More About “The Help” – A Movie Review

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Arminda

I finally saw the movie version of Kathryn Stockett’s The Help. I resisted seeing it initially because I hadn’t read the book, but I finished the book months ago, and even wrote my review of it here.

The movie was engaging, the acting was superb, and the adaptation to the book was mostly accurate, with some slight modifications for easier screen viewing. My personal favorite performance was Sissy Spacek as Missus Walters. If you haven’t had a chance to see the movie, I highly recommend you do so. I still prefer the book over the movie.

Enough about the movie. I want to get to what’s really on my mind. When I posted my opinion of Mrs. Stockett’s book, I got a response from Christina that has, quite literally, given me pause. I never replied to Christina, because I wanted to ponder my opinion, watch the movie, compare it to the book, and determine a more thoughtful and deliberate response. Here, for your perusal, is Christina’s comment:

For the sake of full disclosure, let me remind my readers that I am a white female, raised on the Maison-Dixon line border, and I reside in the south. Until I relocated to North Carolina as a 15-year-old, I honestly didn’t know race issues existed, and not because I’d never met anyone of African-American heritage. Things (opinions, attitudes, language) were just different here than they had been in Maryland.

I do not see myself as an expert on racial issues, nor do I think I have anything to share besides an honest personal opinion of a story, and the public reaction to that story. Christina referenced an article written by Roxane Gay, in which Ms. Gay shares her very strong opinion of The Help. I got the impression from Ms. Gay that The Help was an abysmal failure by a white female author to appropriately and accurately portray the lives, emotions, and reality of black women living in Mississippi in the 1960s.

Among other feelings, Ms. Gay suggests that the “The Help provides us with a deeply sanitized view of the segregated south in the early 1960s,” and “gives the impression that life was difficult in Mississippi in the 1960s for women, white and black, but still somewhat bearable because that’s just how things were.” She also suggests that to ease the viewer through those uncomfortable moments of truth, sprinkled throughout the movie was “a great deal of easy humor or contrived touching emotional moments.”

I don’t necessarily disagree with Ms. Gay, but I don’t necessarily agree with her, either. Race is a difficult subject. It’s an issue that is part of our past, and therefore, part of our present, and future, as well. Culturally, and individually, how we choose to view our racial roots says a lot about our willingness to look beyond color to see the beauty within each of us as human beings.

But I would posit that any story – regardless of its storyteller – that creates a wave within our larger cultural community is positive. We are each at different places along the divide of racial inequalities, and how we view the world around us. I cannot assume that everyone else (or anyone else, for that matter) sees others in exactly the same way that I see them. Nor can I assume that others interpret life in the same way that I do. For this very reason, it seems that any opportunity for one individual to grow in perception and understanding toward greater knowledge and acceptance of the past that is our present, is a good thing.

I am allowed to like The Help, just as much as Christina is allowed to like The Help, and we need not feel guilty about enjoying a story that increased, if only marginally, our broader awareness of what really happened in America during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. My original review of the book states:

The horrific events and circumstances surrounding the civil rights movement cannot be sugar-coated, and I did feel that The Help only gave us a glimpse of reality.

There is no guilt or shame or thoughtlessness for appreciating a story well-told, or for recommending the book to others. What would be shameful is to ignore the opportunity to educate ourselves on all the finer details of our American history rich with accounts of bravery, courageous acts, and sacrifice in the face of bigotry. Am I ashamed of that part of my heritage? Yes, but that does not mean I cannot have a visceral reaction to the story, regardless of the skin color of its author. If I draw a line there, am I not taking a step backward, instead of stepping toward a future in which we’re all color blind?

The Hunger Games Trilogy – A Review

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Arminda

The Hunger Games, published 2008

Catching Fire, published 2009

Mockingjay, published 2010

I’m going to treat my review of these three books as a collective whole, as I do not see them as separate stories, but rather as one contiguous tale told with two lengthy bathroom breaks. Please be forewarned, there are SPOILERS.

