Fever

A Novel

By: Mary Beth Keane

Narrated by: Candace Thaxton

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary", the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the early 20th century - by an award-winning writer chosen as one of "5 Under 35" by the National Book Foundation.

Mary Mallon was a courageous, headstrong Irish immigrant woman who bravely came to America alone, fought hard to climb up from the lowest rung of the domestic service ladder, and discovered in herself an uncanny, and coveted, talent for cooking. Working in the kitchens of the upper class, she left a trail of disease in her wake, until one enterprising and ruthless "medical engineer" proposed the inconceivable notion of the "asymptomatic carrier" - and from then on Mary Mallon was a hunted woman.

In order to keep New York's citizens safe from Mallon, the Department of Health sent her to North Brother Island where she was kept in isolation from 1907-1910. She was released under the condition that she never work as a cook again. Yet for Mary - spoiled by her status and income and genuinely passionate about cooking - most domestic and factory jobs were heinous. She defied the edict.

Bringing early 20th-century New York alive - the neighborhoods, the bars, the park being carved out of upper Manhattan, the emerging skyscrapers, the boat traffic - Fever is as fiercely compelling asTyphoid Mary herself, an ambitious retelling of a forgotten life. In the hands of Mary Beth Keane, Mary Mallon becomes an extraordinarily dramatic, vexing, sympathetic, uncompromising, and unforgettable character.

©2013 Mary Beth Keane (P)2013 Simon & Schuster Audio

Typhoid Mary, Victim or Villian?

I really enjoyed this book, I am not sure how historically accurate it is but I really don't care. It was a great look into the possible perspective into the thought process that Mary may have had. I actually like the storyline of Alfred and Mary, I like that it was about Mary's life not just typhoid fever.
The story shows a historical perspective on how women were treated, how immigrants were treated and also gives perspective into the immigrants in the lower east side how they lived and the struggles they faced daily.
It was interesting to think about how disease can be passed unwittingly from a carrier, how the government dealt with it then vs. how they deal with it now.
It also has a storyline highlighting addiction and how it not only effects the addict but the people who care about the addict.
All in all a very good and interesting read. I highly recommend it.

Romantic storyline dragged on. And on...

I wanted to learn the history behind Typhoid Mary. While this was a theme, the author chose to make Mary's doomed affair with her loser boyfriend the primary focus of the book. What a pointless relationship. Why bother? The story could have been told in half the time it was redundant and, at tines, tedious.

I didn't see what all the fuss was about...

I bought this book mainly due to the large number of positive reviews, and the fact that it has some medical history in it, which I enjoy reading about. My main problem with this book is that the characters were totally unlikeable, particularly Mary. I had to force myself to finish it because I didn't want to waste my credit.

A little-known story about a familiar name

The story about typhoid Mary gives us an interesting snapshot of the first couple decades of city life in New York for a carrier of the typhoid virus.The author gives a sense of Mary's somewhat early feminist self-confident unapologetic person hide. The character herself is clear about her ideas and her attitudes regarding how she is treated by the medical establishment, journalists, and the community at large. She feels that she is generally misunderstood, and that her dignity is disregarded and unappreciated by those who imagine that she is a disease ridden threat to the community.
By the end of the story it is clear that typhoid Mary finally perceives the reality did she actually is a danger to the community and that her home on the island in isolation is probably the best place for her to remain. Overall the book was well written and the audio performance was satisfying. Among the various audio books that I have listened which were historical fiction I would not recommend this as being most compelling or entertaining, however I didn't feel that the story was a waste of time.

Shocking Look at Medical Shaming

I couldn't come up with an appropriate title but thought that one would grab someone's attention. I know this is based on true facts though it is a work of fiction. What this woman went through for so many and to be treated like she was and made such an outcast and treated so differently from others with the same situation just boggles my mind. Yet, I know It seems it always has to be someone to be an example to point your finger at to give credence to what someone higher and more respected believes. It is well written and well read.

"Faction" at its best

The word "faction" was coined shortly after Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" was published to categorize a book that tells a true story through the means of fiction. in Capote's brilliant book, the murders, the killers, the police in Capote's classic book were all real -- real people, real events. But Capote, like Mary Beth Keane in this book, made up conversations, revealed the innermost thoughts and personal details of the real-life characters -- all things no one else could really have known, other than the individuals themselves.

