Después de un largo tratamiento, Ellen es dada de alta y regresa a Nueva York con su marido. Ha pasado dos años internada y no ha visto un teclado desde que sufrió la crisis nerviosa. Ahor quiere reanudar su carrera de concertista, y lo primero que busca al llegar a casa es su clavicordio. Sólo que está cerrado y no aparece la llave.

Después de un largo tratamiento, Ellen es dada de alta y regresa a Nueva York con su marido. Ha pasado dos años internada y no ha visto un teclado desde que sufrió la crisis nerviosa. Ahora quiere reanudar su carrera de concertista, y lo primero que busca al llegar a casa es su clavicordio. Sólo que está cerrado y no aparece la llave por ninguna parte... Primer indicio de la sinfonía de pesadilla que está apunto de desencadenarse en su vida.

Después de un largo tratamiento, Ellen es dada de alta y regresa a Nueva York con su marido. Ha pasado dos años internada y no ha visto un teclado desde que sufrió la crisis nerviosa. Ahora quiere reanudar su carrera de concertista, y lo primero que busca al llegar a casa es su clavicornio. Sólo que está cerrado y no aparece la llave.

An interesting book, deeply psychological in content. It describes a few months following the main character, Ellen's, release from a psychiatric hospital. She is very central to the book with the other characters, even important ones such as Ellen's husband or doctor ,being much less substantial and often fleetingly appearing before disappearing again. There are some interesting descriptions of Ellen's psycholoanalytic therapy, such as word association and dream interpretation; as well as the medical intervention she is subject to via ECT.

Mirrors are mentioned frequently in the book, as is the way the other characters look at Ellen. She is careful about her interaction with them, wanting to avoid any chance that they might see a return to madness. However, an unexpected meeting with the folk singer, Jim Shad who had seduced Ellen as a schoolgirl before cheating on her is the catalyst for Ellen's next descent into mental illness. As her health declines, so does her musical skill (she is a professional harpsichordist), and finally we realise that Ellen has an alter-ego, Nelle who is growing ever stronger. Menacing in tone, this is a very interesting read. ( )