The Help

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The Help
Kathryn Stockett
2009

The Summary
The Help tells the story of Aibileen and Minny, a pair of black maids who have spent their lives cleaning the homes and raising the children of white women, and Skeeter, a recent college graduate who is still trying to find herself, and their idea to pen a novel about what it's like to live and work the town of Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962.

The Good
One word: exquisite.

Not only has Kathryn Stockett managed to create a fabulous novel packed with richly depicted characters you'll adore, she tells an intricate and thought-provoking story that will keep you glued to the pages.  Quite frankly, The Help is an addictive piece of work that's hard to put down once you turn the first page.

But besides being an absolute joy to read, Stockett's novel is well-written and especially thoughtful because it considers dialect, speech patterns, and personal memories of each character, weaving them each into a beautifully sentimental story about three women and their struggles within society of the South.

Moreover, it isn't difficult to dive right into the lives of Minny, Skeeter, and Aibileen.  They're wonderful characters with thoughts, dreams, and aspirations of their own that make them real and strikingly human.  Their stories flow easily, because they are simply framed and simply told, but they are compelling and enjoyable nonetheless.

The Bad
The Help will certainly prove to be an emotional roller coaster ride, so I recommend keeping a box of tissues handy - just in case.

The Ugly
Envisioned in conjunction with the civil rights movement The Help portrays the lives of three women in Jackson, Mississippi. As such, Stockett's novel often portrays some of the worst aspects of racism - and the abject unfairness that such extraordinary women face such terrible circumstances.

Parts of this novel will ultimately perturb you because of the pure inability of some characters to see past themselves - and their own unfounded prejudices - to fully view the plight of others and manage even the smallest iota of humanity.

Housekeeping

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Housekeeping
Marilynne Robinson
1980

The Summary
Housekeeping carefully depicts the lives of Ruthie and her sister, Lucille, who grow up under the care of their grandmother, then their grandmother's bumbling and nervous younger sisters, and, lastly, their flighty and erratic Aunt Sylvie.

More than simply listing off a litany of tragedies shared by these two girls, however, Marilynne Robinson's novel serves as a critical coming-of-age story for young Ruthie as she reconciles her family's tragic legacy with the the past of her town and examines the most complex and startling aspects of life, death, growing up, and being human.

The Good
Robinson's book is simultaneously intriguing and unusual.  Ruthie tells her story, and the stories of others, with amazing detail and depth, and she shares with her readers her startlingly complex notions of philosophy that encompass life, family, human nature, God, and death.

Housekeeping is, at its core, a book about philosophy and religion and emotion and learning to reconcile all the notions of growing up orphaned in a strange town on the edges of a somber lake.  It's a heady brew, in which the narrator and central protagonist, Ruthie, expresses her thoughts with startling depth and intricacy.

In particular, Robinson provides her readers with intricate characters and complex webs of stories and memories that overlap with the author's own experiences of childhood.  And Ruthie, this unusual gem who expresses an exceptional capacity for thought and rumination, offers a poignant perspective that will leave you mulling over her words for weeks to come.

The Bad
Robinson's novel, though immediately enjoyable for its incredible emotional complexity, becomes a deep well of thought and questioning that seemingly assures the readers of no answers.  It's very easy to become lost among Ruthie's philosophical meanderings and leave her story with few questions - and even greater questions.

The Ugly
The lake is a terribly desolate place that has taken lives - including Ruthie's and Lucille's grandfather, and their mother - and continues to claim them, throughout the couse of Housekeeping.

The Second Crusade: Extending the Frontiers of Christendom

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The Second Crusade:  Extending the Frontiers of Christendom
Jonathan Phillips
2007

The Summary
Jonathan Phillips recaptures the Second Crusade in his novel, carefully retelling some of the most important events of the First and Second Crusades and shedding light on three fronts of war:  the Holy Land in Palestine, the Baltic regions of northern Europe, and the Iberian Peninsula in Spain.

The Good
The Second Crusade is an informative piece of work.  It is great as a resource, because it provides an overview of dozens of historical resources and examines some of the most important qualities (and individuals) of the Second and First Crusades.

Besides which, Phillips's work demonstrates a thorough knowledge of its subject - including details concerning Conrad III of Germany and King Louis VII of France, as well as an indepth examination of the average crusader - and proves vastly insightful for its information about crusaders, culture, and political intrigue.

The Bad
Phillips's work retains a strict, academic style which can occasionally grow stale and wearisome.  In all honesty, it appeals to a very small group of people, because it's sometimes too dry and it's almost too much to wade through, despite the author's attempts to condense and refine.

Moreover, in specifically focusing on the growth of Christendom and the impact of the Crusades on Europe, Phillips occasionally neglects to provide information on the "other side."  While the author does show the impact of the Crusades on the people of the Baltic regions, Palestine, and Spain, The Second Crusade more often portrays the history of European crusaders - and , in particular, the actions of the kings of France and Germany, Louis VII and Conrad III respectively.

The Ugly
The Crusades, despite elements of grandeur, remain an exceedingly violent and disruptive aspect of European and Middle Eastern history.  As Phillips notes in his work, the Second Crusade achieved many goals, but, more often, it appeared to lead to violent conflict, persecution, and wanton destruction.

Bridesmaid Lotto

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Bridesmaid Lotto
Rachel Astor
2011

The Summary
Josephine McMaster finally has her life in order.  A group of great friends, a nice apartment, a good job, and a long-forgotten nickname put in the past has officially rounded out her immediate goals.

But when she is selected as a bridesmaid for the celebrity wedding of the century (thanks to her meddling mother), her orderly life is suddenly anything but.  And with the growing interest of famous movie star Jake Hall interrupting her life, Josie has more than just old nicknames and secrets about which to worry.

The Good
Rachel Astor's novel offers a quirky protagonist with a hilarious story that's both amusing and entertaining to read.  Moreover, Bridesmaid Lotto is short, sweet, and to-the-point.  It's short enough to read in an evening and easy to read, providing just the right diversion for a handful of unused hours.

The Bad
In reading this novel, I noticed a handful of grammatical and spelling mistakes.  I know, it happens.  Everyone makes mistakes, so it's fairly minor.  However, I did find Astor's work a little lacking in its command of vocabulary.  To put it simply, having a narrator who uses the phrase "and stuff" seems like a poor choice, especially since said narrator is supposed to be a professional woman in advertising.

From what I could gather, the narrator's job is to make her projects sound wonderful and stream-lined, to make them seem better than ever before and come up with clever, witty advertisements to help her company's clients win over consumers or appeal to a certain audience.  One would think she should have a grasp of language and hyperbole and vocabulary to make her a force to be reckoned with.

But her use of terms like "barfy" and "sucky" sound a little juvenile, especially given her supposed qualifications.  It seems like a huge break from the design of the character, and it's pretty annoying.

The Ugly
Josie's "disaster diary" is, in a word, frustrating.

While I understand this particular digression - it tells more about the character, gives her a relatable history, and offers her a burst of humility.  She is supposed to be the sweet, socially-awkward heroine that everyone will love - Astor appears to go out of her way to make Josie appear as embarrassing and ridiculous as possible.

But, more than that, it's as if the author has created a character intent on deliberately sabotaging her own dreams and murdering her self-confidence.  Embarrassing moments happen, I understand that; however, I don't see why this novel must be one long flashback to high school embarrassments and unnecessarily awkward digressions.