I loved The Help audiobook so much that I didn’t want it to end. I could have listened to stories about those characters every single day.
Author: Kathryn Stockett
Narrators: Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer
Audiobook length: 18 hours, 19 minutes
Genre: Realistic, historical, southern fiction
Publisher: Penguin Audio
I’m pretty sure everything that I could possibly say about The Help has probably already been said at some point, but I’m going to try. I won’t go into the fact that the novel, and Kathryn Stockett, perpetuated the Mammy stereotype in The Help and that no white woman will ever be able to fully express or comprehend what it was like to be African-American in the South during this time. What I will talk about is the fact that The Help is highly entertaining. It is a really good story, and I did not want the audiobook to end.
I haven’t read this as a print book, but the audiobook was fantastic. The narrators, particularly Octavia Spencer, perfectly embody their characters, and I was able to visualize everything through the rhythm, cadence, and passion in their voices. By the way, Octavia Spencer plays Minny in the movie, so she was well-versed in Minny’s sass, passion, hardships, and anger for her role in the movie. The listener really gets a true sense of how each character felt. I honestly don’t know if I would have enjoyed to read the print version of the book; I think having four distinct voices to listen to really worked for this book. I do want to try to read The Help in the future though.
I think that readers of The Help can and should enjoy this story for the emotions it elicits and for the absolutely wonderful story it tells. However, a reader should also remember that the story told here is one person’s side of the story – the white side, whether or not you have African-American characters who are “speaking their minds”.
Oops. Got a little rant-y there. Back to the book: I honestly didn’t want this audiobook to end. I could’ve listened to stories about Skeeter, Minny, Aibileen, and the rest every single day on the way to and from work. I know I’ve said it a few times already, but The Help is truly entertaining. I enjoyed the four voices of the woman chosen to narrate this one. I got completely swept up in this story. I cried, laughed, smiled, and felt sick. This audiobook evoked emotions in me that no other audiobook has done so far. I wanted it to keep going. I missed the characters as soon as it ended.
If you like audiobooks, I would highly, HIGHLY, highly recommend this one.
Caught Read Handed 
Pingback: Bookish Talk: Why I Like Audiobooks | Caught Read Handed
I’ve got the print version on my fall TBR – looking forward to it!
BTW, Bert and I saw TMR yesterday. 🙂 Overall, I was pleased. Are you planning a post?
I hope you enjoy The Help!
Mmmm. Probably not. I’m still not sure how I feel about it. It was good, in its own right, but they changed so much. The whole timeline was messed up. Obviously, I love Dylan O’Brien and the rest of the cast was pretty great, but I’m still just not sure about it. I might do a post once I’ve figured it out. I also might go see it again.
I agree that the cast was great – kudos to the casting director. Will Poulter, although he didn’t exactly fit the physical description of Gally, played the role well. I had JUST seen him as Eustace Scrubb in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and I thought he was great in both roles.
My biggest gripe was the change they made to the changing. It made the scene in the maze with Alby illogical.
I agree. A lot of the small changes ended up being big changes.
For me, Will Poulter wasn’t who bothered me in casting. It was Thomas Brodie-Sangster who played Newt, but I ended up liking him.
Every time I see your posts in my feed, you’ve got a picture of another of my favorite books. The Help is one of the very first audio books I listened to several years ago–awesome.
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear.
Also, I want everyone to listen to this audiobook; it’s just amazing.