Monday, October 21, 2024

Olivetti by Allie Millington


"Memories are like heartbeats. They keep things alive. They make us who we are."
"Typewriters are not allowed to tell the words that have been told to use. That is our typewriter code - to never let what has been typed into us back out. Communication with humans is strictly forbidden."



Olivetti lives with the Brindle family. I love the names of the children - Ezra, Adalyn, Ernest, Arlo. Dad is Felix and mum is Beatrice. It was Beatrice who found Olivetti many years ago. She uses him to write her most personal thoughts along with stories and poems. The family do own a computer but as Olivetti explains:

"I was not familiar with what files were, but I was certain I had more storage. In fact, I had unlimited storage. I held an endless amount of memories inside me. Decades worth of words. Not to mention I was much more low maintenance. I did not need to be constantly charged or connected to some higher power called the internet."

"Remembering is the very language we speak. I am a patchwork of pasts, stitched together with stories. A tapestry of tales."

These tiny extracts show you the unique and witty voice of Olivetti - yes he can 'speak'! 

Now look back at the list of children. Ernest is our story hero. He is a loner. His main companion is the Oxford dictionary. He has memorized hundreds of word definitions, and these are scattered throughout the book. Ernest is also silent. There is a hint early on in the story that something truly dreadful has happened and that this is why he has retreated into silence. I cannot explain this further - you need to read the whole book to make this discovery for yourself.

"My family didn't understand why I spent all my time reading (the dictionary). But there was a lot they didn't understand about me, so that wasn't exactly breaking news. Compared to them, I was different, defined as: not the same as another or each other; unlike in nature, form or quality."

"I wasn't big on meeting new people. Once you meet people, you might get close to them. And once you get close to them, you might lose them for good. You're less likely to get hurt, the farther you stay away."

Beatrice has disappeared and she has taken Olivetti to a pawn shop. Why? Where has she gone? 

The chapters in this book alternate between the voices of Olivetti and Ernest. By accident Ernest finds Olivetti. Mum has sold him for the strange amount of $126. Ernest will now need help from the pawn shop owner's granddaughter to solve this urgent mystery and find mum. Quinn is character you will love. She is a problem solver, she is patient, she is persistent and most of all she really likes Ernest even though he tries so hard to ignore her. 

After reading this book you will want to revisit the classic story - The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. 

If you enjoy a good mystery especially one where two kids work together to gather clues not realising that through this process, they are forming a wonderful friendship, then this is a book you will really enjoy. Hopefully modern kids do know a little bit about typewriters but if they don't you (the adult reader) can easily answer any questions or find photos an actual Olivetti. I read this book in one sitting - the plot just races along. I highly recommend Olivetti for readers aged 10+. And I love the cover too! When I was in London last week I saw a couple of guys with typewriters sitting near Tate Modern offering to compose and type a poem for anyone passing by for a small fee. What an enchanting idea. 



Millington captures the essence of why typewriters are such extraordinary creations, and why everyone should have one: Olivetti takes no side, shakes no finger. (A typewriter simply reflects what you put into it.) And he cares. So when Ernest tracks down Olivetti, inexplicably pawned by Beatrice for $126 (remember that amount), and begins tearfully typing on him, desperate to communicate with her, Olivetti does the unthinkable: He types back. “Do not be alarmed. … I am Olivetti. … I can help you.” Tom Hanks New York Times (try to read this review it contains lots of plot details. I do wonder how this famous actor came to read and review Olivetti but I happy to have found his piece.)

The author winningly blends magic and realism, poignancy and mystery, as her characters close in on what’s happened to Beatrice, bonding through adversity along the way. Her lovely notion of a typewriter as a repository of secrets and dreams is finely rendered, and she imbues Olivetti’s heavy steel case and clackity keys with compassion and determination. This heartfelt tale movingly explores the beauty and importance of communication—whatever form it may come in—while encouraging readers to welcome the singular joy of finding kindred spirits in unexpected places. Bookpage

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