As other readers have suggested, I too, was googling throughout the book, wondering how much was true and how much was made up, fictionalized. What I found is that the basic story of "Typhoid Mary" was all true -- her origins, her work history, her reactions to her situation, her incarcerations, the conditions in which she was kept, etc etc. All of that was accurately set forth. What maybe wasn't true -- or at least what a casual search doesn't verify -- are the details of her relationship with Alfred, his foray into Minnesota (another compelling story!) Mary's various employers, landladies and co workers. But the facts of the story as written are true -- and fascinating.

I was captivated by the whole tale, one I hadn't paid much attention to before. If anything, I wish there'd been even more historical details about the New York area at that time, about the people who were making decisions regarding Mary, and even a bit of the science involved. I would have been delighted with another 200 pages of that kind of thing.

But? What was there was interesting, the conditions under which immigrants lived, how they took in "boarders", rented out rooms, slept as many people as possible throughout the house, not just in bedrooms. Food details captured my interest, too -- the dishes Mary liked to make, her journeys to buy groceries, what was available, her passion for cooking, even after she knew -- or should have known -- what was happening to people who ate what she'd cooked.

All in all, a wonderfully listenable book -- I'd love to come across more like this. This is a book I will eventually listen to again.

Excellent

I like autobiographies, and I especially like it when they are written as novels because it’s so much easier to get through! It’s not a dry litany of dates and occurrences but rather a story that teaches us something about someone.

This chronicle was a cut above the rest; I loved the way it was written. Before this, all I knew about Typhoid Mary is that she was locked up on an island somewhere because she was spreading disease on purpose – she was a caricature to me. This book humanized her so much! She was a really interesting person - stubborn, independent, head-strong, and just as weak when it came to matter of the heart.

Very informative read, I highly recommend it.

Incredible

A must read for anyone interested in Irish immigrants, medicine, microbiology, and or a wonderfully written story. The reader does a great job.

Captivating Retelling

I haven’t written a book review in awhile but felt compelled to write this one. I enjoyed Mary Beth Keane’s the Walking People and once I heard the subject matter for this book, I was sold. A historic trial? A medical mystery? I couldn’t have picked a novel I more wanted to read.

I hope that is not a spoiler to note that Mary Mallon was the first well known ‘healthy’ carrier of Typhoid Fever. She was asymptomatic and since little was known about how sickness spread, it was hard for people to recognize the health risk she posed. She was a cook and though out breaks of Typhoid seemed to follow her wherever she was employed; she refused to believe she could be the source of the fever. Even after she was confronted with the possibility that she was spreading the fever. She refused to cooperate. She continued to cook until she was arrested and deatined. She wasn’t released for two years and only after agreeing not to cook. Despite all this, she cooks again. Changes her name and continues to cook until she is recaptured.

Enter Keane to deliver an entirely unexpected novelization of her life. The tendency to sort of side with Mary and vilify her treatment and compare it with others (non-working class males who may have received much better treatment) and conclude Mary was treated unfairly. Or try and convince readers that Mary’s recklessness led to unnecessary deaths even after the danger she posed to others was explained to her. Keane does something else. She seems to take both sides-- rallying a little for Mary and then highlighting her unsafe obstinacy. So the reader is both frustrated with and sympathetic towards, Mary.
Keane once again plays with time beginning somewhere in the middle of Mary’s story and then hopping all around throughout her life similar to her The Walking People narrative. Maybe more successfully this time, but I am still unsure why authors belabor this technique when a simple straightforward arc would serve.

What is known about Mary seems to all be spot on, but Keane adds a lot too. For instance additional deaths, a fabricated alcoholic live in lover, and a backstory are all provided. I’m torn too to what this all adds. A historical novelization works best for me when it holds as closely to the truth as possible. However these additive also provide period detail to further set Mary’s drama.

I am beginning to realize it sounds as if I am conflicted about the book which I am not. I highly recommend it for any historical fiction fans. Mary’s story horrified me, disgusted me, and baffled me in turns. I was genuinely engaged in Mary’s story from the very first through the last page.

And though the narrator slips in and out of an Irish accent inexplicably, she otherwise does a good job.

Story Flamed Out

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This is such an interesting story that I'm surprised by how boring it was most of the time. I love this genre, too. Maybe the focus was in the wrong place? I would have liked to get some of the doctor's point of view as well. He was right about Mary, after all. He couldn't have been the evil villain he was made out to be. I think his story may be more interesting than Mary sitting on an island not cooking for half the book.

Which character – as performed by Candace Thaxton – was your favorite?

I really liked Mary's Irish accent and matter-of-fact way of speaking.