I really wanted to like this book. It was set in an area not even an hour from where I grew up and about 30 minutes from where I currently live so the setting was familiar.

Unfortunately, I just didn't love the story in general. Some things I did like...the growth Vivian showed from the beginning of the story to the end, the fact that Betty and her family (father) got what they deserved in the end.

Thank you to the Book Club Girl Early Read program for the advanced copy; all opinions are my own.

The Operator by Gretchen Berg was a decent debut novel. In my opinion, it was just okay. It held my interest but I was expecting a little bit more. I love the time period since I was born in the 50's.

Vivian Dalton helps support the household as a telephone operator. She thinks she knows people from her years of listening in on phone conversations. It gets her in trouble when she overhears gossip about her own family.

The characters were just a little bit flat and I felt like I was on the outside looking in. I didn't get fully invested in the characters like I thought I might have. I lived many years in a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business but, is still a friendly, caring community. It is not like that in the town of Wooster. At least not for Vivian and her family. It is sad because Vivian didn't have close family ties much less a close friendship.

This is an interesting book and I would not discourage anyone from reading it. It's quality lies in the glimpses you get of what life was like in the fifties. Moms baked and cooked meals, most kids walked to and from school and if parents were close enough, they walked to work. Much different than our life is today.

I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher for a fair and honest review.

I knew I was going to love this book from the time I read what it was about! The Operator is the first book by Gretchen Berg and it was wonderful! While it's different to have the main character be unlikeable, I did understand where Vivian was coming from and think it gave her the strength to deal with the bumps in the road. The secondary storyline about the bank theft and how that relates to another character is a great idea and gives the storyline more depth as does Charlotte's storyline. The Operator was a great read and I'm looking forward to what comes next from this author. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book and was so happy to get a copy as it was long anticipated. There were so many twists and I really didn't want to put this book down. Characters were well developed and I thought it was an easy read overall. I would definitely read more from Gretchen Berg in the future.

The Operator initially focuses on Vivian Dalton in a small Midwest town. She hears something she shouldn’t while operating a switchboard that not only impacts her and her family, but ends up with ripple effects around the town. The pace of the book left me less interested, and I felt like there was no one to root for, no connection. The premise was intriguing.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC review in exchange for an honest review.

The Operator is a story about a gossipy switchboard operator, set in the 1950's, Wooster, Ohio. Vivian Dalton, passes the hours at her job listening in on the calls of her friends and neighbors. Most of the juicy calls are gossip, however on this one occasion she overhears a discussion that will change her life forever. From this information she will start on an exploratory trip into her family's past, uncovering secrets she wish she never learned of.

The Operator was an okay read for me. I liked Vivian's character, but none of the secondary characters so much. Vivian had a quirky and very self-conscious way about her. She kept me interested. I also liked the way the author captured old time switchboards and party lines among other details dropped from the 1950's.

I think I'd choose to read this story again, but probably would not recommend it to others. However, seeing that this is a debut, this author has potential. It will be interesting to see in which direction she goes next.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for my honest and personal opinion.

#theoperator
#gretchenberg
#netgalley

4.5 stars

What a delightful read, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I spent with this book! I'm not going to rave about any gorgeous literary prose, but I am going to rave about the way the author sucks you into the lives of the people in this small town in the 1950's.

Small aside......This was one of my most anticipated books of the spring. My aunt worked as a telephone operator during the same time period of this book (and for her whole career!). I remember as a kid when she would talk about how they weren't supposed to listen in to conversations, but occasionally would hear the beginnings of some interesting stuff!

And so we have Vivian, who overhears something devastating to her and her family! She grapples not only with whether to cover it up, but also who was the bearer of the information and how did they get it? What I loved about the book was not only did we follow Vivian on her quest for the truth, but there were several other stories about the townspeople going on at the same time. This made the pacing of the story perfect as it weaves in and out of people's lives. As serious as some of the subject matter was, there was also humor interjected (I will never forget the "four flushers"!)

Packed with small town life in the 50's, with great characters, and ultimately a story of forgiveness, I got everything I was looking for. Don't miss this one!

Vivian! I can’t say how much I loved this character. Her habits literally made me laugh as I have very similar ones! I’ll randomly sing a nursery rhyme and make up my own verses. I am born and raised in Ohio as well.
This novel has the twists that you wouldn’t expect. The storyline goes ahead of the story so it makes you think and then it all comes together in the next chapter. This has a very unique writing style and I love it. This is the first novel by Gretchen and I sure hope there’s more to come!

The Operator is a book primarily about Vivian, a nosey switchboard operator in the Midwest, although we also get snippets of life from her daughter, Charlotte, and Flora, a local woman who has just robbed a local bank and fled to Canada. Vivian always tries to "measure up" to those around her, including the thoroughly obnoxious and very wealthy granddaughter of the town mayor (who in turn is a bit too obsessed with Vivian's family drama.)

Vivian is definitely the main character between the three, but, unfortunately she's also the least interesting. Stuck in a boring marriage with a teenage daughter who is at the very least more book-smart than she is, and working at a job where she knows she's underpaid because she's a woman, Vivian gets bursts of empowerment, but ultimately, falls a bit short. While I really liked when she started to take on some independence part way through the book, it felt like she was still right at the beginning of her journey as the book came to its conclusion.

