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)

Enjoyed the story and the narration was excellent

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

The full cast narration makes the story easy to follow since it is told from many points of view. I enjoyed the story and appreciated the treatment of a pretty sensitve topic, even 50 years later. For the generation that came right as the civil right movement was happening, this can be an interesting point of view into the very turbulent time we were born. It is also this great tale of Mother and Daughter and the struggles we have to exert our independence and break free from expectations that are a generation too old.

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

My Hollywood by Mona Simpson. They are similar stories told from many points of view about the raising of children and white women's dependence on now immigrant labor to help balance the demands of life with child rearing.

Which scene was your favorite?

I laughed out loud at the scene where the Minny takes on the naked man in Celia's front yard and I shed a few tears of happiness at the scene where Ablieen's church gives her a copy of the book and gives her one for Skeeter too.

If you could take any character from The Help out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I loved Minny, she was fearless and strong and outgoing and opinionated. Would love to have a few beers with her. But I think I'd like to have dinner with Skeeter, get her thoughts on what it takes to be both a Southernly woman, but also a strong and independent one.

Excellent Listen

I am a new book "listener" - and this book was fantastic. I tend to listen the most while driving and I found myself sitting in my car just so I could listen longer... The narrating was top shelf, the story riveting, the characters interesting and it was easy to get invested in them.

First Audible Book

This is a great way to start your Audible life! The readers made this book come alive and the story line is very interesting. Loved it.

Brilliant and most entertaining!

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

Yes, I would recommend this book to almost everyone I know. It was so engrossing, well written and well performed. A pure joy to listen to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Help?

The horrible and hilarious dinner party with "the dress". Of course the chocolate pie was classic too. So many great moments in this book it's hard to really pick one.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

If you could rename The Help, what would you call it?

I would not rename it.

Any additional comments?

All of the narration was fantastic. Very well acted. The writing was so good that it deserved this great performance.

Love, Love, Love This Book!!

Would you listen to The Help again? Why?

I was just completely enthralled in the entire story and the narrators were outstanding.

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

Yes, I couldn't stop listening. I finished it in two days!

Any additional comments?

I highly, highly recommend this novel.

Better than the movie

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

A look back

What did you like best about this story?

I loved every part of this book... One of the best I've ever come across..

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

I like the fact that each character narrated their own story.

Who was the most memorable character of The Help and why?

Skeeter

Any additional comments?

If you have seen this movie you need to buy this book, there is so much more detail in the book.. worth every penny you will pay for it...

The Help

Wonderful - I listen to audile books often and have never done a review but this audio formt of this novel is (I didn't want the book end t to end); this was the most outstanding audio production I've ever listened to. The voice character were well casted. All too often, is seems as though the reader is picked off the street (men trying to do women's vices, visa versa or one voice trying to do every character - doesn't). I highly recommend this for anyone who as been so disgusted with an audio book because of the narrator - you'er in for a real treat with The Help.

Amazing!

This book has stayed with me. It captures you from the very beginning and won't let go until you finish. The characters are so intriguing!

One of the best

this as one of the best books I have read or heard if such a long time!! Everyone should have a listen.

The Help review

I lived during this era but did not realize what was happening. Born in 1959, most of the facts were kept from me as a white child. I really enjoyed listening to this and it was so easy to feel the pain of the characters of the book.