The Help

I read The Help over the weekend. I know the movie is already out, but if I make my kids read the book before they see a movie, then I'm going to do the same. And really, it's a lot easier to pick up a book and read it than to try to go see a movie.

I read fiction books when I want to just read. When I read a non-fiction book, I want to go do something. I read Crafternoon and started planning a year's worth of parties. I read several books on the mentoring women and hospitality--and well, I had to file it away for the future. I took a break from all of the ministry books and read a book about pie, about the search for great pies in America. I thought this would be safe. Instead I finished the book, got up, and made a pie. And did some research about where we could find pie on our trip to Santa Fe. So I try to find fiction books to read to make this stop, when it is time to rest. I am picky though. I really liked The Help. The book was well written and made me want to keep reading. That is all I am going to review--I just like to read them. Plus, if someone wants to read a book review, they will look on Amazon.

The book did make me think about two things. As when I read The Nanny Diaries, my heart hurt for the kids who were and are caught in this, who lose the caretakers and constant companions at the drop of a hat. Also, this book also focuses on women and the crazy relationships we have amongst ourselves. I had recently seen an article or maybe a blog post about friendships and women. The writer, a woman, was talking about her difficulty being friends with women. How it was easier to be friends with men. The article was fine. The comments afterwards, mostly in agreement, were what got me thinking. There are still these lines between women who work outside the home and those who don't. Between women who supposedly like to sit around  and talk about babies and those who would rather talk about more "intellectual" topics. The caste systems we carry around with us. I have been in both places, working outside and now mostly stay at home, and I still carry it around with me, all of this. The lines are not as sharp as we like to make them. I am now starting to work in women's ministry, and even THAT has it's own baggage for me. I took an Intro to Women's Studies course because I wanted to, loved the class, got an A, and yet it has baggage for me. 

In the version of the book I have (the paperback one), the author points out her favorite line from her book, which occurs near the end of the story as Skeeter learns more about the women in her town: "Wasn't that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I'd thought." I think this a crucial idea for people to learn. Our world seems filled with people harking on these differences, building walls and chasms between each other. My God wants me to look people in the eye and see the similarities, not the differences. To see the person He created in His image, and to reflect His image right back at them. Maybe it is easier to build these walls protecting ourselves, but God didn't do that and he didn't ask us to either.

I guess in the end I read a fiction book and STILL ended up with something to do. Really though it was not something to do but rather something better to be.

Comments

  1. This is hilarious! Pie!!!
    I am currently reading a book about a woman who went a year without buying anything (outside of necessary like toilet paper)...I wonder if I will do that?

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