Everyone couple of years, I remember how much I love listening to unabridged audio books while I do my hand work. This week it was "The Help"...a best seller by Kathryn Stockett (Penguin Audio). It's been out at least a couple of years, so perhaps you've already read it.
One of the last of the Oprah shows was one celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders and their efforts to break the back of segregation. Her studio was filled with as many of those brave people as she could locate. There were many first hand accounts of their actions, along with old videos and a discussion of how those protestors were well schooled in non-violence before embarking on this journey. One young black man, who had escaped a burning bus, had been severely beaten by a white man. Oprah's show actually reunited these men, and gave the attacker a chance to apologize. It was a powerful hour. While I lived through this time period, I admit to being a very self-absorbed teenager, and because matters of world news were never discussed in our household (not much of anything was), my knowledge of these events comes from things I've seen or read. Once again, I was blown away by the ugliness of prejudice.
Fast forward to this week...if you haven't read it, "The Help" is a fictional slice of life as a black domestic in Jackson, Mississippi during the sixties. I didn't grow up in the south, nor were we a family of the means to even consider hired "help"...so this book was not only an eye opener for me about life with household help, it was yet another indictment of how people could treat each other, in the worst sorts of ways, through the veil of prejudice and ignorance. It was also uplifting, and I found myself laughing out loud more than once. The movie is going to be released on August 12, and after seeing the trailers on line, it looks like they've done a good job with it (although I almost always prefer a book to the movie). If you haven't read the book...I highly recommend it. In fact, the readers on this audio (which is 15 CDs) were so perfect, it's even hard for me to imagine having read it in print, something I would rarely say.
What do 15 CDs equal in terms of handwork? Lots of hand quilting on my blue and white quilt, and a decent start on this Karen Kahle pattern called "Sentimental". It was a great break from the reality of everyday life; and now, to find my next "read".
6 comments:
I am reading this book now and enjoying it. It is hard for me to imagine what some people had to endure to feed their families. It makes you cry, laugh and think about how we treat people.
Isn't that the truth? I'm afraid it would be a hard lesson for me to learn to keep my mouth shut while someone talked about me the way those women did their "help" (but then, my mouth has always been a bit of a problem, I confess).
:0)
Girlfriend, you are hooking a KK pattern? Isn't she divine? I love every whimsical pattern she has ever done. After getting her latest catalog, I'd really love to hook a purse/sachel.
I'm an avid reader and "The Help" is on my list of to-do's.
So GREAT to see you posting!
Huggers!!!!!
I read this book last year and had a hard time putting it down, even though I was horrified at the way some of those women were treated. I know it's published as fiction, but I wonder how much of that is actually based on facts. It was sad in many ways.
Ter'e: I just discovered her work in someone else's on-line shop last month. I'm with you...I didn't see a thing I didn't love. I love the whimsy of her designs. Have you seen the one with the little frogs? That may be my next one, when I can justify spending the $$$...
Ruthie: I'm with you on this. I felt like I was truly living the era from first hand accounts, not listening to "fiction". It's going to be hard to find the next book to keep my attention like this one did.
Post a Comment