"The Operator", set in the 1950s in the small town of Wooster, Ohio, is the story of switchboard operator Vivian Dalton, who makes a habit of listening in on calls (even though the operators aren't supposed to), and believes that she knows everything that is going on with everyone in town. One night though, when connecting a call to Betty Miller, one of the town's wealthy residents, and the mayor's daughter, Vivian overhears an unrecognized caller tell Betty gossip about Vivian's own family, gossip that Vivian believes would have everyone in town talking if it were true. So as Betty begins to track down the basis of the rumor, and the source that told it to Betty, she begins to unravel a number of other secret's that will have an effect on the town of Wooster.

I had been hearing a lot about this upcoming book for awhile, so was excited to have the opportunity to read an advanced copy. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either, and am somewhere down the middle about it. It's definitely not a story that moves quickly, and it takes its time to get to the finale at the end, definitely at a leisurely pace.

The main character, Vivian, definitely does not come across as the most likeable of characters, though the author does a great job of providing the background story of Vivian to help explain why she is the way she is, and to give some reference to her insecurities (though I loved seeing Vivian work to fight against those in the end).

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers, and William Morrow, on providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read. All of the plot points are interconnected and come back full circle at the end. There was a lot of coincidence that stretched the lengths of credulity for me, but it's a minor quibble. The main character and her daughter were well drawn well. There was humor throughout the novel, which was good because some of the plot was heavy. I liked how the author left a little cliffhanger at the end of each chapter to keep reader's engaged. Overall, this was a pleasant read.

I could not love this story more. First the setting of Wooster Ohio, is just thirty minutes from where I grew up and my grandmother was a telephone operator, so you had me at HELLO! Anyone who has lived in a small town will know that everyone seems to be everyone's business. Vivian Dalton has been told to mind her own business a time of two since she was a young girl, but she still loves to eavesdrop, even if she often regrets it. The story is so cleverly told with each chapter revealing another layer of small town intrigue filled with rumor and deceit.. The spunky Vivian will get to the bottom of it and will follow any clue or trail until she does..

As the title suggests, The Operator by Gretchen Berg is a book about gossip, easedropping, and the subsequent consequences of our actions. Set in the 50s, The Operator tells the story of how small town rumors impact Vivian, her family, and her community. Vivian sets out to right the rumors, and along the way, she discovers she is stronger than she gets credit for. The Operator depicts how challenging it was for working women. It was enjoyable watching Vivian navigate her situation amidst the gossip and turmoil.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

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.

This book really snuck up on me! It is slow building up, and for quite awhile, I didn’t quite get what it was really about. But then it really got interesting and good. Fun twists. Characters that weren’t very endearing won me over in the end.

I really enjoyed this book and the flood of nostalgic memories that washed over me as I read it. It brought back flashbacks of my sisters and I hearing our Mom tell us about her days working the telephone switchboard in our small community. I'm positive that there was some listening in done! It also reminded me of days gone by when we had 'party lines ' and everyone knew everyone else's business but would never admit it. I believe that a novel is a success when it can readily evoke memories and this one aptly does that.
The author has created characters that leap off from the page; realistic Midwest small town dialogue and 1950's stresses abound.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book from netgalley, William Morris and The Book Club Girls. All opinions are my own. @gretchenberg #bookstagram #theoperator @williammorrispublishing @harpercollins

Took a little bit to get going, but once it it I couldn’t stop reading. Little too many coincidences but overall great read ,

I read an ARC of this book through Netgalley. The story follows a number of characters from the town of Wooster, Ohio in the 1950's, including an affluent housewife, a housewife with a job as a telephone operator, a teenage girl and various other characters. It's an examination of the perils of gossip and prejudices. The premise intrigued me, because it was unlike any other historical fiction novel I've read. I appreciated the examination of various characters in the small 1950's community, and the ending came together very well. It was a bit slow to come together, and none of the characters were particularly likable. However, overall it was a good story that I enjoyed reading.

