The Help

By: Kathryn Stockett

Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, Cassandra Campbell

Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

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 17th 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.

This edition now includes the afterword "Too Little, Too Late—Kathryn Stockett in Her Own Words", as read by the author.

Bonus Audio: Hear an exclusive interview with Kathryn Stockett.

©2009 Kathryn Stockett, Cover Art: (c) 2011 DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC (P)2009 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“The two principal maid characters...leap off the page in all their warm, three dimensional glory...[A] winning novel.” (The New York Times)

“This could be one of the most important pieces of fiction since To Kill a Mockingbird…If you read only one book...let this be it.” (NPR.org)

“A beautiful portrait of a fragmenting world.” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Excellent!

This was as satisfying as seeing the movie - which I have watched twice now. The narrators are just awesome.

A Must Read

This was an amazing listen. The stories are heart touching and some are heart breaking. Getting an in depth look at their lives and watching them grow together was incredible. This is a strongly written story. Thank you Ms. Stockett for inviting us into this world.

I Laughed out loud and were moved to tears

If you could sum up The Help in three words, what would they be?

Female power within

What other book might you compare The Help to and why?

Can't think of any right now. A Civil Rights one comes to mind, but the angle of complicity and clash between female charachters is unique.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Minie.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The previous to last chapter, when Abileen is saying goodbye. I was crying with her.

Any additional comments?

Excpetional voices added to the gripping story in a way that made the book inmensily enjoyable.

Stays with you

This book is one that stays with you. The characters are real people and they are beautifully read in this recording.

Interesting that the character that doesn't speak, Constantine, is just as three-dimensional as the others.

I want to know what happened to all of them after this book ended.

I loved it!!!!

It was as good as I expected it to be because are always a bit better than the movie. The movie definitely did the book proud

The Help

What a wonderful story line with all the intermixed lives of so many and yet easy to follow.
I loved the whole series and the talent of the story teller to keep the characters alive and believable.
Thank you.
MM

The Help

An amazing story - a must hear for all. A real eye-opener. Loved every joyous, tearful, minute. Laughing out loud one minute, crying the next. Sharing the fear of the story-tellers.

Eye Opener

How brave to share these stories. The Help are performing a job, just like Tellers.

Great

I love the story and I felt like I was part of the story.

Amazing narration and story!!!

I watched the movie first and finding out it was a book made me rush to find it. The narration is so amazing in this and, like most times, I loved it more than the movie. (Though the movie was great too, I recommend it after listening to the book)