Each month Abington Library will feature a favorite book from a faculty, staff member, or student. They will give a brief synopsis of their chosen book. All books featured are available for check-out at the library.
Linda Freeland of Scotland, is a Part-time Student Service Administrative Assistant at the ASU-Searcy Campus.
The Help
By Kathryn Stockett
I was astonished this novel was rejected by 60 literary agents before agent Susan Rammer agreed to represent American Novelist Kathryn Stokett. The Help is about African-American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s. It is Stockett’s debut novel which took her five years to complete, and since its release in 2009, it has been published in 42 languages. It spent more than 100 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List, and has sold over ten million copies. Two years later it became a successful movie.
“The Help” is an inspiring and empowering story centering around three very different extraordinary women who build on an improbable friendship around undertaking a writing project. “Skeeter” is a young white female journalist who becomes interested in the difficulties of black maids of white families. Two maids of particular interest were “Abeleen” and “Minny”. As each woman finds the courage to cross boundaries, they begin to rely on each other. Skeeter writes their stories about the mistreatment, abuse, injustice and heartbreaks of working in white families’ households. This book is beautifully crafted. Once I began I could not put this book down for three days. It was a very humbling experience which I did not want to end. It is a must read novel for those who believe love overpowers hate.
It is a story about the ability to hope, change and love. We are challenged to empathize, respect and treat each other with equality because we are all worthy regardless of appearance. We have undoubtedly come a long way since 1962.
- Linda Freeland
