Gretchen BergRecensioni

More like a 2.5, but I'm rounding up. Great plot, poor character development. The story was interesting enough to keep my reading, but I didn't feel any particular way about any of the characters. They were poorly fleshed out and mostly uninteresting, even the characters who were supposed to be the "troublemakers." The cynical part of me suspects this was written in hopes of becoming a TV series, because I think it would actually make a great show with the right cast. As a book though, it was just okay.

With all do respect to the author, this book was clearly not my cup of tea.

Gretchen Berg is much too young to remember the 1950s, yet she captures middle America of that era with great skill in “The Operator” (2020). She also nicely describes Wooster, Ohio, a town I know well and where I have spent a lot of time over the years.

Berg's story begins just a few days before Christmas in 1952 when Vivian, a telephone operator in Wooster who sometimes listens to other people's conversations, overhears gossip that turns over her world. Betty Miller, daughter of Wooster's mayor and a woman who prides herself as being the most prominent and most fashionable woman in town, learns in a call that Edward Dalton, Vivian's husband, has another wife in another state.

Rather than just confronting Edward, Vivian stews and plots and snoops. She even hires a private investigator to track down the other woman in New York State, then tracks her down herself. When she and Edward remarry in a civil ceremony just to make sure they are legally married, you may think the story should be over, but it is just beginning. There are more revelations and more surprises to come.

Strangely Edward turns out to be the most sympathetic character in the novel, with the possible exception of their teenage daughter Charlotte. But then he is the only key character into whose mind Berg does not take us. He is portrayed just as a hapless man trying to swim through his troubles while making minimum waves. It's the women, especially Vivian and Betty, who are shown as petty, spiteful and vain.

Berg's novel, which includes a bank embezzlement subplot, is loosely based on a true story.

All readers will find this novel fascinating. Those of us old enough to remember the time of telephone operators and party lines will find it sobering.

Small town life in the mid-20th century seen through the eyes of a telephone operator -- gossip, secrets, and scandal.

I can't review this very highly since I can't remember it and it's only been a couple of weeks since I finished it. I remember the basics. I found the naiveté of the central character somewhat hard to believe unless she was simple in some way. It sure sounded promising, but didn't quite deliver for me.

Slow to start, and set in my least favourite era - 1950s America - I must admit to believing the negative reviews, which is ironic considering the subject. But when I got to 'know' the characters, and found myself hooked by the twists and turns in the narrative, I couldn't stop reading - on one of the hottest days of the year, I lost myself in midwinter Ohio!

“They’re always passing judgment on what you wear, what you eat, what you do, who you love.” Flora shrugged. “And if you’re smart enough to keep your distance, you can sit back and watch them the same way. Just enjoy it all, like you’d enjoy a stage play or a movie.”

Based on the author's own family history, Vivian Dalton is a telephone operator in a small town in Ohio. A middle child who never finished high school, Vivian has long gained power through eavesdropping and can't help listening in to the calls she connects at work. Her technique backfires spectacularly, however, when she overhears a shocking rumour about her own husband. And the receiver of this devastating gossip is none other than Vivian's nemesis and the mayor's daughter, Betty Miller. Both women are ridiculous in their arrogance and judgement of others, particularly as both are housewives with small minds and vicious tongues. Vivian goes into meltdown, terrifying her teenage daughter, until she discovers a weapon she can use to get revenge - but will she?

Vivian and Betty's petty rivalry bored me silly until Vivian lost control and started to fight back, then I found myself completely in her corner. 1950s wives and mothers living in claustrophobic communities didn't really have a great deal of choice in life, as Vivian observes, and petty jealousies started out of boredom could be blown out of proportion.

If Vivian let herself think about it for too long, she’d work herself up into a lather about how unfair it was, and how women ended up trapped in their marriages with mouths to feed, and how there was no chance of them ever getting out of that, and the next thing you know she’d be waving a sign or wearing a pair of trousers.

The hidden secrets that are revealed are perhaps a little obvious but I enjoyed the rigid rules of 1950s society being thrown into chaos! Vivian is the true star of the of the story, with her addiction to learning new words and frustrated habit of screaming into cushions. When she stops being a frustrated housewife and turns amateur investigator, I loved her all the more.

Recommended for fellow lovers of character-driven stories.

