Set this House in Order: A Romance of Souls
Ruff, Matt
ISBN-13 978-0060195625
ISBN-10 0060195622
Publisher: Harper, 2003
Genre: Adult Crossover Fiction
Reading Level: 9th and up
Interest Age: 9th and up
Reader's Annotation:
Andrew has finally gotten his house in order. Everyone is where they are supposed to be and there are no mishaps until he meets Penny.
Plot Summary:
Andrew is the main voice in his house. He has control most of the time, but takes into consideration others thoughts when it is necessary. Running this house is like driving a ship. Andrew's home is in the head of Andy Gage and his housemates are Andy's different personalities. Andy created a house to organize the different personalities in his head and control who was in control of the body at any time. He works for a company working on virtual reality games. A new girl, Penny Driver, is added to the team. Penny has no idea she has multiple personalities and finds herself waking up places feeling like she has blacked out. Andrew is asked to help her learn about her personalities and organize them as he did. Not only does his boss ask him this, but some of Penny's personalities would like help as well. As time goes on, some of the pieces of Andy's past start to come to the surface and his perfectly organized house may be beginning to fall apart. The two begin to navigate this world together but how many personalities can one relationship handle?
Critical Evaluation:
Matt Ruff has been able to bring the reader into the world of a person with multiple personality disorder in a romantic way. The abuse and sadness that causes this disorder to manifest is only touched on which makes the story readable for teens as well as adults. The plot line is very well established and each character has a different voice. Ruff has been able to create an environment where the reader easily flows between one personality and another. There are not times when the reader needs to flip back and forth in the book trying to figure out which character is which. This readability is quite the accomplishment wish many different personalities and voices.
Matt Ruff did some research in order to write this book. His portrayal of a person struggling with this disorder had accurateness because of this. He made the difference between simply talking to one's self and having many personalities clear and he wrote candidly about the discovery of this separation.
About the Author:
Matt Ruff knew he wanted to be a writer at age five. He started working on his story telling skills from that time to become the writer he is today. He was born in 1965 and grew up in New York City. Ruff graduated from Cornell University and had his first book published six months after her graduated. The novel, "Fools Rush In" was written for his senior thesis. He has been a professional writer ever since.
Ruff has written five novels and two of them have won awards. Set this House in Order won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, a Washington State Book Award, and a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award. According to Ruff, this marked the turning point of his career. Ruff now lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife Lisa.
http://www.bymattruff.com/about-the-author/
Curriculum Ties:
This could be used in a psychology class to understand this disorder. It could also be used to talk with students about acceptance.
Andrew is the main voice in his house. He has control most of the time, but takes into consideration others thoughts when it is necessary. Running this house is like driving a ship. Andrew's home is in the head of Andy Gage and his housemates are Andy's different personalities. Andy created a house to organize the different personalities in his head and control who was in control of the body at any time. He works for a company working on virtual reality games. A new girl, Penny Driver, is added to the team. Penny has no idea she has multiple personalities and finds herself waking up places feeling like she has blacked out. Andrew is asked to help her learn about her personalities and organize them as he did. Not only does his boss ask him this, but some of Penny's personalities would like help as well. As time goes on, some of the pieces of Andy's past start to come to the surface and his perfectly organized house may be beginning to fall apart. The two begin to navigate this world together but how many personalities can one relationship handle?
Critical Evaluation:
Matt Ruff has been able to bring the reader into the world of a person with multiple personality disorder in a romantic way. The abuse and sadness that causes this disorder to manifest is only touched on which makes the story readable for teens as well as adults. The plot line is very well established and each character has a different voice. Ruff has been able to create an environment where the reader easily flows between one personality and another. There are not times when the reader needs to flip back and forth in the book trying to figure out which character is which. This readability is quite the accomplishment wish many different personalities and voices.
Matt Ruff did some research in order to write this book. His portrayal of a person struggling with this disorder had accurateness because of this. He made the difference between simply talking to one's self and having many personalities clear and he wrote candidly about the discovery of this separation.
About the Author:
Matt Ruff knew he wanted to be a writer at age five. He started working on his story telling skills from that time to become the writer he is today. He was born in 1965 and grew up in New York City. Ruff graduated from Cornell University and had his first book published six months after her graduated. The novel, "Fools Rush In" was written for his senior thesis. He has been a professional writer ever since.
Ruff has written five novels and two of them have won awards. Set this House in Order won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, a Washington State Book Award, and a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award. According to Ruff, this marked the turning point of his career. Ruff now lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife Lisa.
http://www.bymattruff.com/about-the-author/
Curriculum Ties:
This could be used in a psychology class to understand this disorder. It could also be used to talk with students about acceptance.
Book Talking:
Pick apart the different aspects of your personality and discuss what would happen if everyone saw all these aspects.
Challenging Issues:
If this book were to be challenged, I would go through the selection process with the challenger as well as explain the rationale for the book. There are many good qualities in this book that could be reason to have it in a collection.
Why Read this Book:
This book combines a love story with a psychological survey of multiple personality disorder. I chose to read this book because it shows that even though you may be different, there is someone who understands what you are going through. Teens can relate to this because many of them feel alone in their lives.
Pick apart the different aspects of your personality and discuss what would happen if everyone saw all these aspects.
Challenging Issues:
If this book were to be challenged, I would go through the selection process with the challenger as well as explain the rationale for the book. There are many good qualities in this book that could be reason to have it in a collection.
Why Read this Book:
This book combines a love story with a psychological survey of multiple personality disorder. I chose to read this book because it shows that even though you may be different, there is someone who understands what you are going through. Teens can relate to this because many of them feel alone in their lives.
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