Reviews

Fever by Mary Beth Keane

erinmully's review

3.0

Probably closer to a 3.5. Enjoyable read overall, but by the end of the book, I was so frustrated with the main character and the decisions she made.

rachel2346's review

4.0

I actually rooted for Typhoid Mary to be able to go back to cooking. Then I remembered she was spreading a deadly disease.

The part that followed Alfred to Minnesota felt a little out of place, and also a little like it could be the beginning of a horror movie.

beachbookbabe's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

melissapalmer404's review

4.0

Book #25 Read in 2013
Fever by Mary Beth Keane

This was a historical fiction book about Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary. Mary was believed to spread typhoid through her cooking, though she never showed symptoms of the illness herself. This book details how the Department of Health took Mary into custody and forced her to live on Brother Island in isolation for years. It details the court case to get Mary her freedom to leave the island and what happens to her as she returns to the "real world". Mary is portrayed as an intelligent yet stubborn woman. This book also talks of her relationship with her companion, Alfred, who has a host of issues of his own.

I found this book interesting. I find it amazing that this woman was isolated on an island for years, 26 in total. The medical tests that she was put through were intrusive and degrading. Yet, there were enough people she cooked for who took ill that makes the belief that she was a carrier have some credibility. I enjoyed this read.

I received a copy of this book from BookBrowse in exchange for a review.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

amandadelbrocco's review against another edition

4.0

I enjoyed this fictionalized version of the story of Typhoid Mary. I found it fascinating as I knew nothing of her before reading this. I would have liked for this to have been told from multiple perspectives, as it would have been told very differently from the point of view of Soper. The author wrote Mary's perspective very well in my opinion, and whether it's right or wrong from the scientific point of view, I definitely felt very sorry for her and irate

Spoiler

that though she was the first asymptomatic carrier of this disease, they found multiple others and she was the only one that they locked up, presumably because she was an unmarried woman of which they did not approve. I did feel less sorry for her though when she determined that baking was different than cooking somehow, although I understood where she was coming from financially.

cook_memorial_public_library's review

4.0

Recommended by Ellen B.

Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sfever%20keane__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold

debbiecuddy's review

3.0

I first learned about Mary Mallon in an epidemiology class in college and have always viewed her as a case study. What I liked about this book was that the author brought her to life in a way that I could view her as a person, although she came across as one we might be quick to label as stubborn and "non-compliant" with medical advice.
I think that if the author had explored more about Dr. Sloper, medical research at that time, & the ethics of public health laws, it would have provided us with a deeper understanding of what Mary was experiencing. At that time the germ theory of disease transmission was relatively new and the concept of asymptomatic carriers was poorly understood by many medical professionals, so it would be completely baffling to a lay person like Mary.

jawolffe's review against another edition

informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

mcdannyb's review

2.0

Interesting read, but easily 75 pages too long. The author works hard to show us who Mary Mallon was, but tries a little too hard, resulting in a book that is incredible boring in stretches. A good editor could easily make this a 4 star book for me.

eileen_critchley's review

4.0

This one has been on my Kindle for a while and I decided to read it before I read Ask Again, Yes (which I will get to at some point). I enjoyed the details in this book and the little bits of history thrown in. I read Mary Mallon's wikipedia page a few times, as well the pages for other events mentioned in the book (The General Slocum, which was the largest loss of life in a single disaster in NYC prior to 9/11.. and I had never heard of it! Nor had my husband, who has more knowledge of history than I do. Also the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, which I had heard of but didn't know the details about, which led me to looking up shirtwaists.. and on and on. This is how books lead me down a wiki rabbit hole.) This book tells Mary's side of the story, and about her trial and quarantine on North Brother Island.