Hardcover
English language
Published Jan. 13, 2009 by Thorndike Press.
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss, but her mother will not be happy until she has a ring on her finger. Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Minny, Aibileen's best friend, can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue so she can't keep a job. It's 1962, and these three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step that forever changes a town and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. (back cover)
In 1960s Mississippi, white women and the black maids they employ navigate the upheaval of the civil rights movement. The contrast of ingrained racism and the deep emotional integration of black women into white family life is astounding. Potential for deep analysis, but you can also just enjoy the story.
Loved it. A very emotional story set in Jackson, Mississipi in the early 60s. We get three different PoVs: Aibileen and Minny, two black maids, and Skeeter, a white young woman who starts a project of interviewing maids about their work to make it as a big time author.
The only thing I found a bit grating at times was the dialect all the black characters used, whereas all white women spoke flawlessly. A bit too much. Other than that, it was a lovely read.
