by Kathryn Stockett
4 out of 5 stars
What else can be said about this book? It has fantastic dialogue, and Stockett did a bang-up job of capturing each character's voice, which really adds so much to this story. I read this vs. listening to it. I think whoever reads this will have to be a phenomenal talent to pull it off. I caught a partial interview w/the author on NPR and was intrigued. What stuck with me was her experience growing up in the South and being raised by "domestic help" who were "trusted with the children, but not the good silverware." You will wonder how people can treat others as depicted in this novel and then remember, oh yeah, it's still happening. I've since seen the movie, which was good, but of course the book has a lot more depth.
Certainly the segregation and discrimination against blacks is central to the story, but what struck me was also how white women were treated as fragile idiots and/or second class citizens. It was bordering on scandalous for Skeeter to want a career instead of marriage, and when she finally did get a job, it was by a condescending prick of an editor who assigned her to write a household tips column -- at who knows what wage, but not that of a man. It's hard to fathom even that, let alone being a black female. And yet...it was totally normal for the time. Makes you wonder what a generation or two from now will think about current views on gay marriage, religion, people dying for lack of health insurance... Hopefully we continue to evolve sooner rather than later.
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