Challenge 2: A Book That Was Made Into a Movie

Donna's Book: "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett (Fig Tree/Penguin, 2009)

I've been meaning to watch this film ever since one of the students in my 'Black America' history class talked about it during a class discussion.  I still will try to watch the film sometime, but it's a always a good idea to read the book first!

I have a feeling that I will either love this book or give up halfway through.  We shall find out which it is over the next month!

Comments:

And the answer to that question is that I loved it!

This is a truly amazing book and I would recommend it to everyone.  It deals with the sensitive issue of race relations in Mississippi in 1963 but from the point of view of the women, both black and white, who were all, in their own ways, prisoners of the time and place in which they lived.  At times this book is utterly heart-breaking and I could almost taste the terror that the women felt as they prepared to publish their stories.  However, their strength shines through and, without wishing to give away the end or the twists and turns to the plot, ultimately this is a very positive tale.

What is most striking though is the simplicity of the women's stories.  The public image of Civil Rights is of marches, speeches, legislation, sit-ins, grand public events.  What "The Help" shows, though is the way that simple acts of kindness and caring, and touching the heart of a child can also change the world.

Once I started reading The Help, I couldn't put it down and, perhaps the best compliment I can pay is that I want to read MORE.  I want to know more about the lives of these women.

The challenge this month was a book that had been made into a film.  I haven't seen the film yet, and I don't know if I want to.  Can a film do justice to the warmth and depth of the characters that shines through on every one of the book's pages?  I don't know if I want to risk finding out!