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)

Wonderful

I loved this book. The characters were so well written. I loved the movie but this is so much better.

Excellent

what a pleasure! witty, heartfelt and moving. The hours I spent listening to this book flew by, i didn't want it to end.

Laughed, cried, could not stop listening...

My children are telling me to stop talking "southern", I loved this book!

Why haven't you download this book yet!!!!!!!!

Hands down one of the best books I have ever listened to. Any audible junkie like myself knows the narrator(s)can make or brake how one enjoys a book. This gets my highest marks. The story was very well written but the narrators made this book captivating. Many of my friends are hard core book readers. I begged them to download this book just to immerse themselves in the story and feel the characters. I promise anyone who reads this review that you will NOT feel your money was wasted. I will never look at a Chocolate pie the same way again. Ok now what are you waiting for.......download it!!!!!

One of my favorite listens

I have listened to 20-25 books through audible, and this may have been my favorite in terms of the listening experience. This is one of those books that is perhaps better in the audible format. Deciding to use multiple narrators to fit the characters was an excellent choice. The performance flew by and kept the listener entertained throughout. I would thoroughly recommend this book!

Best Audiobook Ever

Many have said before me, this is my first review. I am inspired to share my thoughts as well about this book - it was riviting. As an African-American female, born and raised in the northeast, I was alternately shocked, appalled, crying, and laughing aloud as I listened. I have listened 3 times and can't get enough. It's like reading the Bible, each time I listen, I hear something new or have another thought, feel more enlightned. and this is far and away the best audiobook I have ever purchased. Every audio customer should hear this one. I hope it will be made into a movie and done as well as the audio. What an absolute delight.Congratulations Audible.com - you picked a winner.

The Help

great story, terrific narration, poignant and funny. best listen so far on audible. Highly recommend

The very very best!

This is by far the best book I have had the honor of listening to. I can't even put into words how much I loved this book and so I won't even try~ Just take my word for it ~ You really must hear The Help. You will never regret it.

Kathryn Stockett is on her way ~ What an amazing first novel! Thank you so very much for this book~

Outstanding! The old South as it really was.

Stockett has captured the old South that I remember all too well. The characters are unforgettable; the narrators are perfect for the parts. I did not want the book to end.

With deep understanding and humor, Stockett has captured the strange, awful, yet sometimes wonderful relationship between the races in the old South. The attitude that "those people" were just marvelous "in their place." The deep trauma suffered by those who could not escape it and those who strived to change it.

This novel captures the beginnings of the civil rights movement from a truly different perspective, one that was shared by millions but little understood or celebrated. From the author who wanted to tell their stories and the domestic workers she helped to chronicle (and you cannot separate Stockett from her alter ego), you draw a picture of what was real, what was terrible in that reality, and how the seeds of change were planted in ordinary people who became extraordinary. Complex characters, enough suspense to keep you reading (or listening), and a deeply satisfying experience. Thank you, Kathryn Stockett.

Wonderful Story

I could not predict what was going to happen next which always makes for a good story.