This is an interesting look at small town life in Wooster, Ohio in the 1950s where image and social status trump kindness and caring. It is also a town divided by socio-economics and ethnicities. At the center of the story is Vivian Dalton, who works as a switchboard operator long before cell phones and landlines. She immerses herself in the business of the citizens of Wooster by listening in to their conversations until she overhears her own family secret revealed that sets her reeling and filled with an all-consuming rage. A scandal of far-reaching proportions is discovered when two bank employees embezzle $250,000 from the community bank, and abscond. While investigating her own family scandal, Vivian unearths information that threatens to destroy her most bitter enemy, Betty Miller, who considers herself the guardian of acceptable social mores. There are multiple layers of secrets in this well-written debut novel.½

This novel was before my time, but as a child, I remember my mom cursing about the nosey operators who listen in and new her business! Ours was not a big town about fifty thousand and she remember a box on the wall with a four party line, and a dial and a crank I thought that Vivian Dalton was crazy when she bought and expensive hat that her friend drooled over instead of buying proper footwear for her feet as she walked to work in the snow, especially in Ohio winters! Then she listens in on a call to snobbish, Betty Miller and her friend has news that will shatter her life if it was true!

A las operadoras de la centralita en Wooster, Ohio, les encanta escuchar las conversaciones de sus vecinos y ponerse a cotillear después. Vivian Dalton es una de ellas, aunque ya está un poco harta de oír trucos de maquillaje y recetas de cocina. Lo que quiere es algo gordo, algo excitante, como la existencia de espías en la ciudad o una infidelidad. Y su deseo por fin se cumple.
Betty Miller, una de las mujeres más ricas del pueblo, comenta con una amiga desconocida un secreto. Algo verdaderamente jugoso… que tiene que ver con ¡el marido de Vivian! Y lo peor de los pueblos pequeños es que un secreto lleva a otro.

Spent too much time trying to keep straight who everyone was and what was going on to enjoy the story.

The Operator by Gretchen Berg isn’t a book I would typically choose to read; it isn’t dark and twisty, and nothing horrifying happens. However, I’m glad I received a free e-copy from NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers via The Book Club Girls in exchange for my review.

The operator in question is Vivian Dalton, who likes to listen in on the phone calls she connects at work, a habit that nearly proves to be her undoing when she hears a conversation that turns her world upside down and makes her question everything. As she searches for the truth, the story winds its way through the past and present, revealing secrets a little bit at a time, until the end.

Watching Vivian learn about not only the people in her life but about herself through the course of this novel was very satisfying and by the end, I found myself kind of in love with all of the characters, even most of the unlikeable ones. I especially liked the incorporation of recipes to the story as Vivian baked her way through her emotions!

Hands down one of THE best books I've read this year! It's a book of simpler times, yet with a theme that never gets old...marriage, deception and family.
The story centers around Viv- an operator for Bell who "knows people" , who has her fingers on the pulse of town life by connecting and then listening in on phone conversations!
Two thumbs up and 5 stars.

Secrets are like weeds: eventually they come to the surface and spread. Secrets abound in this small town, and, in the 1950s, telephone operators were privy to many of them. Vivian dropped out of school to go to work and help out her family during the depression years. She married, moved away from her home town, had a daughter, moved back, and returned to her old job and to life in a small town. But secrets and the scandals attached to them worked their way into the light of day and into the newspapers. And then everyone knew. How all this happened, who it affected, who was involved, and how it all turned out makes for some highly entertaining reading. With a well thought-out style of writing, author Gretchen Berg has penned a delightful tale of a small town ripe with gossipy women, unfaithful men, jealous sisters, pompous acquaintances, and more. Of course, not everyone was like that, but enough of the people were, which gave them all something to talk about - and hide. The characters are practically alive on the page, and the author’s style of writing in slowly doling out first the secrets and then the reasons behind them was a stroke of genius. Highly recommended.

The Operator was an unusual read for me. Some parts of this historical story of small-town life in the 1950s were delightful and others parts…weren’t. Sometimes there was a lot of action to hold my interest and other times I found it difficult to keep track of who was who and how they were related to the town. I feel bad for saying this when the story is based on real life! The main idea for the plot is great, but perhaps is watered down in modern society where such things don’t really matter much. The other great secrets revealed don’t always feel like they have much of an effect on Vivian, the main character.

