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!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mini - She speaks her mind.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Different voices. There are several actors used to depict the different voices.

A great read / listen for all reasons

One of the highest motives to "read" a book is to find out about something you may not have known you were deficient in. This book fully served to teach me something I did not know about -- the personal face of segregation and prejudice. But that sounds far too heavy a reason for selecting a book when daily life itself is so pressured.

Another, more general purpose to pick a book is to be entertained. This book fully entertained, engaged, and sucked me into its story and characters. The setting is developed beautifully and believably.

And the purpose of an audio book should be to enhance the message and the purposes of the print book. This audio version achieves that beautifully as well. The different narrators make the different voices of the characters come alive. Language researcher Steve Krashen talks about the "din" in one's head when one has been deeply exposed to aural input. Well, I'm walking around, still hearing Skeeter's and Aibilene's voices in my head.

This book is a great read and an ever better listen.

I was so sorry it ended.

I loved this book so much. I never thought an audio book could be better than reading the book, but the narrators were so wonderful. I will listen to this book again which I never do and I've recommended it to everyone I know.

great story, great narration!

overall a fantastic book, great story. made you feel like you were actually there in that town in that time!

A story I couldn't stop listening to

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to anyone wanting a riveting story, a fictional glimpse into the segregation-era South, and a truly moving tale. I listen at bedtime and most books -- even good ones -- put me to sleep (that's part of what I enjoy about audiobooks). The Help was a story I had to force myself to turn off when I realized I was listening well past when I would have ideally gone to sleep. So, despite the fact that I lost some sleep listening to The Help, I am so grateful I made this purchase.

The Help

What a wonderful story to listen to! The various voices of the women narrators were genuine and engaging, allowing you to enter into their lives and experience the attitudes of the time. The pace of the book was perfect, encouraging just a little more listening at the end of each chapter.

The Best Book I've Read in a Long Time

I agree that this book is superb. The characters were richly drawn and deeply developed yet even the darkest of them one can have compassion for. The storyline is such a wonderful weaving of the events in the deep south during the early 60's, interlocking both the white and black point of view. I love that it is all from womens' point of view, which gives the book an empathy one would not find with major male characters. I really wanted a volume two of this book, I hated for it to end. I've been recommending it to everyone I know, especially if you grew up in the 50's or 60's, no matter where in the US you lived, civil rights affected you as did the events of that era and this book touches upon it all. If you grew up after that era and you only know of the Civil Rights Movement through historical study, reading this book is a great way to get a feel for what civil rights is all about.

Captivating

As a commuter I listen to a multitude of books, this one was by far the best book to listen too. Many have excellent story lines, and so so narration, or the other way around. This book was excellent in all ways. I looked forward to getting into the car just to turn the story on. Masterfull!

The movie left out plenty!! Worth a credit!!!

I listened to this book before I saw the movie! The movie couldn't cover it all....but they left out the more edgy and hilarious parts!!! Spend the credit...the reading is wonderful! I enjoyed this story!!

I hated when the book ended!

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

Absolutely, completely WONDERFUL.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I absolutely wanted to continue listening to this book all of the time. I started listening to it while cooking and driving distances shorter than three minutes to continue listening.