Lazaretto: A Novel

Written by Diane McKinney-Whetstone

Narrated by Adenrele Ojo

Diane McKinney-Whetstone’s nationally bestselling novel, Tumbling, immersed us into Philadelphia’s black community during the Civil Rights era, and she returns to the city in this new historical novel about a cast of nineteenth-century characters whose colorful lives intersect at the legendary Lazaretto—America’s first quarantine hospital.

Isolated on an island where two rivers meet, the Lazaretto quarantine hospital is the first stop for immigrants who wish to begin new lives in Philadelphia. The Lazaretto’s black live-in staff forge a strong social community, and when one of them receives permission to get married on the island the mood is one of celebration, particularly since the white staff—save the opium-addicted doctor—are given leave for the weekend. On the eve of the ceremony, a gunshot rings out across the river. A white man has fired at a boat carrying the couple’s friends and family to the island, and the captain is injured. His life lies in the hands of Sylvia, the Lazaretto’s head nurse, who is shocked to realize she knows the patient.

Intertwined with the drama unfolding at the Lazaretto are the fates of orphan brothers. When one brother commits a crime to protect the other, he imperils both of their lives—and the consequences ultimately deliver both of them to the Lazaretto.

In this masterful work of historical fiction, Diane McKinney-Whetstone seamlessly transports us to Philadelphia in the aftermath of the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination, beautifully evoking powerful stories of love, friendship and humanity amid the vibrant black community that flourished amid the troubled times.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9780062455574

Diane McKinney-Whetstone

Diane McKinney-Whetstone is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Our Gen, Tumbling, Lazaretto, Tempest Rising, Blues Dancing, Leaving Cecil Street, and Trading Dreams at Midnight. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s Literary Award for Fiction, which she won twice. A past lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, her work has appeared in the Atlantic, Essence Philadelphia magazine, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with her husband.

[wagner5sarah35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book opened with an engrossing scene - a mother giving birth and then lied to about the fate of her child - and then the story seemed to meander before coming together again towards the end. I struggled with the middle and while I appreciated the conclusion (and one of the revelations towards the end), something about this novel just didn't work for me.

[donnasbookaddiction · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The very start of the book is dramatic and visual of a 14 year child helping a young black mother give birth as an apprentice to a stern midwife/doctor.

I enjoyed the history injected in the story, such as Octavius Catto, who
helped desegregate the Philadelphia streetcars, and immersed himself in the campaign to pass the great civil rights amendments, including the Fifteenth Amendment which guaranteed voting righs to African American men, or the history that the author reveals that when Lincoln’s body travelled to Philadelphia for public viewing, the city’s mayor set aside a viewing by only the astute to pay respects.

The story deals with racism, family dynamics, classification, indentured servitude, molestation, plague, LGBTQ, breast cancer, infidelity, yellow fever, epidemic, and passing.
In the late 1880s “passing” was a fact of the time. The author posses the angle of a white man pretending to be black, which made for an interesting viewpoint that is not usually heard of by the historians.

There are some laugh-out-loud moments, i.e. Mason, brother to Maze comes with a baby dangling in hand begging Maze to take the newborn into her care from its Gypsy mother, or the blows to Robinson’s ‘the Worm’s’ head had reduced his life to that of a house plant, dependent on others to water him, to drain him, to turn him so he might face the sun.

I listened to the book in audio while reading along on the kindle app. In my opinion, the audio narrator, Pat Lelich’s reading didn’t fit the essence of the story with visible clicking sounds, pauses in odd places, or audible page turning. There were moments in the novel that seemed oddly descriptive or overly illustrative with the author’s poetic prose, when I wanted the author to get back to the crux of who, what, when or how, but the story itself kept me reading for where McKinney-Whetstone wanted to take me.

One of my favorite characters is Buddy, the brother to Meda. He shows himself as a loyal friend despite his southern diction and gambling ways. The author showed the difference between the well educated blacks living in one community and the less educated and poor community of blacks on the opposite sides of town, but how they came together as one community
was reminiscent of “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride that I recently read. The unique cast of characters and places, and the plot to save Linc and Bram as well as neighbors assisting in a coverup. Also the story taking place in Philadelphia. There are twists and suspense in this book that keeps you wondering, reading and wishing for a better outcome.

[topazshell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Location is most important in Lazaretto by Diane-Whetstone. Also, the unique way of remembering President Abraham Lincoln's death. Birth and death and just the chaotic days of a life will speed you through the pages.

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars.

Even a quick summary will give away too much of the story, though it might not be obvious. Or maybe it would be.

Lots of characters (I love that) living in a Philadelphia post-Civil War African American neighborhood. But the story revolves around two white orphans, Linc and Bram, who are raised as brothers because they arrived at the orphanage as infants within days of each other. What are their back stories? Because they spend a lot of time with Meda, their wet nurse, and in the home of the Benins, her employers, they have more opportunities than many orphans--and the other kids know it. They also learn a lot about gambling and the African-American community from hanging out at Meda's brother Buddy's gambling hall.

As they grow up and run from the law, they end up in New York. Only Meda's death years later brings them back to Philly. And that is where the meat of the story begins—and the book is already half over.

After all the lead-up and several story lines that have nothing to do with the main story, there is a very abrupt ending. I want to know more! How does Buddy react? What happens with the quarantine? What happens with Bram? The doctor? Where does Linc go after the quarantine ends? What about Vergie? So. Many. Questions. So many loose ends.

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Post Civil War, Philadelphia, on the evening of President Lincoln's assassination a few things will happen that will effect some of these characters but will remain a secret untold for decades. Relations between blacks and whites were still fraught with mistrust and anger, anger that sometimes boiled over. Many also thought that orphans were throwaway children. All these things would come to a head at the Lazaretto, the first quarantine hospital built in the United States.

Wonderful descriptive prose, vibrant and likable characters, well for the most part, we have to have a few bad guys. . Just loved Linc and Bram, Meda, Sylvia, Carl and Dakota and a few more. Very easy story to get into, the setting and the tone places the reader firmly in this time period. If at times it was a bit dramatic that was okay and while the ending may seem a little too pat for some, I thought is was fitting and well deserved.

Loved the historical feeling in this one, the small accurate details, but it very much a character driven story and the characters had amazing depth. Will be seeking out more from this author.

ARC from Harper Publishing.