This started out a little on the slow side but it did pick up. I found parts of it quite charming. I think it tried to be too many things (a period piece, a mystery, a drama, light-hearted) to really pull off any one thing successfully, but nevertheless I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars.

In small towns, secrets don't stay secrets for long. Especially if you are a telephone operator who likes to eavesdrop on conversations. Vivian is a phone operator who prides herself on being able to read and understand people. She also eavesdrop on conversations while at work. Everything is fine until one night she eavesdrops on the wrong conversation and hears a rumor about her. Now Vivian must find out if the rumor is true and if so, what to do about it.

Betsy is the town queen - or so she thinks. Everything has to be just so or you will face her wrath. When she gets the information on Vivian she doesn't do anything with it right away - until Vivian upsets her and then all bets are off. The next question is - who told Betsy the secret in the first place.

Part mystery, part family relationships, and part small town gossip, the Operator was a fun and quick read. Think Gossip Girls meets the Andy Griffith Show. I wanted to know what the secret was and how did everything all tie together.

Operator:
1. a person who operates equipment or a machine.
2. a person who acts in a specified, especially a manipulative, way.
On the surface, it appears that "The Operator" in this book refers to the women who run the switchboards at Bell. As the book evolves, The Operator applies to those women and other characters in the book as well.
The intertwined relationships, personal histories, and unfolding events make for a good story, with just enough humor to keep the narrative moving forward.
"They're always passing judgment on what you wear, what you eat, what you do, who you love...And if you're smart enough to keep your distance, you can sit back and watch them the same way." There are several characters who are busy passing judgment throughout this book. It is interesting that some learn to reconcile whatever differences exist, and others fall into the "How could she have been expected to find fault with herself, when she was so busy finding fault with everyone else" category. Some people grow, others don't. Just like in real life.

Great book by Gretchen Berg! I was sucked in from page one and she kept me engaged all the way to the end with different twists and turns. The characters seemed real and they were brought to life. I hope to read more from Gretchen Berg!

I am actually giving this 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the story line itself, as it was very realistic and there was just enough suspense to keep me entertained. I also appreciated the time frame the story takes place in and how the author gave very descriptive imagery so that I was able to picture each character in my mind as I read. However, I had a hard time with the chapters skipping around characters and there were times where I was a bit confused on how the story was progressing.

The little bits of conversation that we overhear can be quite intriguing, causing us to want to listen in and find out more. Surely that feeling is universal and mostly harmless?

Gossip can be frivolous or harmful, and can grow beyond the speaker’s intentions. Once the words are spoken, the effects they cause are impossible to control.

The Operator is a quick, enjoyable read that highlights a few universal truths: you can’t read a book by looking at the cover; the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence; and what goes around comes around. The surprises along the way keep it engaging and entertaining. I’m happy to have received and read this advanced copy of The Operator.

I was hoping for a funny story where some catty 1950's women participate in scandalous gossip and then get their comeuppance when the tables turn on them. There is definitely some of that, but it ended up being more of a family drama.

It was entertaining, but I didn't really like Vivian, the main character. It's revealed early on that she never made it past the 8th grade in school, so it makes sense that she isn't having intellectual conversations, but her character still seems far too ditzy and naive to only be suffering from a lack of education. Her thoughts seem more like things a 9-year-old or someone even younger might think. It's like once her education stopped she never matured in any other ways either. Other than some awkward swearing, she really seems just like a child. She even recites nursery rhymes in her head, and any time a word that is beyond an elementary school vocabulary comes up it's followed by the actual dictionary definition... I guess this is to suggest she had to look up the word, but for words like "oblivious" and "metaphor" it seems a fully grown adult who has a job and a child would have picked up a few of these along the way with or without school.

I'm glad that I stuck with it because the last quarter of the book was good and I liked the ending. I wish we had gotten more of Flora's story because that was really the best part, in my opinion.

thought the book started out a bit slow...but then I got into it and really enjoyed it! there were quite a few twists that I didn't expect... you kind of get caught up in the small town atmosphere.... I wish I would have read the information that was at the end of the book first....one of the main characters was loosely based on the authors grandma..... I would definatly look at the authors other books if and when she writes them!! thank you for the opportunity of reading this book!!

Wow this was a joy to read! This is a "debut novel, set in a small Midwestern town in the early 1950s, about a nosy switchboard operator who overhears gossip involving her own family, and the unraveling that discovery sets into motion."
I can imagine to be in this position would be tough not to eavesdrop on a "private" conversation, just be prepared to accept the consequences. The characters are not too likeable but relatable, the dialogue is funny & snarky, an overall entertaining read!

