Sometimes in life, you join bandwagons. As of last night at 4 am, I joined The Help bandwagon and I love it.
I'm sure many of you have heard about The Help and have seen the trailor for it as the movie comes out this month and Emma Stone is THE actress to love right now (no worries, I've joined that bandwagon too. Easy A= hilarious. The House Bunny= hilarious. Zombieland= hilarious. I adore her, fake lisp and all). However, I've had people telling me about this book before the movie was announced and have been meaning to read it for about a year now.
I finally read it. in 2 days. 12 hours to be precise. It is an amazing and beautiful book. One of those books that you don't really know how to describe because you can't put into words how it made you feel nor how much you love it. Like right now, for example, I have so much that I want to say about The Help but I can't find the words. The best thing I can say to express myself is to read it yourself. It will change your life.
An interesting thing I realized after reading this book is that a lot of my favourite books are about Black history in America. My favourite book of all time is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I read it for the first time in 6th grade and have re-read it about 15 times since. I will forever love Atticus Finch and will raise my children to be like him.
Another favourite is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, which was also made into a movie with Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah, but the book is infinitely better. I admire August Boatwright with all my heart and want to develop her compassion. As a word of advice: DO NOT Kidd's other book, The Mermaid Chair. No good.
Beloved by Toni Morrison is yet another book that I really love, not because it's a feel good story, but because it is a powerful story that truly reflects the time of slavery. There is not a more tragic and sympathetic character in literature than Sethe, nor one so wounded and dark. Note: if you're thinking about reading Beloved, remember it is a true story and incredibly sad. This is not Gone With The Wind or Song of the South. There are no cartoon birds or happy black slaves.
I think the real reason I love these books so much is because they make me feel and put into perspective a time that I can't relate to because I don't understand it. I mean, I understand slavery and the civil rights movements historically speaking, but I don't understand how things got that way or how they were justified. It positively blows my mind that less than 60 years ago, common thought was that black people had different diseases than everyone else that could be transmitted by sharing the same water fountain or toilet seat. I don't understand how they weren't allows to vote when they had roots just as deep as any white person's. I don't understand how four white men justified bombing a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, knowing there were children inside. It's a time in American history that I just cannot understand, but that I can feel when I read books like these.
If you haven't read any of these books, I would strongly recommend them all. They're truly life-changing and beautiful in their own unique ways. Also, if you have any recommendations of books you've really enjoyed, I would love your suggestions :)