Vivian is one of the switchboard operators at Ohio Bell, the local telephone exchange. She delights in secretly listening in on conversations and knowing that bit more about the other people in Wooster. One night she connects a telephone call where a secret is spilled to the local (and self-appointed) queen bee of the town. That secret is about Vivian herself and rocks her to her very core. Suddenly, all she knew is quite possibly a lie. Vivian does her own investigation to find out the truth and then put things right. The story also wades into other things happening in the town, such a robbery at the local bank and how the perpetrators have their own links to the town. Vivian’s daughter, Charlotte, also deals with first love (or not) and a shocking event. Meanwhile, Queen Bee Betty, is out to get Vivian.

I think this story may have been better for me if it was labelled as about the people of Wooster, rather than Vivian and people she’s heard on the phone line. Vivian’s major problem in the book is out in the open quite quickly and is dealt with in the same fashion. There is some fallout and finding out who betrayed her, but in the meantime the narrative wanders off to discuss other things happening in the town. Vivian is an unusual character in that she can be both shallow and quite deep (such as when she writes poetry for the local newspaper – there isn’t much of an explanation of why). Sometimes she’s angling for the approval of the highest of Wooster society, sometimes she openly decides to forget the whole thing. I think her uncertainty in and shame about her lack of education could have been a stronger point early on to feel more empathy for her. Queen Bee Betty is also quite a caricature of the catty housewife, but she’s…odd. Her stress on certain words is annoying and she seems to be on the verge of hysteria a lot. Her motivation for targeting Vivian is also a bit strange, as they aren’t friends and Vivian is no threat socially. Possibly my favourite character was Charlotte, who is a typical teenager with an added smartness.

Berg’s writing is easy to read and the historical details are great. The pacing of The Operator is somewhat uneven, starting off slow and then picking up pace before falling away again. When who betrayed Vivian comes to light, it all seemed very rushed to the point where I had to hide in a quiet room to work out who was who and how they linked back to Wooster and its residents. I did like the additional recipes sprinkled throughout the book – although I would add chocolate back to the seven-layer bars.

Thank you to Hachette for the copy of this book. My review is honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

The Operator by Gretchen Berg is a lighthearted historical novel about gossip, eavesdropping and scandal. Vivian Dalton works as a telephone operator at Ohio Bell. She began eavesdropping on conversations at an earlier age and working at the telephone company allowed her to continue this hobby. Late one December evening, Vivian overhears a conversation between the hoity toity Betty Miller and a stranger. The stranger tells Betty a secret about Vivian’s family which, if it gets out, will embarrass Vivian. After getting over her anger, Vivian sets out to learn if the information is accurate. While the story plays out in the present, we get to learn about Vivian’s growing up years and her relationship with her family. We also learn about Betty Miller’s family and the robbery of the bank managed by Betty’s father, J. Ellis Reed. This side story does not make sense until the end of the book. I had a hard time getting into The Operator. The first chapter did not pull me in (it was a turn off). I found The Operator easier to read as I got further into the story. I also think I had trouble because it is hard to like the main character (or any of them for that matter). I felt the author captured the time period with the fashions, vehicles, the language, and events. I like how Gretchen Berg included Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds’ Martian invasion broadcast. She captured the panic it created beautifully. I did feel The Operator was too long. It could have benefited from some judicious editing. This is Gretchen Berg’s debut novel which is loosely based on her grandmother (author’s note at end explains about newspaper articles and poems included). There are some recipes included in The Operator. The Operator is a blithe story about rampant rumormongering, endless eavesdropping, superior standards, and harmful hearsay.

I had been looking forward to reading The Operator, expecting something light, and quirky, perhaps with a bit of an edge, in a wholesome 1950’s small town setting.

That’s not really what this is though. The Operator is satire, exploring the darker side of small town life that lurks beneath the veneer of respectability.

I struggled with The Operator, in large part because I didn’t much care much for the characters. The residents of Wooster, Ohio, or at least those with whom we spend the most time, Vivian and Betty, are mainly unpleasant, perpetually unsatisfied, small-minded women whose flaws are their own undoing. Vivian’s lifelong habit of eavesdropping, which she indulges freely as a telephone operator, proves the old adage, “eavesdroppers never hear any good of themselves”, true. While Betty, a spiteful, snob is ripe to learn, “people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”.

Though I found the pacing a little slow and disjointed through the first half, the story has its moments as Vivian digs into the secrets being kept from her, exposing scandals far more serious than who has answered the door without makeup on, including premarital pregnancy, adultery, robbery, bigamy, and desertion.

Of additional interest, the author’s note reveals the story is loosely based on her own grandmother’s life and as such some elements of the story are rooted in fact, including the misspelled recipes, poems, and a news article.

