It was a fabulous read, a 'page-turner' if you will.
The book is about Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960's and the interplay between the wealthy white southerners and their poor black maids. Thought provoking.
Racial relations have always fascinated me. In one of my classes during my master's program I was disturbed when we had a "diversity" lecture that turned out to be an in-your-face, blatant, yelling at the other person, racism documentary filmed during the 1980's. Maybe I was naive, but within my circle of influence racism was non-existent or at least that is what I perceived, and I was shocked by the need for such overt violent exposure to the world more than a quarter of a century ago.
So I was happy to pick up this book and have a different, calm view of how racial relations were in the 1960's. I found (and find) it appalling that within our society one race feels superior over another race. Can't they look themselves in the mirror and realize that character is the only way in which one individual is truly different than another. I found "The Help" did an excellent job of showing how a person is a person regardless of the color of their skin. It was provocative view at the (in my opinion) despicable behavior of one culture against another, and I am grateful to be informed and educated enough to realize that men and women should not be judged by the color of their skin, but rather the content of their character.
Tuesday night was book club, and I had never been to one before. It was so much fun. I thoroughly enjoyed speaking about racial tensions in a group--a subject that is often avoided within our society. I enjoyed the intellectual stimulation that I felt as we delved into the theme and symbolism. I don't want to say anymore, I highly recommend this book!
The other highlight of the evening was Paula Dean's delicious Three-layered, Hummingbird Cake. It was moist, and light; yet strikingly rich. I am going to have to try this recipe (although that may not be a good idea).
One word to describe the dessert: heavenly.
A huge thank you Sarah for your incredibly gracious hospitality and decadent dessert.
3 comments:
I LOVE that book! So good!
Yup. Good read. btw...it's "decadent" ;).
I could not put that book down. Finished it in 8 hours (had to read all through the night in order to do so in peace).
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