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Friday, August 19, 2011

The Help

When I saw the previews for the movie coming out, I was really interested in seeing it. When I realized that it was based on a book I decided that this will be for sure the one movie I see where I've read the book first. So I got the book and read it over 3 days (yes, I'm slow, but I have two kids that won't let me read while they're awake!). There may be some mild spoilers here so if you intend to read the book, you should skip this post.

Initial thoughts:

  • Man it feels good to READ a real BOOK! (Well actually it was an ebook, but that's beside the point)
  • Good set up, I liked the characters.
  • The switch up between characters' point of views and different accents was confusing at first
  • 60's is not my favorite time period to read in, but I continued hoping it would be funny and amusing book.
After halfway through, my thoughts were:
  • Life in the early 60s just sucked!
  • This book isn't as funny as the movie made it seem (except for one part about 6 paragraphs long I was laughing so hard I was crying. It was funny because it's true.)
  • Seriously, the women's healthcare was so bad that they didn't know what an incompetent cervix is and what a simple fix it is? It's shameful. Bless modern medicine!!
At the end my thoughts were:
  • eh, it was an interesting read, but it's not something I'll ever read again.
  • I'm not really looking forward to the movie so much anymore unless they focus on the last 1/4 of book.
  • The ending just left me feeling kinda bitter.
  • I enjoyed the author's notes and can see all her inspiration in the characters. I wish I had read that portion first.
My reccomendation: I'd tell someone to pass on it unless they are really interested in issues of the 60s and segregation. Overall I didn't feel like it had a broad spectrum appeal. I know many people that have said they loved it, but I guess it just isn't really the genre or style of writing I enjoy.

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