The Help!

The Help - Does it ring the bell? It was one of the movies in Oscar fever 2012. It had four nominations but won just one for a character which came as quite a surprise to me. Nevertheless, I am not talking about the movie here but the book!

Of-late sitcom has become my favorite past time. And all the books I am yet to read are snoring away to glory. On that fine day, I just passed by my Manager's desk and spotted this book, "The Help". I could instantly connect to the movie and requested her for it.

The book talks about Martin Luther King's times and the plight of Afro-Americans back then in the States and how white households used to treat the "Help". Although the central idea of the book is about slavery, I liked the way the characters were put in the story. About how three good friends could not only be seperated but become close to archenemies because of their ideas on the Help. About how each house-hold would differ from the way they treat their Help.

Half of the language in the book is gramatically incorrect. The language goes like "I don't say to nobody", "A course" for "ofcourse", no helping verbs etc. But the author mocked the tone of the Help for a perspective. The story beings with a tone of Timidity and Submission. Eventually the story takes a psychological turning from Fear --> Hope by letting out their stories in the open public which becomes a success.

There were no surprises in the plot and in fact the book goes rather slow and almost non-humorous which is generally not in my circle of interest. But somehow I realized that more than liking a particular genre, we can also enjoy a book when it is different from the rest. It was not a dramtic book and your heart won't feel wretched for sure. I guess the author tried to put a straight-forward story with a few examples and characters which would give an expected ending. So I did have a light reading but nothing to be exceedingly note-worthy.

I haven't seen the movie yet but I would want to now that I read the book (after all it made to the Oscars). I seriously don't believe that if you read a book the movie would definitely be disappointing. I would give a 6 to the book and I hope would be able to give a better rating for the movie!

To end it with a quote by Martin Luther King:

"As long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free. Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery"