The Secret Papers of Madame Olivetti

August 25, 2008
Debut novelist Vanderbilt (yes, those Vanderbilts) charmingly wends her way through the memories of wealthy widow Lily Crisp. Lily's story spools from her beloved Olivetti typewriter at the family home in southern France. Lily recounts her travels and her life on an Idaho ranch with Paul, her husband, and his French mother. The house, inherited from her mother-in-law, and passed on to Lily after Paul's death, holds a mystery in the form of a longtime lodger who may or may not have something to do with a slowly teased out tragic secret that sits at the center of Lily and Paul's marriage. Meanwhile, a hunky handyman Lily retains admires more than Lily's typewritten remembrances. Things are slow to start, but about halfway in, the plot picks up and events past and present collide in surprising ways. The story may meander too much for some readers, but those who relish delightful prose and quirky adventuresses should be satisfied.

September 1, 2008
In Vanderbilts sensuous and scenic debut novel, 50-year-old Lily Crisp leaves her home on an Idaho ranch and escapes to southern France in the hope ofputtingher life in perspective just two years after her beloved husband Pauls untimely death. Spending her days basking in sunshine on a French terrace, she obsessively types her history of love andloss on an old typewriter she names Madame Olivetti. And is often happily interrupted by Yves, the strapping young handyman attracted to older women. As Lilys past comes alive through her fingers on the keys, she begins to understand the fragility and beauty of life. Vanderbilt carefully paints a stunning portrait of love in its many formspassionate love, married love, sexual love, familial loveset againstthe lush backdrops of thevillage on the Cte dAzur and the rain forest in Chiapas, Mexico. Juggling between the past and present, this emotional tale illuminates the multiplelayers of a womans healingheart asLily Crisprealizes thatmany pagesof herlife are yet to be written.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)