The Help by Katheryn Stockett - An Audiobook Review

For those of you who don't know - I absolutely ADORE ww.audible.com. Audible is a website where you can pay a monthly fee to have access to a huge selection of audio books. the places/times I use mine most often (always on my ipod, although you can use any mp3 player, or you can even download them and burn them onto cds!) include:

1. In the car - I drive a lot for my day job.

2. When working out - especially if it is a REALLY good story.

3. When cleaning the house - it makes the time fly by.

4. When cooking - if I don't have to pay too much attn to the recipe.

Ok, anyway, enough of the commercial. :) The book I most recently finished on audible was "The Help" by Katheryn Stockett. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Seriously, it was on par with "The Time Traveller's Wife" and "Water for Elephants". I feel that reviewing an audiobook will be a little different than a conventional book, because I can't refer back to specific passages. This is my first attempt, so hopefully it isn't a useless review. :) Alright, kids, buckle up.

"The Help" is about America's deep South - specifically, Mississippi - and the relationship between African American and white women in the early 1960's. It is a story that shows the courage, humor, ignorance and frustration prevalent on both sides of the racial divide of that time. It made me laugh aloud, and it made me cry. How often can we find a story that does both, and that keeps you hanging on, wishing the book would never end? The narrators in the audio version of "The Help" were breathtaking. Truly actors, they allowed you to FEEL the story, in the tradition of the great storytellers. You know that experience of sitting around a campfire when you were a little kid, and hanging on to every word of some fantastic tale? That's how this story unfolded.

Aside from the artistry of the story and the narration, "The Help" is an excellent reminder that all people are created equal. It manages to highlight the perspective of the underdog exceedingly well, which is a perspective that those of us who are lucky in life often forget. I'm very blessed to have parents who tried their best to teach me the importance of having and upholding your own convictions, and "The Help" is an excellent way to remind yourself of how ESSENTIAL it is to stand up for what you believe in, even if the consequences are sometimes unfavorable, to say the least. In this day of political correct-ness (is that a word?), where we often live in shades of gray, it is a reminder that often a black and white answer does exist to a right and wrong question.

I absolutely loved this book, and I'd highly encourage you to read it, or if you're anything like me, and strapped for time, why don't you try this as your first audio book? :) Have you read it? What did you think?