I feel like I am a bit late to the party on this book. Only published in May, it has been THE Buzz book this year. I waited to listen to this one based on the rave reviews about the audio version. Yes, it was long at around 28 hours. Maybe too long, but I enjoyed every second! It is definitely worth it.
There is a LOT going on in this story. It is set in 1933 Mississippi, so you can guess what some of the themes might be by the time frame as well as the author. So many threads and themes that I probably cannot list them all. Ok, I will try: Family. Sisters. Mothers. Adoption. Orphanages. Rich people and starving people. Liars. Committing a woman because she looks at another man. Or coughs. Christian people acting not so Christian. Alcoholism. Miscegenation. Misogyny. Relationships between wealthy whites and their black staff. Desperation. Learning to swim. Trying to fit in. Stubborn women who WILL NOT GIVE UP. And a few others I will not tell you so as not to spoil the story!!
What right does a woman have to a child? What right does a woman have to HAVE a child? Children and women both are treated as property in this time. But what to do with a child with no momma, and a woman who cannot have children? Orphanage, and Old Maid.
I reject this. And so did Birdie. And Charlie. And Virginia. But not Garnett Pittman. (shiver)
So the real question is: What will a group of determined, down on their luck women who have nothing to lose (and some that do) be able to accomplish in their desperation?
Miracles.
This story is told in two voices, literally! Tremendous work by both January LaVoy as Birdie and Jenna Lamia as 11-year-old Meg. (Note that Jenna also narrates the author's first book, The Help, as well as The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. That should give you a little window into her wonderful authentic Southern Accent!!)
What I enjoyed most, besides Meg's sass and Birdie's dry humor and candor, was how you could see the slow roll of how Birdie and Meg would affect each other's lives, once they meet. They don't spend much time together, but boy howdy, the impact of their meeting has a serious butterfly effect. This book goes to places you will NEVER see coming, but what is a girl to do? I laughed out loud a few times at some of the sayings and Southernisms, and my heart hurt in other places too. But this is not a depressing read. I can already see the clamor for a movie, and it will be a great one!
And can we talk about the FOOD? This book made me hungry. Fried Chicken night, pound cakes, chicken pot pie, a fluffy biscuits, rib roast, Lemon tarts....Stockett says there is Love in food, and especially so in the South.
It was worth the 17 year wait for Stockett's second book. She says in the interview below that the first draft of this novel was very vanilla, and she knew she could not really write about Mississippi without going deeper and hitting some sensitive topics - race and marriage and the underestimated woman. her re-writes definitely take you there. This is an excellent book club book. There is so much I want to discuss about this book!!! Oh, that Lucille!! I wanted to shake her! And sweet Tom, and the absent husband Rory, and Frances with her airs. Esmerelda...Flossie....even Jack! I will not do it here due to spoilers, but wow, this was a great novel!! Don't let the length scare you away. Dive in!
