I got a notice that this book was available electronically from the library for my Kindle, so I stopped reading "Life of Pi" to read it instead.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I'd heard it was good from a few friends/family members. While the story itself was quite good as a whole, there was a semi-minor plot line that I found really stuck out to me. There are a thousand reviews on the book as a whole - all the characters were well developed. The relationship between Aibileen and Miss Skeeter was probably my favorite. The trust that was built between them in the south during that time period is impressive. Both seem to be stand-up individuals.
The minor plot line that stuck out to me was dealing with Miss Celia. Chapter 18 deals with her having what I assume to be a stillborn baby. She has the child at the 5 month mark it says in the book. It's no secret to the people that know me who read this blog that my firstborn daughter came into this world at ~5 months along and didn't survive. While she wasn't stillborn, I identified with Miss Celia. She had lost her fourth child during this chapter in the book. I'm no expert, but it occurred to me that it is very possible that we shared the same problem. I couldn't help but to think of my research about the procedure that allowed me to carry my second child to term. It was created in the late 1950's/early 1960's. It may have allowed Miss Celia to carry a baby to term, but wasn't routine until a much later date. It makes me thankful to live in the times we do (for multiple reasons). It also explains a lot about Miss Celia's behavior. Losing a baby messes you up. And you'd do anything to try and bring one home successfully. Anyway, I identified with her (and, Aibileen to a lesser degree, for the same reason). Aibileen hit it on the head when she said, "A hundred years ain't gone be long enough."
I will say that the storyline about Constantine surprised me. I honestly thought we were going to find out that Miss Skeeter was her white daughter, especially with some of the details in the book. But, I obviously pegged that one wrong.
Overall, I quite enjoyed the book. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone. I'm curious to see how the movie follows the book. I don't watch many movies, and am generally disappointed with movies based on books. But, this one has Oscar nods, so who knows!
444 pages
I felt the movie did follow the book pretty well. It had been 2 years since I read the book when I saw the movie, so obviously some things weren't as blaringly obvious to me that might be to someone who had just read it. But, I thought they did a good job with it. The part that touched me that they didn't show as clearly in the movie was the relationship between Aibileen, Hilly and Mae.
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