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)

Fantastic Listen

This is a fantastic listen and I think it is an important book. The narration is wonderful and the story is gripping. I couldn't stop listening.

Couldn't stop listening

This was a mesmerizing audiobook that was completely on point! I found myself ashamed to be white at times.
Kathryn captured the heart, spirit and some of the 'dirty little secret's' of the deep south in the 60's. Hard to believe it wasn't that long ago. Even I can remember the 'white only' drinking fountains and 'colored' bathrooms when we lived in Virginia Beach as a child.
We have come far but still have a ways to go

Fabulous

Captivating book. the performance was superb. emotionally moving. it will be difficult to find a better book. G-d bless!

So glad I finally read this

I had put this on my wish list LONG ago and always passed over it. I had no clue what I was missing.
This books is just wonderful! The different points of view make it an easy "read" and makes it so much fun to follow!
For a very heavy topic this is handled in a light insightful way... there were many times I was laughing out loud! Even my sic-fi loving hubby liked this book and laughed right along with me!
The narrators are amazing!

Loved the narration

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

The different narrators made this book so enjoyable. The narration was performed by 4 people and their story lines often mingled together, making it a seemingly difficult task to be able to portray the other narrator's character; however they pull it off shockingly well.

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

Character personality. They were wonderful.

Awesome Help

My wife and I became enthralled with the characters in this book. The narrators are able to bring these people to life in a way that takes you back to that time and place in all too realistic a manner and also shows how far we have come in our society. Too much awful history with this type of discrimination and attitudes towards blacks and we can only be thankful that a book such as this can make us realize that we can never return to that day and age.

Superb in every aspect!

Not only was the story moving and gripping, the performance was incredible! I genuinely can't give the performers enough credit for their skill. To say this book is worth your time is an understatement.

Wow.

It was with great trepidation that I purchased, then started, this book. However, all my concerns were immediately laid to rest as I heard the first few passages of Abilene's story, which reflected the lives of so many amazing women I have known.

This is not only an exceptionally well-written novel, but the pacing and narration of this book is one of the best I have ever heard. I eagerly await Ms. Stockett's next work, as well as any other audiobooks narrated by Ms. Campbell, Ms. Lamia, Ms. Spencer, or Ms. Turpin.

A MUST!!

Don't let this one go unread! It keeps you interested the whole listen! I listen while working and never lost my attention. SOOO GLAD TO HAVE GOTTEN THIS AUDIO!!

LOVE!

I loved this book. Not only did it keep me interested and not want to stop listening, but it was enlightening to hear how it was in a time that really wasn't too long ago. I watched the movie after reading this and although it was good, the book (as always) was much better.