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Fever A Novel Mary Beth Keane 9781451693416 Books

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Fever A Novel Mary Beth Keane 9781451693416 Books

i've always been interest in the historical figure of Typhoid Mary. this book does an admirable job of mixing facts with the imagined emotional state of Mary, without being corny or melodramatic. It was also surprisingly a page turner; often novels based on history can turn dry and dull, and Keane avoids this by injecting her characters with some degree of likability.
It would have been nice to delve a little deeper into Mary's emotional state, especially how she really felt about infecting others with typhoid, but then again perhaps this is intentional, as Mary really doesn't want to believe she could really be the cause of death.
Very well written, nice to read something with such sensationalistic subject matter treated in a non-sensationalistic way.


Tags : Fever: A Novel [Mary Beth Keane] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <B>A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as “Typhoid Mary, ” the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the early twentieth century—by an award-winning writer chosen as one of “5 Under 35” by the National Book Foundation.</B><BR><BR><B><I>Mary Beth Keane,Mary Beth Keane,Fever: A Novel,Scribner,1451693419,Historical - General,Literary,Historical fiction,Historical fiction.,New York (N.Y.) - History - 20th century,New York;Fiction.,Typhoid Mary,Typhoid fever,Typhoid fever;Fiction.,-1938,American Historical Fiction,FICTION General,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,FictionLiterary,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),New York,Typhoid Mary,,typhoid; Typhoid Mary; Mary Mallon; St. Patrick's Day; historical fiction; literary fiction; 5 Under 35; Ladies Home Journal; book club; North Brother Island; Manhattan; Julia Glass; Colum McCann; Irish fiction; Billy Collins,typhoid; Typhoid Mary; Mary Mallon; St. Patrick's Day; historical fiction; literary fiction; 5 Under 35; Ladies Home Journal; book club; North Brother Island; Manhattan; Julia Glass; Colum McCann; Irish fiction; Billy Collins;

Fever A Novel Mary Beth Keane 9781451693416 Books Reviews

A great historical fiction piece. I enjoyed it because it was such a complex, interesting time when health services were just beginning to emerge in the US. Living now in a country where these practices and investigations don't happen- I'm curious and befuddled by the complexity of the system and how long it took the press and medical community to give consistent rules and regulations to a newfound problem.

I've heard a bit from the author who says she's left the story open to interpretation about the way the character feels- but I feel like it was in a bit also a cop out. There are other elements and issues to the story than just the issue of Mary's health status. I wish we'd seen more of this and also had more of what was happening outside of Mary's stance. I suppose it is a good book for having inspired more curiosity on the subject and issues!
Perfectly thought-provoking and fascinating from a medical stand point, a study of early 20th-century human behavior and an all-around engrossing historical read, Fever is a fictional account about Mary Mallon and her unfortunate claim to fame as America's first identified asymptomatic carrier of Typhoid fever. The reader is immediately plunged into the controversial years surrounding Mary Mallon's service record as a hired cook for some of New York's elite and powerful, the atmosphere of the era is then introduced describing in detail the unsanitary conditions of New York and the gloom, expected death and sickness that sadly was a common occurrence of life. And then finally the reader is spun around to reexamine and question if Mary Mallon was really a victim of the times she lived and became a target for the growing hysteria and paranoia already directed toward the Irish or simply a callous stubborn woman who thumbed her nose at the medical community and continued to spread the bacterium Salmonella Typhi through her unhygienic cooking techniques? History and medical journals has painted Mary Mallon only one way and now we have another opportunity to reexamine the woman behind the infamous name, in Mary Beth Keane's Fever.

In the end, I thought Fever was a generally captivating read and fictional story of Mary Mallon and the infancy of Epidemiology. I was immediately drawn by Ms. Keane's use of description and flare with storytelling. At the same time however, the story did sputter at times and became bloated with uninteresting characters and chapters. The theme seemed to shift from medical-historical fiction to unexpected romance that contained anachronistic dialogue, phrases and actions. Another view of the cat-and-mouse games that crept into the story would have been a great alternative to the romance. Still Fever is an overall noteworthy debut that should find its way on the shelves of those who are interested in the history of disease, fictional accounts of the misunderstood scapegoats of history or those who just love a good story.
I had always known about Typhoid Mary- I don't know how, but I did. This novel put a face to the name and created a personality based on her reluctance to cooperate with authorities. I liked this book, it felt like a doorway to the early 20th century. You could smell the lower east side, feel the heat of the kitchens, know the frustration of women and the poor. Life was insignificant for the lower orders, their lives were considered cheap and didn't count. The horrifying thing, it seemed was that Mary felt the same way about the rich and famous. It was a time before laws to protect the poor-young women were imprisoned in burning buildings to sew(Triangle Shirtwaist factory), or immigrants could be locked in the holds of sinking ships while wealthier patrons escaped on lifeboats(Titantic)- Keane recreates the scene from the fire, and also includes the famous sinking to share that the poor were expendable.A YOung boy is swept by the currents of the EastRiver, and while his brothers' call for help, workers nearby only offer to share their lunch. Life of the poor meant nothing, only when wealthy people where infected with the virus, did authorities take action. Mary Mallon refused to be locked away to keep the wealthy safe. She wanted to cook and refused to believe that she could be spreading disease. She defiantly refused to risk dangerous surgery to remove a infectious gall bladder. She changed her name and hid from the authorities who sought to protect her patrons from disease. While other carriers were found, it seemed strange that only Mary remained locked away in isolation to be studied like an lab rat. Here, we learn that a bread winner ( a male) must be left to find ways to support his family, and a single woman who merely lived with a man- had no rights at all. Interwoven is a doomed relationship with a co dependent , drunk boyfriend, making Mary not only a victim of the system, but of her personal life as well. I think Mary was a victim of her times,expendable because she was a woman, Irish and poor. In the book, Keane paints her as well read, intelligent, and perhaps feisty. If that is true- I have trouble with her lack of acceptance to fix a problem, her thoughtless selfishness of the danger of herself as a carrier, but I do recognize that Mary Mallon was probably a product of her times and unable to find resources to help herself, and her nature wouldn't let her go down without a fight.
i've always been interest in the historical figure of Typhoid Mary. this book does an admirable job of mixing facts with the imagined emotional state of Mary, without being corny or melodramatic. It was also surprisingly a page turner; often novels based on history can turn dry and dull, and Keane avoids this by injecting her characters with some degree of likability.
It would have been nice to delve a little deeper into Mary's emotional state, especially how she really felt about infecting others with typhoid, but then again perhaps this is intentional, as Mary really doesn't want to believe she could really be the cause of death.
Very well written, nice to read something with such sensationalistic subject matter treated in a non-sensationalistic way.