March 23. 2021
NetGalley, digital, arc,
Historical fiction, thriller, based on true events
391 pages
IBPA (Independent Book Publisher Association)
Freiling Publishing
ISBN: 9781250241627
7/12/21-7/25/21
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. This review is my voluntary and unbiased opinion.
The Vines refers to the remains of Riverside Hospital on North Brother Island, north of Hell Gate in New York City’s East River. The timeline alternates between 2007 and 1902 where Coraline McSorely was sent with her sister Maeve when after recovering from measles they contracted typhus when Cora accepted a toy from an infected child. Unfortunately, Maeve’s body was unable to fight yet another attack on her immune system.
In 2007, Finn Gettler returns from serving in the Peace Corps in Africa and obsessed with learning what secret ties his family still has with the restricted island. His grandfather Dr Otto Gettler was dedicated to eradicating diseases. Over 100 years later, his father Rollie and brother are secretly conducting research initiated Otto ignoring all legal and ethical implications of their actions. They are driven by the desire to cure his mother Sylvia from the devastating effects of Lyme disease.
What I found most fascinating was the real story about North Brother Island and how the history was woven into the novel providing credibility. The island was purchased by the town of Morrisania (located in the Bronx) in 1871, and was home to a tuberculosis hospital built by the Sisters of Charity. In 1885, New York City acquired the island to build a new hospital for the treatment of infectious diseases. The diseases that were treated here varied as new germs invaded the city - they included smallpox, typhoid, tuberculosis, measles, diphtheria, scarlet fever, and polio.
In 1904, the steamship General Slocum burst into flames in the East River resulting in over 1,000 deaths. It also became renowned for “imprisoning” “Typhoid Mary” Mallon, whose asymptomatic typhoid infection caused many people to become sick and die. She worked as a cook and was allowed to leave island if she agreed to avoid contact to further infect people. Not believing she was infected Mary found work as a cook where once again it was discovered that she indeed was a carrier of this deadly disease. They ultimately had to quarantine her until her death from pneumonia in 1938.
The historical aspects of the story provided depth to the characters and the ability to visualize the vine covered buildings abandoned on the island after a failed attempt to use it for a substance abuse rehabilitation center.
The story becomes twisted with secrets and lies so incredulous that one has to wonder what occurred in such hospitals during this time era when the world endured the 1918 flu pandemic and then WWI and WWII during Nazi invasion.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3820169518
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/4187393495
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