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Blind Contessa's New Machine, The: A Novel (2010)

by Carey Wallace(Favorite Author)

3.48 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1441881336 (ISBN13: 9781441881335)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Brilliance Audio

review 1: I really liked this book. The writing was beautiful and imaginative, and I very much enjoyed the simple yet powerful romance.It really showcased the feelings and trials of being a blind contessa. Her servants lie to her, she struggles to keep a regular sleep schedule, people are able to sneak up on and around her and make jokes at her expense.The reason for the missing star was the inconsistencies and lack of emotional insight into the main character, Carolina. She was described to be so stubborn, yet much of the time when it came to her husband, she just rolled over. And you don't really get a lot of information about how she's feeling at any given time.*SPOILERS*I also didn't agree with the ending, even though it's historically accurate. She left her lake, her family, an... mored her lover without even batting an eyelash, and to me, everything leading up to this point was contradictory to the ending.Firstly, I don't believe she loved Pietro enough to be so devastated by his betrayal. She even claimed it to be a relief if he would seek comfort from another woman, yet was a total hypocrite once he confessed to her. The anger she felt from his pity was more reasonable than from his cheating.To me, this also would have been the point where she says goodbye to Pietro, and it would be socially acceptable.Turri already had a marred reputation, and could have left his wife easily enough. To me, everything points to them being together as the most logical ending. History be damned.But overall, this was a very enjoyable read, and I'm grateful to this book for breaking me out of a long-running reading slump.
review 2: A short fantasy on the scant facts about how one of the first typewriters came to be. The writing is strong and lyrical. The descriptions of the contessa losing her sight and the reactions of those around her are lovely and heartbreaking. Some of the plot elements felt a little forced, and, for me, Wallace didn't really pull off the ending. It felt unnecessarily abrupt and lacked a kind of emotional closure that I had hoped for over the course of the story. less

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