Foul Matter, by Martha Grimes

The book I was stuck on for months during my reader's block, and I forgot to post about it! Not much to say... cute, fun read. Completely improbable plot about hit men going after hit men going after hit men all because of an egotistical author's weird request. But Grimes wasn't going for realistic here and the plot was enjoyably silly. It was like a slamming-doors British farce. I recommend it for anyone who needs a break from too much serious reading. My only complaint was that it had a wholly unsatisfying ending. Oh well.

The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls

This book rocked me. Jeannette Walls upbringing was awful. I don't know how she survived. To me, her father was pretty clearly schizophrenic and her mother was a narcissist to the utmost extreme. During their time in the desert, they were always picking up and moving in the middle of the night. They lived in cars. They starved. The parents were so into their belief that kids should learn for themselves that they did not correct behavior involving fire and guns. When Jeannette was sexually abused, her mother just casually said that such things were crimes of perception and if Jeannette did not feel hurt, then there was no wrong done. The parents stole from their children. They bought booze, art supplies, and chocolate bars (that weren't shared with the kids) rather than have electricity, garbage collection, or food in their hovel of a home. It was unbelievable.

But what rocked me most was that I didn't hate these parents. I even feel that I learned from them. I have joked with friends that I think maybe I should abuse my children just a little bit so that they become as strong and self-reliant as the Walls kids were. The abuse part is truly a joke... but there are things that the parents did that were good. They emphasized reading, exploration, and pushing the learning envelope. They taught their kids to be self confident (standing up to other kids) and to face their fears (e.g. Demon hunting). Jeannette was doing her math homework in binary code, which her father taught her, when she was very young because the schoolwork was otherwise too remedial for her.

But there are many things that I will just never forgive the Wallses for, even if Jeannette has. This family will stick with me for a long time. Great book.

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

This book is set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962-63. It is told from 3 voices: Aibileen and Minny, who are black maids working for elite Jackson families, and Skeeter Phelan, who is a young white woman who is not comfortable with her role within her elite family. Very early on in the book, Skeeter, while visiting her best friend and Aibileen's "white lady," asks Aibileen if she ever wants to change things. Being a highly inappropriate conversation between these two women in this time and place, Aibileen keeps her mouth shut. But not forever.

This book was wonderful. It was emotional and funny. Stockett is a no-nonsense author... she can introduce you to and acquaint you with a character in 3 sentences or less. What I might have liked best of all was that it did not have a neat pretty ending. Not an ugly ending either, but, like the Civil Rights movement itself (which is still a work in progress), the lives of the maids were not suddenly all perfect. But a few of them were on their way. It added such a sense of reality to these characters and the book as a whole that there were no cataclysmic changes in the characters or the reality of the world they lived in. It was just a story of one brick in the wall of change. A story that was brilliantly told, beautifully written, and funny to boot.

Some stuff I liked about some of the characters:
Skeeter: her awkwardness and her relationship with her mother, who would never die for fear that Skeeter may wear the wrong cut of pants without her mother around to correct her wardrobe. And her toilet prank.
Aibileen: her relationship with Mae Mobley. Taking a prompt from Aibileen, I've started telling my own daughters how smart, kind, and important they are on a more regular basis.
Minny: who couldn't love the Terrible, Awful thing she did? SO FUNNY! And I love the progression of her relationship with her new "white lady," Celia Foote.
Celia: her pink dress and her drunken debacle among all the high society ladies.