I usually read books that center around the twenty-first century so reading The Help was a refreshing change. In this book Stockett illuminates the harshness of living in Mississippi during the 1980s. She does so by telling the stories of three different characters; two colored maids and a persevering white woman writer. By choosing characters from this time-frame and education she was able to write the book in a way that is relatable to most readers. Although the slang is dated to that time, Stockett keeps the dialogue simple and easy to understand which makes the story more genuine and personal in my opinion.
Overall the book is not extremely challenging. Of course, it is in no way an easy book to read and I wouldn't recommend it to younger than high school readers, but the author was able to write it in more of a popular diction. Even thought the wording was not entirely challenging, I did find myself rereading parts of the book to get a better understanding.
In the beginning of the book, I found it a bit challenging to keep track of each of the characters because they switch off every few chapters. It also made it kind of difficult to really connect with who they were. As the book progressed however, the characters became more clear and pronounced and I got used to the style of writing. I found it interesting how each character, seemingly unrelated to each other at the beginning, began to get tied in with each other's stories.
It didn’t take long before I could admit that I was in love with this book. The story was interesting and it was an entirely new setting compared to my usual book choices. The more I read, the more hooked I got to the characters, the plot, and the lifestyle of the people in the "Old South." After finishing the book, I agree with the authors choice to switch the characters. By showing the different views and thoughts of completely different people really added depth and made the book more addictive. I would absolutely recommend this to everyone, it is fantastic.
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