An installation artist longs to create a magical room for a battered child -- an interactive microcosm of the universe, with hidden compartments in the walls and the heavens projected above -- ever to remind the child of the powers with which he was born. Into his aesthetic otherworld, the artist first draws a young psychiatrist and her adopted, infant nephew, then a metallurgical scientist who is haunted by a disturbed upbringing and a frightening self-image. As the three build this fantastic space for the child and even more magical bonds of love between them, the trust they dare to give one another threatens their friendship -- even as it unfolds a strangely rewarding vision. This story is for those who entertain the subversive notion that the gifts with which they entered the world were lost -- but may yet be recovered.
ISBN: 1-84045-035-5
"Alice Miller's Room sends the reader on an expedition that is, at the same time, both psychological and spiritual. This is a magical book, rich in cultural and historical references."
MSuehle@aol.com
"This enchanting novella is a delicately wrought homage to Jung's famous principle of meaningful coincidence. There are many lovely touches such as the Ancient Egyptian and Italian Renaissance references recurring throughout, and the mixture of humour and seriousness with which the author weaves his fascinating tale. Marbrook is a talented writer with a powerful but gentle voice and something to say. I would certainly like to hear more."
Breakfast All Day
"Alice Miller's Room is not fiction for the intellectually meek. Marbrook follows through on his charge [in one of his essays on the decadence of the publishing industry] to man the cultural barricades and 'raise the intellectual ante'. From his essay, Literature in Decline: 'What is being done to the language of our literature? Have all the big words, no matter how pleasurable or precise, been chopped out, all the adjectives tried and found guilty of witchcraft? Have all the writers who send us to the dictionary or encyclopedia been scourged and sent to the stocks?' Apparently not as long as Marbrook writes fiction."
WordHouse
"In this deeply moving tale, Djelloul Marbrook brings forth the magic of Alice Miller's Room through metaphors of culture and religion, the sensual arts of sculpture and painting, and the ancient bonds between man and the sea. At once radiant and dark, beckoning and foreboding, the story draws us into that mysterious and terrifying realm where the heart will have its say and all who enter leave transformed. On a personal note, I find deeper satisfaction each time I return to Alice Miller's Room because it speaks to such a deep need for transcendence and connection -- and because it reminds me of how vital true dignity and integrity are to my own life."
Patricia L. Divine, Ed.D., Administration on Children, Youth and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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