Elodie Harrington, university student and medical mystery, lives in Providence, Rhode Island. More specifically, she lives in the infirmary at Brown University. Elodie has stupefied the physicians with a constant barrage of illnesses ranging from chicken pox to tuberculosis.

Elodie meets other students in the revolving door of the infirmary. Though the other students soon return to their ordinary environs, Elodie is allowed little glimpses into the lives of these otherwise “healthy” people. Having stayed at the infirmary so long, Elodie has developed a certain familiarity within the walls.

Chess Hunter is admitted with two smashed knees, and he and Elodie begin an immediate affair. They share their thoughts and feelings freely with each other; one begins to think they will be together forever, so close is their bond.

Interlaced with their story is her patient/doctor relationship with Professor Mark Kirchling, an MD who is determined to find out why Elodie suffers from so many maladies. In his attempt to make his professional mark with her case, his conclusions are so far off-base from the point he started at, that he is completely unprepared for what he will ultimately encounter.

To Feel Stuff suffers the effects of being wordy, abstract and vague. Siegel’s characters seem to ramble non-stop in such an exhausting way that the reader feels compelled to complete the book and end its characters’ misery. The participants remain in the same situations where they began, with the exception of Chess who, after rehab, returns to his normal life.