This well-plotted comic drama of small-town life keeps the surprises coming right until the end,
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' Kathryn Stockett, author of The HelpStep back into the 1950s, where in the town of Wooster, Ohio, the switchboard operators indulge in a forbidden treat: eavesdropping on phone calls. Vivian follows the rules, for the most part, but she enjoys the gossip as much as her colleagues do. Until one day it's about her.

And the secret she hears turns her world upside down. Beneath its friendly surface, Wooster is simmering with secrets and scandal, while harsh, unspoken rules on class and race set invisible boundaries. As Vivian, loving and resilient, but as flawed as any of us, is driven by shock into actions she'd never have considered before, she realises that nothing will ever be the same again.

But that's not always a bad thing . . .

Touching, life-affirming, and with a slightly dark edge, The Operator combines page-turning drama with the sweetness of family bonds and the promise of new beginnings.