Anyway, the first 10 chapters of The Help. I don't really know what to think yet. There are some things I know- Hilly and Elizabeth need good swift kickings, Skeeter needs to find some new friends (seriously, hers SUCK- although actually they act like human beings around her, because, guess what, she's white! Yay?) and I want to give Aibileen a big hug because she doesn't deserve any of the bad things that happen to her. Also, Minny is my personal hero, and oh MY do I want to know what was in that pie she served Hilly...
So I have feelings about characters already, which is good, and keeps me entertained thinking 'I wonder what Minny's going to do next' while Skeeter's going on about wanting to be a writer and blah blah blah, my life's so hard and my mum tries to tell me what to do whine whine bitch bitch, while Aibileen has, you know, legitimate grief and does Skeeter's job as well as her own. I don't exactly hate Skeeter, but I don't really like her either. I mean, obviously she's better than any other white woman in the novel, but that's not really saying much, you know? We'll see how her character develops throughout though, and I'll decide at the end whether I actually like her or not, based more or less on whether or not she ditches her friends.
I don't have a whole lot more to say about The Help so far, and I really want to get back to reading it (say what you like about it, it sure is readable) BUT I just have to point out how laughably clear it is that Skeeter's date with that guy whose name escapes me right now is definitely not going to be the end of their association, and that fact is about as subtle as a bag of bricks in the face. Not cool Stockett. Not cool at all.
Hah! I'm glad the obviousness of their inevitable relationship did not pass you by either. I mean, sure, I'll enjoy it while it happens, but DO NOT THINK YOU ARE FOOLING US, STOCKETT.
ReplyDeleteI also like that we focused on different things. Hurray! But yeah, Skeeter needs to shape up, and relatively soon. I really like the invisible Miss Stein. Hoping she actually shows up at some point.
You guys MIGHT have a better cover than we do. Maybe. I admit that I don't quite get why ours had birds.
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Hahaha, the bad date. What, how can they ever get together now that she so obviously hates him?! :P
ReplyDeleteI thought Skeeter's sucky friends were the element that really brought the environment to life; the thought that these are her friends kinda brings home what kind of a place it is.
I've read a bit ahead (as in I finished the next section today...) and I'm not sure about Skeeter's boyfriend AT ALL... *whispers* I think he might be a racist.
ReplyDeleteI really really like Miss Stein too! She sounds like she doesn't take any shit. I think I need her to narrate some chapters, because Skeeter is pissing me off.
Also, yeah, your cover is slightly yellow and unrelevant... but it's bright and attractive and may fool people into buying it that way! Mine just has 'The 2 million copy US bestseller' on the front, and if that's an incentive then I'm Santa Claus (I kid, I kid! But really, popular isn't always great. And sometimes it's really not great.)
I kinda like the US cover better even though I don't understand the cover I do think "bright colors!!". The book is good but it's bag-of-bricks-to-the-face subtlety the whole way through
ReplyDeleteOh joy... LET US WORK IT OUT FOR OURSELVES STOCKETT. Damn.
ReplyDeleteeverybody here will understand the US cover once they finish reading. that's all i'm sayin'...
ReplyDeletethanks for stopping by my blog earlier. looks like i'm destined to stalk the folks participating in Alice's The Help challenge 'cause I lived in Jackson, MS, and clearly I've read this book and I'm not making excuses for Stockett or Skeeter, but I do think the book is downright engaging.
YAYYY STALKING!
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