I think only a native to Mississippi could write such an engrossing tale of the ties and tensions between white women and the black maids who work for them in 1962. Kathryn Stockett wrote the first person narratives (there are three of them) with confidence and honesty. The three narrators are Skeeter, a young white woman fresh from college and looking for her place in life, Aibileen, an older black maid who is mourning her only son's death, and Minny, a younger black maid with a husband and kids to help support even though her smart alec remarks keep her from being able to hold onto a job for too long. The three of them begin a project which is dangerous for all of their lives: they write down the stories of maids in the homes they work in with hopes that it will become published. The Help is very personal, but also has historical threads running through it that keep it grounded. I highly recommend this book.