I also really wanted to have more of Flora's story, even though her story only actually connected through a minor character (which also made it confusing as to why she really needed to be part of this larger story anyway.) Flora was the most clever of all the characters, and I found her to be the most interesting. But her story is only told in a small handful of chapters, so it left me wanting more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. It had not influenced my opinion.

Vivian enjoys listening in on folks' conversations during her shifts as Bell operator - until one of the conversations involves her.

This quirky story, filled with equally quirky characters, took a while before it drew me in. It was a bit TOO quirky for me, but I did chuckle at Vivian's escapades.

The author clearly did her research about Wooster (a city I 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 her job as an operator, but that was really a pretty small part of the story.

Vivian Dalton is a switchboard operator in Wooster, Ohio in the 1950's and she eavesdrops on many of the calls she connects which means no one knows what's going on in the town like she does. But she gets the surprise of her life one night when the call she listens in on between snobby Betty Miller and a mystery woman is about HER! This secret about Vivian's family could shatter their lives so she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of the rumor to try to dispel it before it ruins everything. But as Vivian attempts to make things better, more secrets are revealed and no one in Wooster is safe from the fall out.

Gretchen Berg creates a colorful world in this book and her turn of phrase is terrific - "Her fear had eaten her common sense like it was a casserole" is just one of the lines that had me laughing out loud. I could picture every character clearly and was surprised by the story's twists and turns. "The Operator" would make for a great movie!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and the author for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Thank you Harper Collins and Book Club Girl for the opportunity to read and review this ARC! Here is my short and sweet review, as posted on Goodreads:
This was a pretty light read. It felt a little jumbled in the beginning but smoothed out and got pretty interesting a little after the 50% mark. I liked the unlikely connections between different characters.

Thank you to Harper Collins Publishing and Net Galley for the ARC. This book made me laugh and cry and sometimes on the same page. It was set back in the 1950's and was about a telephone operator. Oh the things those operators could hear if they listened to conversations! Of course, they were not supposed to listen in on any conversations but curious minds want to know the gossip. And boy, what gossip there was. I just kept reading to find out the next ditty. Unfortunately, some gossip is hurtful. That is what Vivian found out when she heard something about her husband. Gretchen Berg brought the small town of Wooster, Ohio into life with all the twists and turns and small town gossip. It was a delightful read and I plan on making some of the recipes included in the book which were the author's grandmothers. This book is released on March 10, 2020 and I would definitely recommend it.

3.5/5 stars

What if you could listen-in on others' private conversations? In this story, the main character, Vivian Dalton, a switchboard operator in Wooster Ohio, happens to listen to a conversation that completely turns her life and community upside down.

The author does a beautiful job of providing a detailed glimpse into what life was like in a small town in the 1950s. I always imagined what life would be like in a small town where everyone knows each other and their private affairs. This story captured that aspect quite well. Karma plays a central role in this story and serves as a lesson that is relevant to all of us.

Although I found the characters in this story to be rather unlikable, this story was quick-witted and well-paced. I've always been a fan of historical fiction novels, and the historical pieces of this story is what captured my attention throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins - William Morrow for an e-ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Love this book so much I shared on every social media platform and in every book group I am in. The characters in this story could have all been neighbors, friends and or frenemies of my dear grandmother. Revelations occur which rock the daily lives of this group and your heart hurts right along with them. Gretchen Berg is a master of detail with time and place.

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.

A huge thank you to the Book Club Girl Early Reads program for a digital advanced reading copy of this book.

I really wanted to love this book about a busybody switchboard operator who listens in on the calls of people in her small town, but it was very difficult to get interested in for some reason. My grandma used to tell stories about one of her neighbors who would eavesdrop on the partyline and even have the nerve to interrupt calls to ask a question about what she heard so that is why I thought this book would be fun to read, but it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I wanted to DNF this book many, many times because it felt like drudgery reading it. The author’s note at the end that the story is based loosely on her grandmother and that she used articles from a newspaper verbatim (with names changed) was also very off-putting and explained so much. It almost feels like she used her grandmother’s story - or perhaps someone else’s story - to write her book. Not cool.

I did love all the 50’s references sprinkled throughout the story though (e.g., sewing patterns and a certain shade of Revlon lipstick) because they reminded me of my grandmother.

The Operator is historic fiction with a bit of a mystery. Vivian, the lead character, is a telephone operator and a nosy gossip, who hears information about herself while eavesdropping on her job. I'm sorry to say the story wasn't very intriguing and every character was unlikable. The characters were snobby or racist or petty or nasty. or all of the above. In addition, there were a couple of annoying factual errors I noticed. Although the book is set in the 50's, Vivian's daughter talks about middle school. Middle school was not a thing in the 50's. She would have gone to k-8 or junior high. They also go to a Methodist church, but there is a reference to a crucifix in the church. Methodist churches would have a cross, but not a crucifix. Sorry, this book just wasn't for me.