I didn’t particularly enjoy The Operator, though I didn’t particularly dislike it either, it just wasn’t for me. It may be just what your looking for though.

I must admit to being a bit of a nosy parker and the premise of this novel, that of a woman working a switchboard in the 1950s listening into calls, did rather pique my interest.

Vivian Dalton is that woman in small town America: Wooster, Ohio, in fact. The small town feeling is portrayed really well, all the petty little things that matter to the women of the town in particular, trying to outdo each other at every turn. Vivian regularly listens in to the calls she has connected, long after she should. This makes her privy to gossip from the town but one night she hears gossip that threatens to change her own life.

This book wasn't quite what I expected. I thought it would be all about the repercussions of that phone call, and in a way it was, but there was a lot of looking back at Vivian's past, and some seemingly unrelated sections about an embezzlement at the local bank (they are related but it doesn't become clear until later in the book). In fact, everything that happens in this book is all linked but the reasons unfold gradually and I was surprised by everything, even the thing that rocks Vivian's world in the first place.

The setting is strong and I think it's a great idea for a book. I wasn't particularly drawn to any of the characters but I'm not sure I was meant to like them. To be fair, they do exhibit many of the more unpleasant traits of human nature!

This is a solid debut from Gretchen Berg full of secrets and lies. There was a lot I enjoyed about it. Just remember, next time you hold a glass to a wall or eavesdrop on a private conversation, you might just hear something you wish you hadn't (what do you mean you don't do that?!).

Operators listening in on conversations?

It’s the 1950’s, and that could be done with a simple "number please." The operators could also disconnect a call too.

What if you heard something in a conversation about you? Would you keep listening to conversations? Would you try to do something about what you heard?

Vivian was devastated when she listened to a conversation and found out she was the topic of some gossip and gossip she wanted to keep under wraps even though she knew it would spread like wildfire.

After hearing the gossip, Vivian tried to avoid everyone when she went out in case they would ask her any questions.

What could it be that she was so worried about? The reader was kept in suspense for many chapters.

There were other problems that the town thought were worth gossiping about too - and there was plenty of gossip to pass around.

Secrets and gossip kept the small town of Wooster buzzing.

THE OPERATOR is a light, comical, enjoyable read that should be enjoyed by readers of all genres. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Operator by Gretchen Berg is a recommended debut novel about small town secrets set in the early 1950's.

Vivian Dalton is a switchboard operator in Wooster, Ohio, when she overhears a secret bit of gossip about her that sets the whole novel into motion. Sure, Vivian isn't supposed to be listening in on calls, but all the operators do it at times. When Vivian listens into a call from an unknown woman to town snob Betty Miller, she is shocked by the secret that is told because it is about her and her husband. Not being one to take things sitting down, Vivian puts her plan into action, finding out the truth behind it and then dealing with it head on. The only problem is that one secret often leads to another.

Chapters alternate between several characters but the story is mainly told through Vivian's point-of-view. Characters are true to their upbringing and the societal norms of the 1950's. Vivian is a well-developed character and her personality is clearly depicted. There are class and economic distinctions precisely detailed between characters and in the town. Berg captures the language and concerns of the times, which establishes the time and setting in the plot.

The writing is very good. I liked the dictionary definitions of words sprinkled throughout the novel. Berg also has a way of describing events in a witty, humorous way, like Vivian's misunderstanding over the meaning of a word in a book title or Betty's self-importance setting up her Christmas party and ladies tea. The recipes added to the novel also helps set the tone. I had a struggle keeping my interest in The Operator, however, and all the homey descriptions, period details, funny incidents, and clever wording weren't enough to keep my yawns at bay. I was glad I finished it, but ultimately it won't be memorable. I did appreciate the unraveling that resulted from all the secrets being exposed.

Part of the struggle I had with The Operator is it is required to believe the premise that all the women placed so much importance in the opinions of others, and in listening to gossip. Certainly my mother, who was a product of the 50's can still be concerned with what other people think, but she was also taught by her mother to not participate in the spreading of gossip. You were careful what you said on the party-line, knowing it was open for eavesdropping. Yes, everyone knows everyone else's business in a small town, but not all women participated in this, which makes this novel a little less humorous or clever for me.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/03/the-operator.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3223109657

The author clearly did her research about Wooster (a city I grew up near and know well), but details such as name-dropping stores like Freedlander's and Buehler's seemed forced. AND Wooster is NOT a small town, not even in the first half of the 20th century. In spite of the research, this book didn't seem to really capture the heart of the people of Wooster. The characters are mostly terrible people who are petty and vindictive and only concerned about appearances.

