The Passion of Alice: A Novel

“In Latin, suffering and passion come from the same root,” observes Alice Forrester, the wry heroine of this poignant and sardonically witty debut. And who would know better than twenty-five-year-old Alice, passionately committed to her own suffering—an all-consuming addiction to food deprivation—as a divine form of self-knowledge?

After an episode of heart failure, Alice arrives in the eating disorder clinic of Seaview Hospital, where she detachedly watches a circus unfold . . . starring he...