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)

The best!!

Best book I’ve ever heard on audible!! The readers were so great!! Loved the movie also but in so glad I listened to the book.
Lonesome Dove was a close second! Without a doubt my 2 favorites!

Help

What did you love best about The Help?

The characters from this book stay with me - triggered memory of their long journey comes at odd times. That only happens when a book is truly memorable. Good read.

Excellent!

I learned so much from this book. What a beautiful story. The voices were also first rate.--Get it!

great audio!

characters are very believable, and strong story.

Hypnotic narrative

The writing and narration are both so excellent, and the narration in particular, that this book takes you immediately away to the rooms, kitchens, streets and porches of this story. It's one of the most perfect audiobooks I've had the pleasure of listening to. I was compelled from beginning to end, but listened particularly intently to Abelene and Minnie, who now seem like friends. I highly recommend this book, and definitely in audio . A literary experience heightened through listening.

Audiobook Heaven!

Where does The Help rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is by far the absolute BEST audiobook I've ever had the pleasure of hearing!

Who was your favorite character and why?

It was so hard to choose a favorite character because each reader portrayed their characters in such a way, it was hard to not like them all. But, if forced to choose, Minnie would win. She kept me laughing with her tough exterior and the fear she refused to let them see.

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

I love the accents they used. It helped to put me more in that time period, that place. I was born after these events, but they made my mind go right there, just where I needed to be to experience this rich tale.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed at certain parts and found myself replaying them over and over. Then there were times I felt sorrow for the characters and wanted to really be there and offer them a hug. I was truly pulled into this world.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful book! Now I want to watch the movie. I just hope it can stand up to the book and the wonderful narrators.

I'm Ruined

This was the most well-written book I've ever "read," and the most well-narrated book I've ever heard. I love these characters and feel like they are family. Wonderful, beautiful, touching, heartbreaking, fascinating. MUST GET. I wish I could hear it again for the first time.

Extremely enjoyable listen!

The way this books is read makes you feel like it pulls you in from the very first sentence... and you just want to know more, more, more. Every time I had to stop it, I couldn't wait to go back to it!

It's written beautifully and the way it's read truly makes it something to "experience". Listen to it, it's worth it!

Amazing story

What made the experience of listening to The Help the most enjoyable?

The four diferent narrators added a great depth to the book

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hilly, of course

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

The diversity of voices

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

I enjoyed breaking it up a little. It gave me time to digest what I had listened to previously

PLEASE Say The Help 2 is Coming Soon!!!

A magnificent book brought brilliantly to life through the narrative voices provided by the writer and audible.com. I hope we can look forward to a continuation of The Help so we can follow the next chapters of these marvelous characters through the voices of Ms. Stockett and the fabulous narrators.