Lazaretto: A Novel
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"Vibrant. . . . Completely engaging. . . . A unique blend of poetic language and graphic depictions of the injustices suffered by African Americans in the post-Civil War period."— Booklist (starred review)
Diane McKinney-Whetstone's stunning historical novel, Lazaretto, begins in the chaotic back streets of post-Civil War Philadelphia as a young black woman, Meda, gives birth to a child fathered by her wealthy white employer. In a city riven by racial tension, the father's transgression is unforgivable. He arranges to take the baby, so it falls to Sylvia, the midwife's teenage apprentice, to tell Meda that her child is dead—a lie that will define the course of both women's lives.
A devastated Meda dedicates herself to working in an orphanage and becomes a surrogate mother to two white boys; while Sylvia, fueled by her guilt, throws herself into her nursing studies and finds a post at the Lazaretto, the country's first quarantine hospital, situated near the Delaware River, just south of Philadelphia.
The Lazaretto is a crucible of life and death; sick passengers and corpses are quarantined here, but this is also the place where immigrants take their first steps toward the American dream. The live-in staff are mostly black Philadelphians, and when two of them arrange to marry, the city's black community prepares for a party on its grounds. But the celebration is plunged into chaos when gunshots ring out across the river.
As Sylvia races to save the victim, the fates of Meda's beloved orphans also converge on the Lazaretto. Here conflicts escalate, lies collapse, and secrets begin to surface. Like dead men rising, past sins cannot be contained.
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Diane McKinney-Whetstone. (2016). Lazaretto: A Novel. HarperCollins.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Diane McKinney-Whetstone. 2016. Lazaretto: A Novel. HarperCollins.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Diane McKinney-Whetstone, Lazaretto: A Novel. HarperCollins, 2016.
MLA Citation (style guide)Diane McKinney-Whetstone. Lazaretto: A Novel. HarperCollins, 2016.
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The author of the critically acclaimed novels Tumbling, Tempest Rising, Blues Dancing, Leaving Cecil Street, and Trading Dreams at Midnight, Diane McKinney-Whetstone is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Black Caucus of the American Library Association's Literary Award for Fiction, which she won twice. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband.
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- fullDescription
"Vibrant. . . . Completely engaging. . . . A unique blend of poetic language and graphic depictions of the injustices suffered by African Americans in the post-Civil War period."— Booklist (starred review)
Diane McKinney-Whetstone's stunning historical novel, Lazaretto, begins in the chaotic back streets of post-Civil War Philadelphia as a young black woman, Meda, gives birth to a child fathered by her wealthy white employer. In a city riven by racial tension, the father's transgression is unforgivable. He arranges to take the baby, so it falls to Sylvia, the midwife's teenage apprentice, to tell Meda that her child is dead—a lie that will define the course of both women's lives.
A devastated Meda dedicates herself to working in an orphanage and becomes a surrogate mother to two white boys; while Sylvia, fueled by her guilt, throws herself into her nursing studies and finds a post at the Lazaretto, the country's first quarantine hospital, situated near the Delaware River, just south of Philadelphia.
The Lazaretto is a crucible of life and death; sick passengers and corpses are quarantined here, but this is also the place where immigrants take their first steps toward the American dream. The live-in staff are mostly black Philadelphians, and when two of them arrange to marry, the city's black community prepares for a party on its grounds. But the celebration is plunged into chaos when gunshots ring out across the river.
As Sylvia races to save the victim, the fates of Meda's beloved orphans also converge on the Lazaretto. Here conflicts escalate, lies collapse, and secrets begin to surface. Like dead men rising, past sins cannot be contained.
- reviews
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- source: Washington Post
- content:
"A perfect book for the end of the Obama era.... Incredibly daring.... McKinney-Whetstone's trademark poetic prose is still as sharp as it has always been...without sacrificing plot and pacing.... I couldn't be happier that McKinney-Whetstone has returned to show us all how it's done." — Washington Post
"As in any Diane McKinney–Whetstone novel, there is love in all of its many facets and dimensions. The author shows that good writing is like a fine bottle of wine–it just gets better with time." — Essence
"When it comes to creating living and breathing characters, no one can touch Diane McKinney-Whetstone. Her new novel Lazaretto is no exception.... I suggest reading Lazaretto at the dinner table, because it will leave you full as your favorite meal." — BuzzFeed Books
"Vibrant.... Completely engaging.... A unique blend of poetic language and graphic depictions of the injustices suffered by African Americans in the post-Civil War period." — Booklist (starred review)
"Language sings throughout the whole of McKinney-Whetstone's writing—from the lilt of her characters' colloquial speech to her poetic, visceral descriptions.... A sophisticated and compelling novel that comes alive through a rich cavalcade of vibrant characters and a suspenseful plot." — Kirkus Reviews
"Whetstone's novel explores a fictional crisis that begins in the neighborhood surrounding Philly's Lazaretto Hospital after the Civil War." — New York Post
"McKinney-Whetstone's trademark poetic prose is still as sharp as it has always been...without sacrificing plot and pacing.... I couldn't be happier that McKinney-Whetstone has returned to show us all how it's done." — Washington Post
"Juggling a wide cast of characters, this book dives into family struggles, romance, Lincoln's assassination, and the racial tensions simmering in post-Civil War Philadelphia. Perfect for fans of history and complicated, rich, character-driven stories." — BookTrib.com
"Once again, McKinney-Whetstone has managed to bring to life a wide range of characters whose triumphs and tribulations would never show up in a history book." — BookPage
"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." — Largehearted Boy
"Even the air is palpable in Tumbling. . . . The story moves forth on the power of Ms. Mckinney-Whetstone's characters. Ms. McKinney-Whetstone captures the formidable struggle to protect both a community and a family." — New York Times Book Review
"TUMBLING is an accomplished novel, with sharply drawn characters, exuberant prose, plenty of period detail and a wise, forgiving outlook on family life." — Los Angeles Times Book Review
"McKinney-Whetstone weaves an intricate tapestry of love, pain and memory. . . . Philly is as much a character as the women. . . . Neena's dire straits are nicely handled and provide a pretty sharp hook." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[A] poignant, multigenerational story. . . . An achingly tender portrait of familial love and pain." — Booklist
"A compelling story. . . . In evocative prose, she re-creates the world...