While there were humorous moments when reading this book, I felt it a little disconnected with two stories happening. I think many of us have heard about operators being able to eavesdrop on calls and gossiping about it. This read did provide some entertainment and it was a quick read, but I had to focus a little more with the story of the embezzlement and disappearance of two individuals. It did finally make sense towards the end of the book. Moral of the story: don't eavesdrop, gossip, or sleep around. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is a cute read centered around a small town operator named Vivian whose family comes from the wrong side of the tracks & who married young & started working without finishing high school. She listens in on phone conversations until one ends up being about her & her family. The rest of the story centers around her trying to solve some mysteries pertaining to all she has heard & I enjoyed the ending where Vivian decides to try to improve her life instead of seeking approval from others. The book started out a bit slow for me but about halfway through the book got going & I enjoyed it overall.

I absolutely loved this book, the time frame of the 50’s was a simpler time in our lives. If you needed any help on the phone you always called The Operator. A great read, wonderful escape! Thank you Gretchen Berg for a delightful book.

A throwback a simpler time when telephone operators listened in on conversations and then reported them back to the small circle of friends all living within a same town. With a wonderful and engrossing way of writing, this author delivers surprises while telling the story about a nosy switchboard operator who learns gossip about her own family! An unraveling of sorts to find and expose the truth---to of course leading to other secrets makes this a wonderful and fun read! Thank you for allowing me to read this title prior to publication---I simply loved it!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I do feel it could have been a bit shorter and still have kept the intent of the book. As someone who grew up in a small town with a "party line" in my youngest days, I can definitely relate to the eavesdropping aspect of this book. The author nailed her characters- great job for a first novel!

There were many good ideas tied together in this book but it still needs tidied up. There were too many characters mentioned so it took a minute at the beginning of each chapter to get back into the current character again. Overall a good read though.

Vivian works as a telephone operator. Her job is to connect calls but everyone listens in sometimes.

She’s a little insecure about her intelligence because her parents made her drop out of school when she was young. She trusts that she’s good at reading people. It’s not just because she listens into phone calls, she claims, she just naturally reads people well.

She is definitely taken aback the day she learns a huge, whopper of a secret about her own family. This secret was much bigger than anything I had pictured and it really did have the potential to destroy Vivian’s family.

She also knows that it will turn into the town’s hot gossip. They live in a very small town, word is definitely going to spread.

I enjoyed the story and I felt like Vivian proved to be much smarter and stronger than she ever knew she could be.

I also really enjoyed the way the story ended.

I got to read an early ebook edition of this book.

The Operator by Gretchen Berg is a historical fiction story set in Wooster Ohio. Vivian Dalton is a switchboard operator in the early 1950's. One night at work she secretly listens to a telephone conversation between Betty Smith and another female in their town. Vivian is shocked as she learns new information that will embarrass her and her family. Vivian's family is not the only family in Wooster that has secrets that will change their lives forever.

Overall, I enjoyed The Operator. Some of the characters at first appeared that they did not fit into the story. Everything does make sense in the end.

Thank you Net Galley and Harper Collins Publishers for an advanced readers copy.

Solid turn back time story that evokes a time long gone and a different way of life. Engaging story line with a bit of whodunnit with a twist of sassiness.The book is told from the perspective of Vivian Dalton, a headstrong, somewhat independent thinker who works as an operator at the local phone exchange. Set in a time before connecting to others by phone was automated, Vivian and her coworkers ask callers to whom they want to be connect and they wire the call into a switchboard to make the connection. They also have the ability, if they choose and regardless if they should, to listen into conversations. Vivian overhears a conversation that sets her on a path of passive aggressive revenge and amateur sleuthing to see if she can determine who told her nemesis this news that would change her and her family’s lives forever. The feel of the book is a throwback to another time and place. The author does a great job at capturing what it might have been like to live in that time, the societal expectations of women and their role in both the economy, the community and the home. If you enjoy reading and vicariously experiencing the past, this book achieves it quite well.

The Operator is an interesting slice of life book. set in a small town in New York State, this story touches on how small a small town can. be and how we all love a good bit of gossip or scandal until it impacts us. A study on jealousy, pride, and forgiveness, our fouls and foibles, and what pushes us and how we respond. An interesting read on the best and worst of humans, what drives them to jealousy and revenge, and the outcomes of our actions.

Interesting premise, characters, and multiple story lines make this a fun read!

The Operator was fantastic!! The Operator was written by Gretchen Berg, who is becoming one of my new favorite authors! The story takes place in Wooster, Ohio in the 1950's when operators were the life-line of the telephone. I loved the rumors, stories, and women of this time period. Life was so much simpler and so glamorous! (Can you image answering the door without your lipstick?!- some lines made me laugh out loud!) Berg follows the lives of three sisters and how a scandal begins in a small town. The chapters were short.and flowed nicely from one chapter to the next. Bergs writing style made for an easy, enjoyable read. I loved the addition of Berg's family recipes in the book-- I have such great memories around my grandmother's recipes too! I love how Berg's family and the town of Wooster are depicted and represented in the story too. I highly recommend this book and I will be looking forward to more books by Gretchen Berg. Special thanks to The Book Club Girl Early Read Program, Harper Collins - William Morrow Publishers, and NetGalley for the advance digital Copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

#TheOperator #NetGalley