The Screwtape Letters/ The Help

Next up on my reading list was C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters."  I read the first chapter, and about half of the second, and felt I was done, I had read the whole book.

The book consists of chapters, which are actually letters written from the Devil to his "henchmen" on how to deceive and mislead men. An interesting point was made in the first chapter, and that was not to allow man think or reason, to keep his distracted and focused on trivial, worldly matters.  That way there would be no room in his head for the constant reminder of God.  I liked the chapter well enough.

The first half of the second chapter seemed practically identical, the same tone, the same vocabulary.  That's what I decided to move on to the next book.

The next book recommended to me was "The Help" by Katheryn Stockett.  I could not put this book down.  It was written very well, flowing between the viewpoints of different characters, so you could almost imagine what each person went through. And that made it hard to hate anyone. Well almost anyone. 


It's the story of a white woman working with the African American help in well to do white houses in Jackson, Mississippi, telling their stories.  Among them are bad ones and good ones, stories where the help is treated with kindness and generosity, yet all the while maintaining their position as the help.  Never ever really on the same field as their employers. 


As you can imagine, the characters trying to tell these stories were at great danger of being found out,  though it wasn't something stressed in the book.  As I read, my heart was constantly on edge, praying for them to succeed without being caught in the act. 


I'd like to be more in depth with my review, but it's been a few weeks since I finished it.  I loved it, and now that I have read the book, I want to watch the movie.  I am sure it will pale in comparison, but I still expect to be entertained.