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- content:
January 4, 2016
Setting her book once again in her native city of Philadelphia, Pa., McKinney-Whetstone opens her sixth novel on the eve of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Meda, a beautiful young black woman, delivers the secret child of her employer, lawyer Tom Benin (who is white), at a medical office for clandestine services. After the baby is taken from her at birth, Sylvie, an apprentice to the midwife, lies and tells Meda her infant girl has died. Bereft and ungrounded, Meda seeks consolation by serving as a wet nurse to a pair of white newborn boys at a nearby orphanage, naming them Bram and Linc after the slain president she admired. Through a deal with Benin, Bram and Linc are able to stay with Meda on weekends and holidays. After cruelty and abuse from their employer forces the boys from Philadelphia, Meda and her family continue to treat them as their own. In the meantime, Sylvia has become a formidable and capable nurse at the city's island quarantine hospital, Lazaretto. When the boys return to the city in desperate circumstances, old paths eventually converge at the hospital. McKinney-Whetstone explores racial passing, class prejudice, the nature of family, and the longings of forbidden love, but the disjointed narratives often feel like two separate novels uncomfortably forced together. The emotional content is never allowed to rise above predictable contrivances of plot and unremarkable characterizations.
- premium: True
- source:
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February 15, 2016
From the moment Sylvia, a nurse-in-training, delivers Meda's baby and lies that the baby (fathered by her white employer) died, the two African American women remain connected through the years, although they belong to different social circles. The light-skinned baby, named Linc after the just-assassinated President Lincoln, is secretly delivered to an orphanage, where a grieving Meda cares for him and another orphaned infant, Bram. Raised as impoverished whites, Linc and Bram grow up among African Americans whose lives appear full of love which, as outsiders, the boys don't feel entitled to themselves. In the climactic second half of the novel, the various story lines come together in a tragicomic series of events at Lazaretto--the city's quarantine hospital out on an island, where Sylvia lives and works--including a life-threatening gunshot wound, a wedding, bounty hunters, as well as love lost and found. VERDICT Themes of racial and family identity are threaded into the author's (Trading Dreams at Midnight) fast-paced historical about the connected lives of working African Americans in Philadelphia in the years after the Civil War. [See Prepub Alert, 10/19/15.]--Laurie Cavanaugh, Holmes P.L., Halifax, MA
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
- premium: True
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March 1, 2016
McKinney-Whetstone's sixth novel (Trading Dreams at Midnight, 2008, etc.) explores a fateful shooting that rocks the close-knit African-American community surrounding the Lazaretto Hospital in post-Civil War Philadelphia. On the night of Lincoln's assassination, a black maid named Meda is rushed to the office of local midwife Dr. Miss by Tom Benin, her white boss and father of her child. It's the first birth that Sylvia, the assisting nurse-in-training, has attended. So when Benin tells Dr. Miss that he'll be taking the baby and Meda must be told the baby has died, Sylvia is understandably shaken. The question of who can retain control over his or her own body becomes central to the narrative. As one of the few doctors serving blacks in 1865, Dr. Miss was able to provide much-needed health care for the community as well as training for aspiring black nurses like Sylvia; however, the hierarchy of racial power dynamics still permeated every aspect of their work. In haunting, vivid language, Meda's breasts overflow with milk as she mourns the newborn she was never able to hold in her arms. Language sings throughout the whole of McKinney-Whetstone's writing--from the lilt of her characters' colloquial speech to her poetic, visceral descriptions. Meda's and Sylvia's lives continue to intertwine through their roles as surrogate mothers--Meda to Lincoln and Abraham, two orphaned boys Benin sends her to look after; Sylvia to her cousin Vergie. But after Lincoln and Abraham are assaulted by a powerful man and forced to flee Philadelphia, all these lives intersect when a quarantine shuts down Lazaretto Hospital and decades-old secrets finally come to light. A sophisticated and compelling novel that comes alive through a rich cavalcade of vibrant characters and a suspenseful plot.COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
- premium: True
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May 15, 2016
On the night of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, nurse Sylvia delivers a baby in Philadelphia. The newborn is the child of Meda, a black woman, and her white employer. Though born alive, the baby is pronounced dead by the father. The haunting events of the birth intertwine the lives and communities of Sylvia and Meda. VERDICT Readers of Lalita Tademy will embrace the vibrant characters in McKinney-Whetstone's unforgettable novel. (LJ 2/15/16)
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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"Vibrant. . . . Completely engaging. . . . A unique blend of poetic language and graphic depictions of the injustices suffered by African Americans in the post-Civil War period."— Booklist (starred review)
Diane McKinney-Whetstone's stunning historical novel, Lazaretto, begins in the chaotic back streets of post-Civil War Philadelphia as a young black woman, Meda, gives birth to a child fathered by her wealthy white employer. In a city riven by racial tension, the father's transgression is unforgivable. He arranges to take the baby, so it falls to Sylvia, the midwife's teenage apprentice, to tell Meda that her child is dead—a lie that will define the course of both women's lives.
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