Do I find protagonist (I use this term lightly) Vivian’s tendencies towards voyeurism by spying on friends and family growing up and by listening in on calls as an operator in her job well-founded and intriguing? No, I find it creepy and disturbing. Do I find her aversion and obsession with words above a fifth grade reading level and her immature temper tantrums with family members cute and endearing? Not in the slightest. In general I find Vivian desperate to appear important and valued while demeaning and devaluing people around her. The separate story going about people that robbed a bank seems unnecessary in most ways. I don’t understand why the book was called The Operator, when almost no part of the book has anything whatsoever to do with Vivian actually doing her job. Quite frankly, there isn’t a single thing I like about Vivian or the majority of the other characters in this book. And if I hear someone say “Garsh”, it may take years before I don’t have an inclination to punch them (if you were Vivian, you’d have to look up the definition of inclination). No, no, a million times no!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks, NetGalley and HarperCollins!

The Operator is set in the 1950s in Wooster, Ohio. It's a small-town tale of a phone operator who eavesdrops on conversations and learns some interesting gossip, some of which is about her own family. I was very excited to read this book as I do love a bit of gossip :) However, the execution didn't work for me. I hated the main character (and her husband). I could not get into the story and I found the back and forth of time periods in the beginning unnecessary. I hated the random insertions of dictionary definitions (because the words were complicated? And the main character had never gone past 8th grade?) and the weird placement of random recipes at the end of some chapters. I did not find any of the "twists and turns" of the story to be particularly interesting or shocking.

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. Review posted to Goodreads, and LibraryThing.

Thank you Book Club Girl and William Morrow for my e-arc of The Operator . I’d been reading a lot of mysteries/thrillers when I picked this one up and was definitely in the mood for a different type of read. Set in 1952/1953, The Operator delves into family relationships, the dividing lines of classes and the repercussions of listening to conversations not met for you.
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I loved this tale! Told from multiple points of view we learn over the course of the book the many secrets held in Wooster and the effects they have when revealed. I so enjoyed how all were interconnected and once one is revealed a domino effect is set off.
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What ultimately captured my attention was Vivian’s evolution. I was rooting for her all the way and was so happy by her growth and determination for her future.
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If you enjoy character driven stories, with the small town setting playing a role in the drama, then this definitely a story for you.

The Operator by Gretchen Berg was not what I was expecting. I was expecting a nosy, gossipy telephone operator from the Midwest in the 1950s wreaking havoc in her small town. Instead, I got a nosy, gossipy operator who overhears a rumor about her own family that sets in motion a lot of retrospection, and investigation into those we call family. Aside from this, there’s also class structure and parallels drawn between them, as well as comparisons to those marginalized cultures (in this story African Americans and Italians). For the most part I enjoyed this book. It’s Ms. Berg’s debut novel and it could be stronger in a lot of areas; however, I look forward to reading more from her as it’s a good first novel.

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for an honest review. #theoperator #netgalley #harpercollins

The Operator by Gretchen Berg is an amazing story with many flawed characters, vivid descriptions, yummy looking recipes and a WHOLE lot of 1950's small town secrets.

Set it Wooster, OH it tells the story of Vivian, a Bell operator, wife and mother who eavesdrops on the calls she connects to get the juiciest bits of gossip. One night, the gossip is about her, which sets off a transformative set of events not just for Vivian and her family, but for the whole town.

This is a book that poses the question "How well do you/can you know the people around you?"

Fun story of life in a small town and the effects of gossip. Karma follows these characters. Quick, easy read. Review also posted on goodreads.

2.5
I had high hopes for this story - our son is looking at the College of Wooster so the setting is important to me. However, that’s the most connected I became to the story. I thought the transitions were rough and the nursery rhymes, recipes and poems were out of place.

The Operator was a fun book, that surprised me many times along the way. Viv is an operator who loves listening in to the phone calls she connects. That all changes when she overhears a call about her. She drives her husband and daughter crazy in her quest to find the truth. She also meets many interesting characters along the way.

This book just had some amazing character and plot development. I was mesmerized at the ways all the characters lives intertwined and affected each other’s. This book has love, intrigue, mystery and heartbreak. I mean, if you had the job where you could potentially listen to people’s phone calls, and you find out something earth shattering...what do you do.

The Operator was definitely a different read. It is about a small town in the 1950s and the effects of gossip and secrets on its community. I found the first half of the book a bit slow. The main character, Vivian, was also not the most likeable. However, if you make it through to the second half, the build is worth it.