Another Great Read

I have just finished re-reading The Help for my book club. We have talked about reading it for many months, but were waiting for the paperbacks to be published. Being on the list at the library seemed to take longer than anyone's patience could endure.

What drove us to reading this together now was the fact that a movie will soon be released and we want to have a chance to discuss it before seeing the film.

I am very conscious of being a life-long Yankee, a stranger in another culture, when I read a book set in the South, especially when it concerns race relations.

My only experience was six months in Virginia in the early 60's. ( Hardly long enough to qualify as an observer in that length of time. ) Especially after coming from a part of the country with so little diversity, as I mentioned the other day.

But, I have lived among other people for a very long time indeed. I have observed some people with a sense of entitlement and superiority for no particular reason that I could discern. So I have no trouble at all with believing that a fair cross section of employers and maid's experiences are represented.

So I have to join the legions of others who enjoyed and heartily recommend this book. I liked the characters, except for the rascally villians, and I enjoyed the various plot lines and the mysteries that were part of the story.

Now, I ardently hope they made a wonderful movie from the book!