Elisabeth Tova Bailey

Elisabeth Tova Bailey is the author, narrator, and main character of this book. When the book opens, Elisabeth is thirty-four is on holiday in Europe. This is when she first falls ill. Though readers know by the end of the book that Elisabeth's chronic illness has lastly nearly two-decades by the time this book is published, there is no direct indication of when throughout her many years of illness and periods of relapses the year with the snails take place. It is therefore not possible to determine Elisabeth's exact age for the majority of the book, but she is presumably writing in her fifties and the events of the book would have taken place when she was between her mid-thirties and mid-fifties.

Elisabeth does not characterize herself in great detail. She does not write about her career, relationship status, childhood, or hobbies. She clearly loves...