It’s about: Set in a not-so-futuristic North America, where controlled deprivation of basic human needs and fear of the reigning political power: The Capitol, are normal, Katniss Everdeen is a self-reliant 16-year-old, who voluntarily takes the place of her younger sister to participate in the annual nationally-televised Hunger Games. Only two options exist in the Games: survive or die, and it’s Katniss against 23 other youth. Having survived the Games as the reigning champion, Katniss makes the obligatory victory tour of the districts, only to discover she has become the unwilling symbol of political unrest across the nation. Forced to go back into the Games as a contender for the second year in a row, Katniss joins forces with the other contestants, and openly revolts against The Capitol, and an all-out revolution unfolds. The final showdown against The Capitol places Katniss once again in an arena, where life and death are seemingly just a game.

I thought:

The books were extremely difficult to put down, but I’m still pondering over the reasons why. I liked Katniss. A lot. I think she’s a great strong female protagonist, and to the best of her character’s developed ability, she is focused on principle foundations – or at least what she thinks are her foundations. Ultimately, the books allow her to explore (although at a rather elementary level) her guiding principles and how emotions affect and impact her in that process. Love interest #2, Peeta, was my favorite from Go, although I am unsure if my affection for him is actually my brain’s inability to acknowledge the antonym at play with pita bread, and my deep and abiding love for this flat bread marvel of the Mediterranean. Yet another mystery I will likely never solve. Love interest #1, Gale, was shallow, underdeveloped as a character, and never had enough screen time to become a true player in the overall story.

But why couldn’t I put down the books? I think it was because of the anticipation that something good had to come out of so much bad, but it never did, and here’s where I come completely clean about this story, and hopefully enable many of you to question your own publicly-proclaimed “love” for these books. Let’s be honest. I thought these books were horrific and gratuitously violent. I was shocked and riveted to my seat in disbelief because the target audience is young adults. For a story whose basic premise is “kill or be killed,” weaving a poorly-constructed love triangle throughout its pages is a lame excuse for young adult fiction. The plot is always at its weakest when we are not in the arena of the Games, and we are not in the arena a lot in books two and three, although Mockingjay (Book Three) had the most lulls in the storyline, and could have been whittled down significantly (I’m talking entire chapters here), and not lost anything against the plot.

Look, I don’t always need a happy ending to be satisfied, and I was tacitly content with the story’s conclusion. Where else was Collins going to go with the story, anyway? She’d pretty much painted herself into that corner. I just felt like there were loose ends, plot developments that ran out of steam somewhere along the way, and characters whose person could have been more richly developed. That’s all.

What political statement was Suzanne Collins hoping to make?
What overall message is she sending to her young adult readers?
Is this book about war as a game?
Katniss, Peeta, and the other “champions” of the Games clearly suffered from PTSD, yet no one took their suffering seriously. Is this a statement about how we as a society treat war veterans enduring this serious side effect of war?
Was this a comment on us as The Capitol citizens? (Cause we’ve got sooo many “first world problems,” people.)
Was this really just a love story and I’m over-thinking the entire thing?
If you proclaimed to “love” these books, will you please tell me why?

Verdict: Read it once, but don’t worry that you’re missing out on something amazing if you never get around to them, and would rather reread Harry Potter for the tenth time, instead.

Reading Recommendation: If your young adult has already read the books, you’ll definitely want to read them, too, so you can discuss them together. If not, many many adults have been captivated by the story, and perhaps you will, too.

Warnings: With a nod to the YA label: Extreme violence, graphic death scenes, discomfiting moral dilemmas, weakly-attempted love story.

Reading Samples

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Arminda

I had only an iPad in my hands, and a long flight ahead of me. Browsing the iTunes bookstore, I couldn’t decide which book I wanted to read; there were so many titles of interest to me. So I did what any book-loving girl in my situation would have done: I downloaded the free samples for six different books, and I read four of them.

