The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace, 224 pages. Available in hardcover from Pamela Dorman Books.
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.
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This slight volume contained all the beauty and elegance inside that you would expect from the gorgeous cover. I was completely and immediately lulled by the dreamy, lyrical prose from the first line (and the second).
"On the day Contessa Carolina Fantoni was married, only one other living person knew that she was going blind, and he was not her groom.
This was not becuase she had failed to warn them." (p.1)
The lush setting almost becomes a character as Carolina's vision is replaced by the vision of her mind's eye. Somehow new author Carey Wallace has captured for the reader what it feels like to be Carolina. It is a difficult thing to write so grandly yet with restraint, and there is a perfect balance here. Rarely have I been curious to listen to an audiobook, but it seems to me the words would be so full and glorious spoken aloud.
After reading another historical fiction recently that was not nearly as well done, I can't help but be reminded once again that less is more. The Blind Contessa's New Machine is not unwieldy as the title suggests. Rather, a simple love story that is both rich and spare - a sweet little treasure of a book. Savor and enjoy it.
Many thanks to Penguin for the review copy.
The End.