author: Kathryn Stockett
genre: fiction
I finished this novel about a week ago but am just now writing this review because I needed to mull it over a bit. I definitely recommend this book; I enjoyed reading it. But you need to know–it really made me think. My mom recommended it to me. She told me it was important, a glimpse into the world she grew up in, and so even though most of what she reads is the fictional equivalent of cotton candy, I decided to give this a try. Let me assure you–cotton candy it is not!
So, about Ms. Stockett’s novel. Set in 1960 era Jackson, Mississippi, it chronicles the lives of three women as they attempt to radically buck the system, however covertly they may be going about it. If you have never lived in a truly Southern city, and ladies, I’m here to tell you that if you have lived in Texas your whole life, you probably have not experienced such a place, then let me tell you about “the system” to which I am referring. When my husband and I moved to Memphis in 2001, we felt like we had stepped back in time at least 30 years. The racial prejudice is literally tangible, and the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” is unbelievably large. The often-ugly history of the Civil Rights Movement played out in places like Jackson and Memphis, and even though many wonderful people strive everyday to overcome the scars left from centuries of hatred, those wounds run deep. Stockett doesn’t shy away from allowing us to see the brutal reality of segregation, Jim Crow and all the other painful truths propagated in a society that believes “separate but equal” is gospel.
Having said that, she also gives us the beauty, humor and love of female friendship found in the unlikeliest of places. We watch these three women as they maneuver and survive despite living in a world that gave them very little room to breathe. I marveled at Stockett’s ability to make me truly care about these women, feel like I knew them, and desperately hope that their efforts and risks would not be in vain. They grapple with racism, classicism, misogyny, and Hilly—one of the meanest women ever recorded in fiction (seriously, she is a piece of work!).
When I finished reading page 451, I was sad to be done with these lively, brave, beautiful women. I now understand why this novel has been on the bestseller list since it arrived in bookstores—it is simply that good. It deserves all the accolades. It was worth my time, energy, and tears. I am better for having read it.
Just finished the book—powerful read!