1. Catherine the Great, Portrait of a Woman, by Robert K. Massie

Having lived in Russia twice, I am still fascinated by this country rich in history and heritage, but complicated in its explanations. I have personally visited the palace of Catherine the Great, and was excited to hear a wonderful interview by Diane Rehm with Robert Massie. Listening to Massie discuss Catherine as if he knew her personally, compelled me to download the first 121 pages, but his rich narrative style kept me reading, and I was sad when my sample ended.

2. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides

My friend Christina absolutely adores Eugenides, and when I asked her which of his three books (I downloaded all three samples because I wasn’t sure which to choose) is her favorite, and she emphatically stated: Middlesex, I knew I had to start with this one. Honestly, those free 83 pages flew by for me so quickly, and darned if it didn’t end just when the story was about to get good. I’m thinking Christina is definitely on to something with Eugenides, and I can’t wait to see how this one ends.

3. 11/22/63: A Novel, by Stephen King

Don’t judge, but I listen to NPR all the time. Seriously. Some folks have their televisions, but I have my NPR iPad app that gets used more often than anything else. So when the regular book reviewer told me this latest novel by Stephen King was nothing like any of his other novels, my ears perked up immediately! Truth: I’ve never read a Stephen King novel. I love history, and this quasi-historical fictitious retelling of the events leading up to the assassination of John F. Kennedy is an extremely fun ride! Time travel, mystery, intriguing characters, real life events – and I’m only 148 pages committed at this point.

4. Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson

Look – everyone else is reading this biography of the year, so why not me, too? I take Apple products intravenously, and am certain if I were paid commission on all the Apple products I’ve convinced other people to buy, I could have a nice fat wad of cash in reserve to cover my next Apple fix. 91 pages hardly has Steve Jobs’ story started, though, and I’ve heard really mixed opinions about this book. I will say that the smattering of different names on every page had me turning back to the nine page! org chart at the beginning too frequently to keep me interested in the “characters.”

The other two samples I downloaded were Eugenides’ other two novels: The Marriage Plot, and The Virgin Suicides. I haven’t read either of these two yet since I wanted a clean slate with Eugenides as I started Middlesex, but indeed, they will be read.

I have decided that I LOVE the ability to download free samples of books. This is waaaay better than Amazon’s Look Inside! feature, and will definitely make it easier for me to fairly determine whether or not I actually want to read a book. My big question now is, Which book do I finish first? Who’s read any of these titles?

The Help – A Review

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Arminda

Published: 2009

It’s about:

Skeeter: a young white woman, recently graduated from college, who aspires to be a writer.
Aibileen: an older black maid, who has spent her entire life in the service of white families.
Minny: a thirty-something black woman, also a maid, but with a mind of her own that she’s oftentimes too willing to share.

Set in 1962 Mississippi, the story chronicles the intersecting of these three women’s lives, as they each want change, but not necessarily for the same reason. Ultimately, their secret writing project permanently alters each of their lives as they break down the color barriers society put in place, but to which they are each expected to adhere.

I thought:

It was a bit of a surprise to me, but this was the best book I read in 2011. I avoided reading it for a good long while simply because everyone else was reading it, and then there was the movie (which I still haven’t seen, but will), and I refuse to see a movie based on a book before I read the book, myself. Having said all that – I was pleasantly surprised at how well-written this first-time novel by Kathryn Stockett reads. I love the vignette-style chapters, representing the perspectives of the three different main characters, and I loved how easily the storyline unfolded.

While the story is captivating, and at times a little tense as we wonder if there will be severe consequences for the actions of these courageous women, Stockett only skirts the edge of segregation. The horrific events and circumstances surrounding the civil rights movement cannot be sugar-coated, and I did feel that The Help only gave us a glimpse of reality.

I really liked the character development, and not just of the main three characters. I especially enjoyed Skeeter’s mother, who at times made me laugh with her idiosyncrasies, but most of the time I cringed at her southern authenticity.

