The Operator: 'Great humour and insight . . . Irresistible!' KATHRYN STOCKETT

Gretchen Berg grew up in the US Midwest and now lives in Chicago. She has always been curious about history and families, and has a personal family tree of over 16,000 people. Her family research started with her own grandmother's little brown notebook full of details, and it was the story of her grandmother - herself a switchboard operator in Wooster, Ohio, in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s - that inspired THE OPERATOR.

A delightful, uplifting and moving novel about a 1950s switchboard operator who learns a shocking secret when she eavesdrops on a phone conversation. 'Irresistible' Kathryn Stockett, author of THE HELP

“I finished reading The Operator in an unstoppable rush and it was every bit as glorious, gossipy, delicious, and perfect as I’d hoped. Absolutely heaven!” — Jill Mansell, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Maybe This Time
"In this well-plotted comic drama of small-town life, Berg combines the technicolour gloss of a Cary Grant film with the humdrum humour of Garrison Keillor. She keeps the surprises coming right until the end."  — Daily Mail (UK)
"Funny, sweet, secretive, and full of fascinating 1930s, '40s, and '50s period details. . . . A poignant look at life in a small town with its nosy neighbors, thorny families, imperfect romances, scandalous pasts, and gratifyingly just desserts. Nothing is as simple—nor as dreadful—as it seems."  — Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author
"Berg's debut novel captures the plucky spirit of a 1950's telephone operator, the charm of a Midwest small town, and the secrets that threaten to change both of them forever . . .  . Fans of Fannie Flagg or Katerina Bivald's The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend will soak up the small town flavor. — Booklist
"A perfect evocation of small town America, complete with all its bitchy rivalry, petty snobberies, secret affairs and a few seismic scandals." — Sunday Mirror
"With great humor and insight, The Operator by Gretchen Berg delivers a vivid look inside the heads and hearts of a group of housewives and pokes at the absurdities of 1950s America, a simpler time that was far from simple. Think 'The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' in the suburbs -- with delicious turns of jealousy, infidelity, bigotry, and embezzlement thrown in for good measure. The Operator is irresistible!" — Kathryn Stockett, author of the New York Times bestselling novel The Help
“Berg's storytelling is warm, sympathetic and witty. . . . There are more than enough quotable lines to fill a couple of reviews.” — Kirkus Reviews
“[W]hat began as an unassuming story about life in a small town turns into an exploration of identity and family in 1950s Ohio. . . . highlights the diversity of life experiences often overlooked in recollections of the time. This original look at Midwestern life is recommended.” — Historical Novel Society
“The Operator is a fun, light and intriguing story, [with] several edge-of-your-seat moments . . . Berg does succeed at making the reader want to keep turning the pages to find out Vivian’s big secret – as well as the consequences when all is revealed.” — Associated Press
"A compelling debut novel." — Minneapolis Star Tribune