Set This House in Order
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Description
Book Information
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This was not an easy book to read.
The story follows Andrew and Penny, both living with dissociative identity disorder. Andrew has known about his condition for years and has learned how to manage it, while Penny does not yet understand what is happening to her. Watching Andrew try to help her figure it out is a central part of the story. What makes this book so powerful is the care put into the characters. Each of them has multiple personalities, and they all feel distinct and thoughtfully developed. Some appear more often than others, but none of them feel exaggerated. Everything feels very real. That realism is also what made it difficult to read. The backstories, especially Penny’s, are very heavy. Andrew’s past is painful as well, but Penny’s affected me much more. At times I had to put the book down because it was emotionally overwhelming. I started it months ago and needed breaks before I could finish it. I would not recommend this book to everyone. It deals with serious trauma, and you need to be in the right headspace for it. Still, I am glad I read it. It is intense, detailed, and deeply human. The ending is not exactly happy, but it also is not tragic. It feels realistic, and that suits the story. * TW: complex trauma, child abuse
4.25/5 stars tw: child abuse, assault, rape, overall depictions of trauma and mental illness If this novel would have been published today, I feel like, many more readers would devour it, love it and it would be a presence on “book of the year” or “books you should read” lists. Instead, this novel feels like a hidden gem. Or maybe I am a little blinded by a story which I love, but is hard to love by others. I really can’t write a coherent and full review for this. Because firstly, I think I would give a lot away. And secondly, this book is so dense. No wonder each section is titled with Book one, Book two, etc. I read two different character studies, I read about a man who thinks he finds love, I read about a woman who finds her place in the world, I read about a found family and about Julie, who needs a novel for herself (I do like her a lot). I read an awesome adventure, a thrilling road trip and an upsetting whodunnit. And that is all between almost 500 pages. Some might say that this is too much, and sometimes, I agree. Parts could have been trimmed and the ending is a little too overdone as well. A lot is happening, and it can drain you. But at the same time, this novel is so beautiful, so funny, written so cinematic, so good. Yes, [b:Set This House in Order|71847|Set This House in Order|Matt Ruff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436462577s/71847.jpg|2204766] is not for everyone, because it does deal with very heavy topics. It will upset you, because this book does not shy away from mentioning child abuse and assaults. [a:Matt Ruff|40577|Matt Ruff|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201179598p2/40577.jpg] never gets all too graphic or exploitative with his description, but the feeling of something off, something bad will last. That is the very nature of this book and also of the disorder it describes. I don’t live with a dissociative identity disorder so it is not mine to say, that this novel depicts the disorder in a good or bad way. But the way it was presented was, for me, almost entirely positive. Which is a rare thing to happen - since we all know the stories, where people with DID have that one personality, that is so evil, it kills people, or that the system that lives with DID can’t handle it and so needs to complete suicide. I get why this can be an interesting basis for a story, but after oh so many stories about it it just gets tiring and probably is the source of more harm than good for people who are dissociative and are facing the stigmas. There is a soul (or an alter) in this book that fulfills part of the “evil part of my personality”-trope, but the resolution to that alter is more positive than anything I have ever read. For me, it is interesting with how much empathy Matt Ruff wrote this story. And also how descriptive without becoming boring he tells the story of a man who lives with dissociative identity disorder. Even someone who never heard of the mental illness can follow this story - and the different alters are not confusing at all, if you take your time and get used to it. But after all, this book is only a work of fiction and Matt Ruff himself does not live with DID. (There is another part of Andrew Gage, that surprised me, caught me off guard and then nearly made me cry. This is an important story and I wished more people would discover it.) I am looking forward to read even more by Matt Ruff. He crafts excellent stories and since Jordan Peele is attached to the adaption of [b:Lovecraft Country|25109947|Lovecraft Country|Matt Ruff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426040983s/25109947.jpg|44803674], I will probably pick up this novel in the near future.
