“Wasn’t that the point of the book? For women to realize, We are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I’d thought.” 

Read or rather heard: October-December 2016

I saw the movie when it first came out. Over the years I’ve seen it about 3 times- it was on HBO or something- and somehow I never get tired of watching it. I’ve found audiobooks, while they’re not my preference, to be a necessity. When I have so many books I want to read and waste some valuable reading time on the commute to school or my practice site, I figured, “Why not try an audiobook?!” Not all audiobooks are that great and the first two I came across were so and so.

However, the Help took my breath away with the absolutely wonderful voice cast including Octavia Spencer as Minnie. I mean, come on! Nobody else could play Minnie like her! I was surprised to see quite a few things changed from book to movie and in the book, you get to know the characters even better.

We get to see more of Minnie and how she develops her bond with Celia Foote. It was nice to read/hear, although having seen the movie I already knew about Celia’s miscarriages when she starts acting shady so the whole storyline until Minnie finally discovers the problem felt somewhat dragged. However, like I said, this was a consequence of me having seen the movie.

There were not too many differences in Skeeter’s storyline compared to the movie and like the other characters I felt like I got to know and understand her better. We see a lot more of Skeeter’s budding relationship with Stuart. There’s even a dinner with both their parents.

I must confess that this audiobook had me tearing. While I loved all the narrators and their respective parts, I think Aibeleen’s part was the one that touched me the most. I think I loved her story the most: Her son dying and loving a white child she knows might end up being like her mother yet she tries to teach her otherwise. The end when Aibeleen leaves and says goodbye to Mae Mobley killed me! There’s something about hearing a person speak, hearing the emotion or the inflections in their voice during crucial moments that can make an impact on you in a very different way compared to reading it on print.

After almost 2 months hearing it on my commutes to home and my practice site, I became attached to these characters in a different way. They almost seemed more real to me. I was a little sad I finished it and I felt like I was saying goodbye to friends of mine, never knowing when I might see them again. Needless to say that I watched the movie again after finishing the audiobook.

Has an audiobook ever had a big impact on you? What did you feel? 

Please tell me I’m not crazy!

5 out of 5 mortars