The Help

The Help is the phenomenal international bestseller (that inspired the Oscar-nominated film) by Kathryn Stockett, published as a Penguin Essential for the first time"[A] nuanced variation on [a familiar] theme that strikes every note with authenticity. In a page-turner that brings new resonance to the moral issues involved, [Stockett] spins a story of social awakening as seen from both sides of the American racial divide." - The Washington PostEnter a vanished and unjust world- Jackson, Mississippi, 1962. Where black maids raise white children, but aren't trusted not to steal the silver... Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny. No one would believe they'd be friends; fewer still would tolerate it. But as each woman finds the courage to cross boundaries, they come to depend and rely upon one another. Each is in search of a truth. And together they have an extraordinary story to tell..."The remarkable women at the centre of this novel, one white and two black, are emblematic of many women of the era... The women's lives become intertwined when Skeeter, who wants to write a book, persuades Jackson's maids to share their experiences — good and bad — working for white families. Tension mounts as the women, fearing for their lives, take personal risks so their stories can be included in Skeeter's book, called Help ... Her pitch-perfect depiction of a country's gradual path toward integration will pull readers into a compelling story that doubles as a portrait of a country struggling with racial issues." - Carol Memmot, USA TodayIn 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, and friends — view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humour, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don’t. Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women: 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.