The Blind Contessa’s New Machine: A Novel by Carey Wallace (Epub)

Description

An iridescent jewel of a novel that proves love is the mother of invention In the early 1800s, a young Italian contessa, Carolina Fantoni, realizes she is going blind shortly before she marries the town’s most sought-after bachelor. Her parents don’t believe her, nor does her fiancé. The only one who understands is the eccentric local inventor and her longtime companion, Turri. When her eyesight dims forever, Carolina can no longer see her beloved lake or the rich hues of her own dresses. But as darkness erases her world, she discovers one place she can still see-in her dreams. Carolina creates a vivid dreaming life, in which she can not only see, but also fly, exploring lands she had never known. Desperate to communicate with Carolina, Turri invents a peculiar machine for her: the world’s first typewriter. His gift ignites a passionate love affair that will change both of their lives forever. Based on the true story of a nineteenth-century inventor and his innovative contraption, The Blind Contessa’s New Machine is an enchanting confection of love and the triumph of the imagination.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: From Publishers Weekly This charming and refreshingly modest debut hinges on a romantic triangle consisting of a blind contessa, her aristocratic husband, and an eccentric inventor. As Carolina Fantoni and Pietro prepare for their wedding in early 19th-century Italy, she tells her handsome, well-born fiancé that she is going blind. Like her family, he doesn’t take her seriously, and only Turri, Carolina’s friend and married neighbor, believes her. While Pietro engages in less than lofty pursuits, Turri and Carolina continue to meet on Carolina’s father’s property, and Carolina’s creeping blindness inspires Turri to invent a machine she can use to write messages. His invention—a typewriter—sparks an affair that could have far-reaching consequences for them both. Wallace has a smooth style and a sure hand in combining near tragedy with whimsy, whether she’s detailing Carolina and Pietro’s social circle, the state of scientific knowledge, or the progression of Carolina’s blindness. Secondary characters, including Carolina’s not-so loyal servant girl, Liza, are sketched with hints of a darker, deeper psychology. Despite its relative brevity, this is a work of surprising insight, humor, and heart. (July) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Wallace’s debut may be slender, but it is in no way slight. This shimmering historical, grounded faintly in fact, is elevated by deft touches of romantic mysticism. When Carolina, an indulged but independent early nineteenth century Italian contessa, realizes she is going blind, the only one who believes her is Turri, a local handyman and her childhood friend and confidante. After her marriage to a provincial aristocrat, her vision deteriorates rapidly. Desperate to hold onto the beauty of the physical world, she realizes that she can still see in her dreams and creates a vivid alternate reality. Meanwhile, Turri invents a machine that enables her to continue to communicate with him. As the “writing machine” binds them closer together, a bittersweet affair threatens to tear them apart forever. Writing with the assurance and the clarity of a seasoned author, Wallace crafts a seemingly simple, but ultimately iridescent, love story. –Margaret Flanagan About the Author Carey Wallace grew up in a small town in Michigan. She has worked as a waitress, art studio manager, private biographer, and lady’s maid to an automotive heiress. The founder of The Hillbilly Underground-a retreat that draws international artists to rural Michigan-she lives in Brooklyn, New York. This is her first novel. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I picked up this book because it was based on a real-life story, and I was looking forward to reading about the invention of the typewriter. But there wasn’t really much of that in this book.However, it is so well written that I ended up enjoying it immensely for different reasons. Carey Wallace is a wonderful writer, with an incredible ability to put sentences and paragraphs together – much better than I can … as you can plainly read ;-)As a reader, although you know WHAT happens, you don’t always know WHY. You are free to create your own conclusions, which can be a bit exasperating (as this is based on a true store)Did Pietro know? Did he really have an affair with Liza? Did Turri and the Contessa communicate after she moved away? If not, why not?

⭐This book was recommended to me by a friend. She said it was a quick read that she really enjoyed. Though the book isn’t very long or particularly challenging, it was beautifully written. Carolina and Turri are also based on the real Contessa Carolina and the inventor of the first typewriter Pellegrino Turri. Call me a terrible student of history and writing, but I had no idea the typewriter was that old!The Cover:One of the things I miss most about reading “real” books is getting to look at book covers! The butterfly covering Carolina’s eyes actually shows up in the book, but I think it makes an otherwise normal cover stand out.The Content:Beautifully written. Since the Contessa is going blind, all sorts of other details are included. Not surprisingly, sound and touch play a big role in the story. And so do the characters’ ability to describe surroundings to Carolina. The ending came really quickly and made me a little sad. I definitely didn’t see the story ending the way it did. I want to rewrite it with a happier ending.The Characters:I loved Carolina and Turri! I usually have a hard time reading love stories because I have no heart they have the potential to get cheesy real fast. And contain some sappy dialogue. These two lovers didn’t bother me. They were sweet. I also loved Carolina’s messenger boy. He was cute and added some funny moments.Definitely would recommend this book for a well-written love story.

⭐This lovely, quiet book drew me into its world; I could not stop reading until I came to the end. A first novel, perhaps, but also a mature creation. Many authors never achieve a work that demonstrates such a disciplined command of the art and craft of writing. Here the author exercises poetic facility, descriptive powers, and insight into the human experience with finesse and balance that serve, never overshadow, the story. The love the writer brings to her art sees and does not judge; she neither vilifies nor sanctifies her characters, but presents each one in the complexity of his or her humanity. Most important, there is that je ne sais quoi that transcends what a writer must work with–common words–transforming them to art and a light on our own life in the world. The Blind Contessa’s New Machine brings us face to face with darkness, literal and figurative, showing us not only its terrors, but most of all its warmth, beauties, rich textures, and compelling mysteries. In revealing to us visions of the inner eye, this book about blindness may change the way we see. After I finished reading my copy, I bought another to give as a gift.

⭐I first read this book by checking it out at the library. I already own so many books that I decided I would start reading from the library and if I read a book I really liked then I would buy it. This book made the cut…and I’ve read it more than once. It’s a nice twist of a love story and that’s all I’ll say…don’t want to ruin the book for anyone.

⭐I loved the character of The Contessa and was intrigued by the origin of the first writting machine. At times I found chunks horribly uninteresting yet others were wonderfully descriptive . I was not a fan of the ending at all but it was an easy read and I am glad I finished.

⭐This is a beautifully written novel, with well developed characters and a unique plot; however, I found it to be much too sad. So much so, that it colored my entire weekend in a negative way. The fact that the writer was able to affect me so completely reflects quite well the power of the author in telling her story. Four stars because it is so beautifully written, often almost poetic. But one star because of the plot.

⭐It was an interesting read, but it suddenly ends. Then the epilogue offers no other insight. Overall, an enjoyable read.

⭐This is a gem of a novel by a new author. Evocative and imaginative, the story concerns an Italian noblewoman who is losing her sight and the two men in her life. Beautifully realized and richly imagined, this story makes you care about each of the main characters. Once I got into it, I found it hard to put down. I’m looking forward to Ms. Wallace’s next work.

⭐The entire book is suffused with a dream like quality. The story does contain the usual basic elements of characters, climax and resolution, but in a dream like fashion so that events slip in and out seeming to have little in the way of substance. Day / night and awake / asleep lose their meaning. Love is exhibited in different ways. Everything changes when seen with the senses and the heart, not the eyes. It is very haunting and imminently somber which seems suitable since the encroachment of blindness is a serious condition. The writing is poetic and descriptions, not so much of action but of surroundings and perceptions, were rich and complex. I was disappointed by the title of the book, however. Although the “machine”, the typewriter, is important to the plot, the book does not tell the reader anything about the machine only the inventor. Well worth reading.

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