This book is a wild imaginative ride of two people with Multiple Personality Disorder. In the book, both of the main characters "die" or at least, their souls die due to abuse. As a result, their souls are splintered into different personalities. Both characters, Andrew Gage and Penny Driver must find a way to live with their diagnosis through "lost time", fighting with other souls in their head, as well as learn the secrets from their pasts. I read Bad Monkeys first and really loved the writing style of the author. It is highly imaginative and daring. The writing leaves you at the edge of your seat, not knowing what will happen next. I don't know anyone with Mulitple personality disorder, but I have seen some documentaries on it. I am not sure if things transpire in the heads of the character as they do in real life, but the story was very real to me and believable. When Andy Gage would transform to a different soul, the transformation looks very physical. From Seferis the protector to Adam the teenager, the transformations are very believable. ( )

Really excellent and unconventional book. The author had me literally holding my breath during some descriptions. Not a difficult read, but not an easy one, for sure. ( )

Oddball romantic-drama. Andy Gage is the key 'soul', managing his household of multi-personalities, working in dysfunctional IT start-up business. Matched up by his kooky boss with Penny, still warring with her 'souls', his life unravels—secrets not faced come back with a bite. Sensitive and funny account with vivid characters. ( )

I thought this book was entertaining and that it conveyed the chaos that would probably occur in someones life with MPD (or what I imagine it might be like at least).

The only thing that I didn't really enjoy was the ending. I found that it seemed that it had been thrown together quickly as a means to tie up lose ends with a few pages at the end of the book.

If you have read any other Matt Ruf] books and enjoyed them I would not hesitate to recommend this one. The witty style that he brings to his works is present here as well and helps to lend a realistic voice to the souls in the household. ( )

The plot and resolution don't quite live up to the idea and characterisation. Nevertheless, very enjoyable read, and I'd like to do some further reading on MPD now. ( )

Ruff's brilliant plot twists

and cast of dozens of souls

make me want more Ruff!

The author shifts among the narrator's various personalities in a masterful and inventive way that builds suspense. I don't feel that the ending lives up to the rest of the story, however. It seems to bog down a bit at the end and seems to be rushed to a conclusion. I still give it 4 stars for the unique expression of the interior voices of multiple personalities living in one mind, and the overall excellent story telling. ( )

Set This House In Order is an awesome book! When I get hold of fiction that puts me in the head of someone with a mental illness I am thrilled if it’s done well. Set This House In Order is done very well. I can’t vouch for the accuracy that Ruff portrays multiple personality disorder. But how he imagines this works from a first person perspective still provides a coherent sense of how it could present to someone with M.P.D. A way that is nothing like how I think. I now have an opportunity to perceive somewhat differently.

(Full review at my blog) ( )

Utterly original and completely engaging, Ruff creates a cast of characters that is unforgettable. What's more, he left me wondering about what it really means to be me, to be you -- why anyone is who they are, and even more how they are. He left me questioning the fine lines between sanity and insanity, between rational and irrational, between protection and escape. And he did all that while telling a mighty fine story. A new favourite. ( )

http://scooterchronicles.com/2008/02/... ( )

I'm going to look at this in terms of the book's portrayal of multiplicity, since as a multiple this is most important to me, and the book's plot has already been reviewed.

Set This House in Order is in my opinion one of the best books on multiplicity and Dissociative Identity Disorder. The protagonist is multiple and has chosen not to integrate, and is facing no problems because of this, showing the situation of real multiples better than most popular literature. The characters are not seen as disordered, are happy and comfortable with their multiplicity, and are shown as relatively normal.

But not everything in the novel can be taken literally; Ruff's view seems to be that healthy multiples cannot exist without therapy (most therapists stress "integration," or becoming one person as opposed to many–which is more often than not unsuccessful) and throughout the book, the outdated term "Multiple Personality Disorder" or MPD was used–it's been changed to Dissociative Identity Disorder. Both multiples in the book suffered from child abuse, which is encouraging stereotypes.

But, the protagonist was shown as completely sane and capable, a huge step up from books such as "Sybil" and "When Rabbit Howls." He did have a "soul" who was violent, but for the most part was able to stop him from doing anything dangerous. There were barely any dominance struggles. And, best of all, the souls were shown as separate people as opposed to figments of the protagonist's imagination or mere fragments of his personality.

In short, while it does have its flaws, "Set This House In Order" is in my opinion one of the most accurate portrayals of multiplicity in modern fiction. It was also a captivating and very enjoyable read. ( )

Andy Guage has Multiple Personality Disorder. The personalities though separate seem reasonably well intagrated. Then his impulsive boss spot some ne else with MPD Recruits her and pushes Andy into helping the new woman bring some order to herself. But Andy is not as well inegrated as first appearences suggest.

Another Tiptree award and once more one that did little or nothing to affect my thinking on gender issues. ( )

Wow. This book was totally, completely different from Matt Ruff's first two books. Firmly on the literature side of the literature/humor/fantasy border that the first two books straddled, this book managed to retain the inventiveness and some of the humor, while working with a completely different and more serious subject matter. Unlike the previous books, which had enough characters to warrant a Dramatis Personae, this book only had about 10 charaters... well, only about 10 bodies. When two of those bodies are home to multiple personalities, the character list expands considerably. It was a really fascinating depiction of what it might be like to live with MPD, although the tone shifted about halfway through from psychological account to murder mystery. The ending, although probably more realistic than most fiction, nonetheless fizzled a little bit, and there were some interesting issues that got raised halfway through the book but were never dealt with satisfactorily. Still, really engagingly written and very very interesting; I have a feeling this one is going to stick in my head for a while. ( )

about two friends who both have dissociative identity disorder (or multiple personality). completely addictive. this stayed with me for a long time after i finished it. ( )

Andrew is the personality in charge of "driving" the soul-ridden body of Andy Gage. Born from the ashes of Andy Gage's mind, the society of multiple personalities live in a stable arrangement together thanks to a helpful therapist. Andrew is a recently born personality trying to give the body a fairly normal life, starting with a new job at a software company. But Andrew's stability is threatened when his impulsive boss, Julie, hires Penny, another victim of multiple personality disorder. Julie wants Andrew to help Penny tame the chaos in her head. Penny doesn't understand her condition, but some of her other personalities do. Andrew is reluctant to get involved, but Penny's group of protective personas make a plea for help. When his own house of souls collapses under the strain of several shocks, Andrew and Penny end up on a road-trip to confront the past.

This is one of the best fiction books I've read this year. Ruff's handling of the multiple personalities is both inventive and sensitive. He is straightforward in dealing with the abuse that led to Andrew and Penny's fractured state - it's clearly important, but not sensationalized. In spite of the serious subject matter, Ruff manages to incorporate a good measure of humor into the story. Andrew's journey gives a whole new meaning to "finding yourself." Ruff's excellent characterizations make it easy to root for Andrew, Penny, and their collective internal societies.

I like that Ruff avoids the trap of a cliched, sappy ending, instead making it clear that there are no easy solutions. Ruff's plot was engrossing in all its twists and turns, and only one late section seemed to jump a bit off the tracks. This is a compelling book that will entertain you even as it makes you think about how we all interact with the world.

5 Stars ( )

Not quite fantasy, nor yet quite reality, this is Matt Ruff's unique take on a romance, of sorts, between two people--or rather, several dozen, as both have multiple personalities. Less whimsical then his earlier books, it's still an enjoyable read. There are suprises that are a bit predictable, and surprises that come from right out of nowhere and whack you between the eyes.