The Help by Kathryn Stockett - A Review

You may have already read Actually Mummy's guest review of the film The Help but now you can read my review of the book, and what a corker it is.

I was totally absorbed by the deliciousness of this book, the characters, the writing and the story line. Each dripped with a sweetness and lightness that, despite the dark underlying theme, brought smiles to my face.

Skeeter, the daughter of a cotton farmer in Mississippi, is an aspiring writer who lands a job on the local newspaper writing a household tips column. Knowing next to nothing about housework, she enlists the assistance of Aibileen the maid to her friend Elizabeth. Talking to her reveals her deceased son's idea to write a book about the black maids in service and their tales, and this gets her naturally journalistic mind plotting. Together with another maid, Minny who has a bit of a reputation locally for talking back, Skeeter sets out to write the book.

Set in the 1960's when crossing racial boundaries was not tolerated, the relationships that develop between the black Help and the white employers is startlingly rich, involved  and sometimes very candid. It is interesting to see how the boundaries are crossed, a little here, and a little there, where a black maid is trusted to practically bring up a white child, just as Skeeter was brought up by her maid, yet they are required to use a separate bathroom because they are dirty and germ ridden. Today this seems completely outrageous and contradictory yet this was the way of life in this era.

I hate using the word 'journey' unless you are packing a bag and using some form of transport to get you somewhere, but following how Skeeter's character develops and grows as she returns from college and her career aspirations unfold, remind me exactly of a journey that is full of adventure. There are laughs along the way and a dalliance with romance, but the undercurrent of tension as each woman fears they may be found out, is perfectly balanced with day to day life.

All I can say is read this book. Even if you have seen the film, it is worth breaking the unwritten rule for. (The one where you should never watch the film of the book or read the book of the film).

(I've just written the unwritten rule now. Oh.)

The Mystery Of The Missing Vowel

In the summer holidays the Big One discovered the Cbeebies Jackanory game where you chose your character and then told a story about it. It was great fun but I think it has been removed from the site because I can't find it anymore :-(. You could then print it out and make it into a little book. He made a few of these stories over the holidays and was very proud of them.

I was having a clear out today and found this one.

The Big One tells the story of Super Sammy. It is a lovely story about his hero rescuing a dog from a building and they live happily ever after.

Shame about the typo on the cover though!

I am joining in with Actually Mummy's Wot So Funee Meme.
Go and have a giggle!

The Help - A Review

This is a guest post from the very lovely (and ever so slightly lippy ;-) ) Actually Mummy who was treated by Disney to a fab night at the movies courtesy of Britmums.


"Mummy has been treated well this week, and me and the Bug have been abandoned children yet again. Her blogging friend invited her to a glitzy film screening of "The Help" in London, but couldn’t go at the last minute* and gave both her tickets to Mummy. She tried to get another blogger to go with her, but for some reason none of them were free (maybe it’s her reputation for drinking and talking rubbish – I’ve told her people like to get a word in edgeways sometimes).


Nor could she get a babysitter to allow Daddy to accompany her. Do you know what she did? She made our regular babysitter (who could only manage until 7.30) rope in some of her friends for the later stints, engineering a kind of babysitting relay of girls we (and she) had never met! Off she trotted with never a backward glance for ‘pre-screening drinks’. Oh yes, I know where Mummy’s priorities lie!

So, did she think the film was worth the weekend of reproach I have doled out? Well, she read Kathryn Stockett’s book a while ago, loved it, and has discussed it at her book club, so it wasn’t boding well. You know how it goes, love the book, hate the film and vice versa. (Although personally if they made a film of all 113…114….115…Rainbow Fairy books I would promise to love each and every one of them!).

Well, she came home happy, and it wasn’t just from the wine at the event. She says "The Help" is a great watch, although probably one to watch with the girls. Emma Stone as Skeeter was way more beautiful than depicted in the book, but was so engaging as the would-be journalist with a bee in her bonnet about the shoddy treatment of African-American maids at the hands of white homeowners in Mississippi during the 1960’s. Viola Davis shone with the dignity of Aibileen’s character in the book, but Mummy was surprised that Octavia Spencer as Minny was not as feisty as her literary counterpart. Even so, this is a great story, with some tears along the way, as well as a couple of wine-snorting moments of giggling. I would have liked to see that: 40 bloggers snorting wine must be an interesting sight! It seems that Mummy and Daddy had a great evening, and must surely owe Five Go Blogging a lovely treat sometime soon!

And how did our evening go? Pretty well, actually. We wound up our regular babysitter with the usual fun and games, and then conned the new girls into the belief that it is entirely normal to need warm milk and a packet of raisins an hour or two after going to bed!"


Thank you for the great review Actually Mummy. I hope daddy wasn't too bored and that the babysitters have recovered! I look forward to seeing Mummy very soon when it is highly possible more babysitters will be required!  

*I'm still narked about that!