The Help

[sashkina]

Долго не хотела, но всё же прочитала на днях The Help - первую книгу Кэтрин Стокетт . Не зря на амазоне книжку так хвалят, я не могла оторваться. Книга просто бесподобная, повествование ведется сразу от трех лиц, женщин, живущих в начале 60х в Джэксон, Миссиссиппи. Одна дама - белая девушка из благополучной семьи, вернувшаяся в родной город после

Comments

[piterburg]

I've lived in the US for 30 years. And 30 years ago life was different, but not so different as you seem to imagine.

Life was a lot more dangerous, there was lots more crime on the streets, but at the same time there was a lot more individual freedom.There was a lot less enforced conformity, and a lot more private space for individuals.

Most people were not wearing helmets while bicycling, and most felt it was their own private choice whether to buckle their seatbelt. No one especially cared if a girl you happen to sleep with was a bit short of 18.

The government was a lot less transparent, but also a lot less intrusive.

New York City then looked and felt like San Paulo looks and feels today.

There was a lot less choice of consumer goods, and food was dismal by today's standards.
You could not get espresso or cappuchino, and men wearing sandals were either gays or leftists.

Racial relations were a lot more tense than they are now, but no, blacks were not hunted on the streets.

Overall, it is difficult for me to say whether life then was better than it is now. In
some ways it was, in some ways it was not. Yes, it is a lot safer, more convenient and settled now, but I often miss a freer America of yesteryear...

[sashkina]

What you are describing is the late 70s-early 80s and in the north east, probably. I am writing about the late 50s-early 60s in the deep south.

[piterburg]

Of course. But deep South before Rosa Parks and MLK was two generations ago, not one. Bill Clinton was still a young boy, a middle schooler in Arkansas.

[sashkina]

i guess so - 1.5 is more like it :) i was counting back from when I moved to the states, and it was almost one generation from then...