What better way to spend boxing day, particularly over here in the UK where the weather is grey (tho not really cold) than tucked up on the couch with a good box.
It bought quite a few books before xmas, and this one had stuck out (probably from the internet meme “OMG BEEEEEEeeeeeeeeesss” more than I’d like to admit) but popped up a couple of times in ‘good to read’ lists and we I guess well voted.
It’s an older book (therefore cheap!) with a movie that followed closely after it. The best thing I can compare it to is ‘The Help’ written during a similar period in the southern states of America, segregation and racism key to the thread of the novel.
I could go on about the plot, but that’s not really why I think I enjoyed this book, well – enjoy is the wrong word. I guess provoked a reaction may be better? Similar to the Lacuna, last chapter of the book, I cried the entire way through and for about 30 mins afterwards.
I don’t quite know why, there were questions unanswered, and it should have felt a bit fake and too much of a twee story? I don’t know, but it definitely made me reflect upon my own life and maybe what I would have don in similar situations. Now boxing day is over – it’s out of my head, and I no longer find the content as sad, but I guess I’m still a little reflective on the content, maybe slightly bitter or something.
I would recommend it for a holiday read, something that can be finished in a sitting, and I do think it’s a bit more of a ‘young adult’ novel than the Help.
