An ordinary man can... surround himself with two thousand books...and thenceforward have at least one place in the world in which it is possible to be happy- Augustine Birrell
Dear all,
August is upon us, and with it comes a new book club pick!
Our third meeting took place at the Reading Room at Hart House, which was lovely- we ended up having a fun time eating light snacks and a round of Murder Mystery in light of our previous book club pick, Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express".
We now turn to our August book club pick: Kathryn Stockett's "The Help"
Summary:
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.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women-mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends-view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.
Here is a great clip that depicts an interview with the author, where she talks about the novel and its success.
I can't wait to get started on this book- fortunately enough I was able to acquire a signed copy of "The Help"- which I will treasure.
Throughout this moth, I will continue to post all things Kathryn Stockett and "The Help"- tune in for more blog posts!
Until then, happy reading! Feel free to discuss with each other through the comments box.
Joanne