I didn't care for the way that the story jumps around. It felt disjointed and poorly-paced. I was hoping for more about Vivian's job as an operator, but that was really a pretty small part of the story.

Set in the 1950s this is a story of small town gossip, secrets and eavesdropping. In Wooster, Ohio, Vivian spends her days connecting callers as an Operator. Her and her coworkers listen in on conversations and gossip about their little town of Wooster. One day Vivian finds herself the topic of a destructive rumor and thus the story unfolds.

I wanted to like this novel but could not connect with the characters. There are many diverse scenes and issues running through this novel and half the time I didn't find relevance as the plot jumped along. My interest waned greatly by the end.

One plus side to this novel is the look inside the different social structures of woman during this time. There are many themes that were touched on in the writing such as the idea of feeling trapped in a marriage with no way out for a woman and I rarely see that aspect in books that I've personally read. More importantly the destructive nature of gossip and the healing of forgiveness was well done by the author. Fun fact, there are recipes throughout the book that Vivian bakes to soothe her stresses. I could gain ten pounds with those delicious tidbits! I can't wait to try a few.

Though this novel wasn't for me I can see why this is a hit for many. I'd recommend this to individuals who enjoy novels surrounding small town gossipy lives and the early 1950s.

I read this book as an electronic advance reading copy provided by NetGalley, and I have submitted my comments to the publisher via that web site.

This book is great fun, with a compelling story (each chapter ends with a mini cliffhanger) and believable characters. They may not be likable, but they are often laughable. In many works of contemporary fiction, the hero is a clever, resourceful character who goes above and beyond what the typical reader would do. In this book the protagonist is...kind of dumb, mean, and clumsy. The anecdote about her thinking The Myth of Sisyphus is a book about venereal disease still makes me giggle. I tend to shy away from debut novels, but this book feels accomplished and mature. Recommended.½

I really enjoyed this book about a woman living in a small town in the early 1950's. The story centers on Vivian Dalton: wife, mother, sister, and telephone operator. Her hobby is gossip so her job in the small town of Wooster, Ohio is perfect. This debut novel was well-written and cleverly plotted - all the pieces fit together, most of the characters are not stereotypes, and motivations are slowly revealed as the story progresses. Put this book on your "to-read" list!

Thanks to publisher HarperCollins and Book Club Girl Early Read program for an electronic copy of this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed Gretchen Berg's debut novel.
Broadly speaking, there are two timelines.

The "past"begins in 1925 and familiarizes us with the
McGinity family, in particular three daughters, Vera, Vivian and Violet.
Looking at them carefully, we see the stage is set for their futures.

The "present" begins early Dec 1952 in Wooster Ohio and Bell telephone operator, Vivian Dalton eavesdrops and hears a piece of gossip that shakes the foundations of her simple life.
The condescending Betty Miller is given a scandalous tidbit from a voice Vivian cannot place.
If true, Vivian's personal and family life could be shattered.

I found the characters as well as the settings easily visualized.
There were many dimensions to the plot and all were successfully resolved.

...a fast moving, entertaining read....

I will say that this story kinda grew on me as it went on. I was initially a little put off by the character of Vivian Dalton. A middle aged Conservative woman from the rural town of Wooster, Ohio. She comes off early on as a more than a little narrow minded. I was so pleased to see her expand her horizons and loosen up as the story went on. This story reminded a little bit of the characters and the dynamic from The Help. Set in the early 1950’s, the small town culture lends itself toward a feeling of community, where everyone knows everyone else, but secrets also don’t like to stay hidden and scandals are blown up in the papers and tend to linger. Such is setting when Vivian Dalton, listening in on a call from her seat as an operator at Bell, learns of a scandal involving her and her husband of 15 years. Apparently, her husband was married before and through some error, he is still married to that first woman. Enraged, Vivian enters a tail spin after the secret is exposed to the entire town. Feeling her entire marriage has been a fraud, Vivian is completely lost. Her adversity teaches her a lot about herself and the strength of the relationships she has had all those years, and she seems to come out on the other side a better, stronger person. A fun story that exposes the nature of small town life in America at a time in history that was fraught with many societal challenges. I look forward to new novels from Gretchen Berg, as this is her first novel. Thank you to Netgalley for the early copy.