Black and White

I've just finished reading it. The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett, is an outstanding, funny, moving, touching, vivid and utterly brilliant story. 

The book that grabs my emotions so deeply that I couldn't stop thinking about it when I put it down to do other stuffs. It's good enough to make me cry at the last page. The tears of joy.

It's about a time when the word racist hadn't been truly defined, set in Mississippi, 1960s. It goes back to an era when people didn't realize that their deeds were injustice, when there's a gap between black and white people. The whites are rich, the blacks become maids, slaves and isolated. I'm shocked, slightly embarrassed, but I got the message.

It's also a story about the unexpected friendship between Skeeter, Aibileen and Minny. 

Skeeter is a white who has an ambition to be a journalist. She comes up with an idea to write a book containing interviews of the local maids as they describe their daily lives working for white people. As Skeeter becomes more aware of the racism and hatred around her, her eyes are slowly opened to the humanity of others.  And she wants to fix it. I admire her bravery and courage in sacrificing things to do the right thing.

Aibileen is my favorite character. She's a black maid working for Skeeter's friend. She's strong, patient, brave, smart and funny. My tears are welling when she tells about her son and about all the white kids she had raised. Aibileen's honesty is something that I love. 

Minny is also a black maid, once worked for Hilly (the bitch of the story). She's honest, but in a different way. Too honest to tell someone to eat their own shit. She's also stubborn, despise white people. She has thick walls around her heart to protect herself, and I have to peek over them to see inside.

Do I have to describe Hilly, the bitch? Oh she's like the Queen Bee in this story. I could feel the rage inside me when it comes to her. Hilly's the kind of woman you'd want to spit on her face. Enough said.

So, I'll say it right now: I can't stand racism. We're all just people..white, black, Asian, middle-eastern, whatever. Religion, culture, history, ideas, etc..these things that make us different. We should accept and honor each other for those things, not fear and hate each other because of our skin tone.

The story breaks my heart, but is hopeful as well. It makes me understand why we should learn history. Racism is an ugly thing. I know it's still happening now, I hope we'll find a way to vanish it 100%. 

The Help is my all-time favorite now and I highly recommend you to read it. Please, get one and read it!

Or you can watch the movie too: