“The Calamity Club” was one of the most anticipated books of the year. It has been 17 years since Stockett’s first book, “The Help,” was published. “The Help” was wildly successful and was a wonderful movie as well. I certainly had high hopes that “The Calamity Club” would be just as riveting as “The Help.”
The new novel is set in Mississippi during the 1930s, when money was tight and unemployment was high. Similar to “The Help,” the novel centers around several strong female characters. The story is told by two separate narrators. Birdie Calhoun is headed to Oxford, Mississippi to find her newly married sister to ask for money to save the family farm. Meg Lefleur is an 11-year-old girl living at an orphanage near Oxford because her mother disappeared suddenly.
Birdie and Meg tell their stories but do not meet for several chapters. They finally meet through Birdie’s sister Frances, who volunteers at the orphanage. Meg, whom the woman in charge of the orphanage considers a child who should not be adopted, is mistreated and underfed. She has just a few months before her 12th birthday. When she turns 12, she will be sent to work at the canning factory. This brief meeting is the extent of the connection between the two.
The novel takes a major turn about halfway through. Meg is adopted just before her mother shows up to take her home. And then Frances’ husband runs away, taking all the family’s valuables and leaving less than $100 for his wife and mother to live on. He has also defaulted on the mortgage and owes money all over town. Birdie realizes she will not be getting financial help from her sister’s family. Frances, Birdie and her mother-in-law have to solve the family’s financial problems. They must come up with a plan to make money.
Their solution, which includes Meg’s mom, borders on the ridiculous. The remainder of the novel is about implementing their harebrained scheme.
This novel reads like two different books with very little in common. One thing that Stockett does a good job demonstrating is how hard it was for a woman to earn a living in the 1930s. Most jobs went to men. If a woman was hired, she was usually paid less than a man.
I guess it is obvious I am not a fan of “The Calamity Club.” But, I am in the minority. It is very popular. So just because I did not like it, does not mean you should not read it.
