Additional information
by José Aníbal Campos (Translator), Jürg Federspiel (Author)
On November 2, 1867, a ship with 544 emigrants set sail from Hamburg for New York. When, two months later, it reaches its desired destination, 108 passengers have died. Among the survivors is the alleged daughter of the chef who died on board, a girl who claims to be called Mary Mallon. Unfortunately, in the city the air is as polluted as dignity, honor and decency. Mary, either as a lover or as a cook, will become a kind of avenging angel against the meanness of a world that is not very different from our own. His only defense weapon is, at the same time, his conviction. This ballad is inspired by the true story of the first asymptomatic carrier of the typhus bacillus and is, in the XXI century, terribly prophetic.
Author Biography
José Aníbal Campos received a degree in German philology. In 1999, he was awarded the Translation Prize of the Republic of Austria for the translation and dissemination of contemporary Austrian literature.
Jürg Federspiel worked as a journalist and film critic for various Swiss newspapers. He has been considered one of the most important voices in German literature.
