Alabaster Chambers

by Emily Ellison Hudlow, Emily Ellison

A gripping portrait of a young woman with anorexia nervosa and her relationships with her parents, her husband and her psychiatrist.

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1979, this is probably one of the first novels about anorexia nervosa, and as such, it is extremely dated. For example, anorexia is still considered a rare disorder, and the heroine is cured of it pretty easily. I'm rating it three stars because the it was reasonably well-written and I did enjoy reading it, but honestly, the main character's husband was so horrible that I was tempted to throw the book across the room several times. He belittles her constantly, cheats on her, sends her to his lover for treatment (she's a psychiatrist) and even rapes her at one point because they haven't had sex in months! And he's presented as basically on okay guy, just confused. WTF? I was so mad that Talia didn't leave him at the end!