Description
Book Information
Posts
This was not an easy book to read.
The story follows Andrew and Penny, both living with dissociative identity disorder. Andrew has known about his condition for years and has learned how to manage it, while Penny does not yet understand what is happening to her. Watching Andrew try to help her figure it out is a central part of the story. What makes this book so powerful is the care put into the characters. Each of them has multiple personalities, and they all feel distinct and thoughtfully developed. Some appear more often than others, but none of them feel exaggerated. Everything feels very real. That realism is also what made it difficult to read. The backstories, especially Penny’s, are very heavy. Andrew’s past is painful as well, but Penny’s affected me much more. At times I had to put the book down because it was emotionally overwhelming. I started it months ago and needed breaks before I could finish it. I would not recommend this book to everyone. It deals with serious trauma, and you need to be in the right headspace for it. Still, I am glad I read it. It is intense, detailed, and deeply human. The ending is not exactly happy, but it also is not tragic. It feels realistic, and that suits the story. * TW: complex trauma, child abuse
4.25/5 stars tw: child abuse, assault, rape, overall depictions of trauma and mental illness If this novel would have been published today, I feel like, many more readers would devour it, love it and it would be a presence on “book of the year” or “books you should read” lists. Instead, this novel feels like a hidden gem. Or maybe I am a little blinded by a story which I love, but is hard to love by others. I really can’t write a coherent and full review for this. Because firstly, I think I would give a lot away. And secondly, this book is so dense. No wonder each section is titled with Book one, Book two, etc. I read two different character studies, I read about a man who thinks he finds love, I read about a woman who finds her place in the world, I read about a found family and about Julie, who needs a novel for herself (I do like her a lot). I read an awesome adventure, a thrilling road trip and an upsetting whodunnit. And that is all between almost 500 pages. Some might say that this is too much, and sometimes, I agree. Parts could have been trimmed and the ending is a little too overdone as well. A lot is happening, and it can drain you. But at the same time, this novel is so beautiful, so funny, written so cinematic, so good. Yes, [b:Set This House in Order|71847|Set This House in Order|Matt Ruff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436462577s/71847.jpg|2204766] is not for everyone, because it does deal with very heavy topics. It will upset you, because this book does not shy away from mentioning child abuse and assaults. [a:Matt Ruff|40577|Matt Ruff|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1201179598p2/40577.jpg] never gets all too graphic or exploitative with his description, but the feeling of something off, something bad will last. That is the very nature of this book and also of the disorder it describes. I don’t live with a dissociative identity disorder so it is not mine to say, that this novel depicts the disorder in a good or bad way. But the way it was presented was, for me, almost entirely positive. Which is a rare thing to happen - since we all know the stories, where people with DID have that one personality, that is so evil, it kills people, or that the system that lives with DID can’t handle it and so needs to complete suicide. I get why this can be an interesting basis for a story, but after oh so many stories about it it just gets tiring and probably is the source of more harm than good for people who are dissociative and are facing the stigmas. There is a soul (or an alter) in this book that fulfills part of the “evil part of my personality”-trope, but the resolution to that alter is more positive than anything I have ever read. For me, it is interesting with how much empathy Matt Ruff wrote this story. And also how descriptive without becoming boring he tells the story of a man who lives with dissociative identity disorder. Even someone who never heard of the mental illness can follow this story - and the different alters are not confusing at all, if you take your time and get used to it. But after all, this book is only a work of fiction and Matt Ruff himself does not live with DID. (There is another part of Andrew Gage, that surprised me, caught me off guard and then nearly made me cry. This is an important story and I wished more people would discover it.) I am looking forward to read even more by Matt Ruff. He crafts excellent stories and since Jordan Peele is attached to the adaption of [b:Lovecraft Country|25109947|Lovecraft Country|Matt Ruff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1426040983s/25109947.jpg|44803674], I will probably pick up this novel in the near future.