT STILL PUT UP WITH UNCONCIOUS HUMANS WHO CONSIDER THEMSELVES SUPERIOR TO THEIR “help.” Thank you yo Kathryn Stockeytt for bringing up these issues so we can all examine ourselves and our need to make the world a MORE LOVING,MORE KIND and MORE TOLERANT Place .LETS ALL TRY TO BECOME FULLY CONCIOUS ,AWARE AND present ……………………..thanks for listening love and joy to all of you out there especially to those that need it the most,like Hilly and her ignorant young friends.Remember how they became the women they were,think of how much FEAR they felt through innorance and programming by their forefathers.They were all victims of the same unconcious past.Only with love can the world change.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wanda Jewell, Wanda Jewell. Wanda Jewell said: Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett | The Book Lady's Blog http://ow.ly/2c0Gy + 2010 SIBA Book Award Winner http://ow.ly/2c0Gz [...]
To SDB:
You vague reference to changing history books in TX is out of place here.
Jump on your soap box in a different forum please.
I am from TX. I loved the book.
I am under 35 years old and white.
I have never had ‘help’. Nor did my parents – but my grandmother did – her name was Cocoa and she was an awesome lady. I was 23 when Cocoa died. I went to her funeral. It was attended by blacks, hispanics and white people.
THE HELP was a fantasticly written novel about a very interesting time.
I hope she writes another.
Another book writen from a white womans perspective, pretending to empathize with black people along with all the readers who try to wash their sin from daily subtle discrimination. Yes subtle! Like when a black women enters a high end store at the same time as a white woman and the clerk attends the white lady first. Or when you check people from head to toe first before you say hello. This book would not be read by white women if it was writen by a black female writer. You read this book to get some king of insight into the life of a slave women! You want enlighteent! Attend an all black church, live in black communities instead of gated communities, paint your face with grease and walk around the mall and count the stange looks that you get, or try to go through airport security with your face all graded up, only then will you begun to get a clue.