Verdict:

I really loved the book, and experienced a wide range of emotions while reading, and I cried when it ended. It made me want to read The Secret Life of Bees all over again. My recommendation is for you to definitely read it if you haven’t yet.

Favorite excerpts:

“My face goes hot, my tongue twitchy. I don’t know what to say to her. All I know is, I ain’t saying it. And I know she ain’t saying what she want a say either and it’s a strange thing happening here cause nobody saying nothing and we still managing to have us a conversation.”

“Lines between black and white ain’t there neither. Some folks just made those up, long time ago. . . . All I’m saying is, kindness don’t have no boundaries.”

“There is so much you don’t know about a person. . . . 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.”

“And while I’d never lie and tell myself I actually changed the minds of people like Hilly and Elizabeth, at least I don’t have to pretend I agree with them anymore.”

Fablehaven Review

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Arminda

We’re readers. Thankfully, my daughter, L, inherited the I Love to Read gene, and can’t keep her nose out of books any better than me. While I have many opinions on the merits of reading as a family, I won’t extol them today. Suffice it to say – I am of the staunch opinion parents should read to, and with, their children all the time.

Last year L introduced me to the fantasy world of Fablehaven, written by author Brandon Mull. She was hooked on the series and was quickly making her way through them. With an impending road trip in September, I borrowed the audio version of the first book and listened for hours before deciding I wasn’t impressed. I couldn’t get past the actor reading to know if I had any lasting interest in the story. His voice was irritating, and his weak attempt at creating distinctive voices for each of the characters only further annoyed me.

After L persuaded me to read the book on my own I realized I liked where the story was heading, and I was able to project my own interpretation of the characters’ voices. I quickly finished the first book, which lays the necessary groundwork and background for the remainder of the story, spread out over five books.

Each of the books tells a compelling story within the overriding plot, with great character development. I especially like the mingling of normal people amongst the creatures, who inhabit the magical preserve of Fablehaven. Brandon Mull’s moralistic approach to the story establishes an expectation that good will prevail in the end, but the twists and turns to get us to our expected outcome are anything but predictable.

I finally finished the series, and found the books to be captivating and engaging, as well as a wonderful conversation starter for our family. If you like the fantasy genre, and enjoy young adult fiction, then I highly recommend this series for you and your offspring.

For Mariam

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Arminda

Most nights you could find me under my covers with a flashlight, chewing an old piece of gum I retrieved from the stockpile on the back of my headboard, heart pounding so loudly I was sure my parents could hear it down the hall and would implicate me at any moment, and reading. I read most anything I could get my hands on – and I’m sure our very frequent trips to the public library were amusing to the casual observer. I always went home with a pile of books taller than me (I realize it doesn’t take many books to make that stack), and within a couple of days I was ready to exchange them all for new ones. I had my personal favorites – books I read over and over again, but I always enjoyed new stories, too.

Recently a dear friend asked me to list some of the most influential books I’ve read. Since I read a lot of fiction and non-fiction, alike, my first list is only comprised of works of fiction. I found this to be a daunting task. What if I forget one? What if my list isn’t that impressive? What if no one else has ever heard of any of my books? What if my readers laugh at me? (Just kidding. You can laugh all you want; I do it all the time.)

I took a deep breath, grabbed my pen and my notebook and started writing. I know if a book comes to me later – I can add it; that’s the beautiful thing about the “Edit” option in WordPress! This list of books is my list – and these books in one way, or in many ways, have made an impression on me, and that’s why I created it. If you haven’t heard of any of these books – it will be a great list to take with you to the library, and if you laugh, then I will feel even happier I took the time to write it all down.

I plan to write about each book individually to explain its impact on me, but for now we at least have a starting point. What are some of the books on your fiction list? Let’s compare notes! Leave a comment to get the dialogue going because I’m always looking for my next read.

All Arminda

All Arminda. All the time.

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