On the eve of the twentieth century, Mary Mallon emigrated from Ireland
at age fifteen to make her way in New York City. Brave, headstrong, and
dreaming of being a cook, she fought to climb up from the lowest rung of
the domestic-service ladder. Canny and enterprising, she worked her way
to the kitchen, and discovered in herself the true talent of a chef.
Sought after by New York aristocracy, and with an independence rare for a
woman of the time, she seemed to have achieved the life she’d aimed for
when she arrived in Castle Garden. Then one determined “medical
engineer” noticed that she left a trail of disease wherever she cooked,
and identified her as an “asymptomatic carrier” of Typhoid Fever. With
this seemingly preposterous theory, he made Mallon a hunted woman.
The
Department of Health sent Mallon to North Brother Island, where she was
kept in isolation from 1907 to 1910, then released under the condition
that she never work as a cook again. Yet for Mary—proud of her former
status and passionate about cooking—the alternatives were abhorrent. She
defied the edict.
This was a mixed bag for me. I really found myself deeply invested in Mary and what she went through, but once it got to the parts about her romantic relationship with Alfred, I felt rather meh. To me the most interesting bits were when we saw her trying to come to terms with her condition. She was one of the first people known as a "healthy carrier" of a disease like Typhoid. Not much was known about such people back then and so medical professionals didn't quite know how to handle her case.
That was what I wanted to read about! I do understand why her relationship with Alfred was included, I just didn't think that bit was all that interesting. Yes it gave her the motivation to do some of the things she did, but yeah..not what got me reading faster. Whenever the scene switched to Alfred and Mary I found myself tempted to skip pages and felt my eyes gloss over a little. Never a good sign! However, when she was looking back on all the families she cooked for, when she was isolated on the island, and during her trials I was mesmorized!
I did give this book a 4 stars, because there were many many times when I couldn't put it down, but it would have had 5 stars if the Alfred bits were shorter.
Overall, Fever is an interesting look at a very famous medical case that opened the eyes of the medical world. Mary Mallon is a curious case and this book did, for the most part, her story justice!
