Set This House in Order ★★★★☆

Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls (Click Here To Buy)

★★★★☆ (3.5 Stars)

Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls by Matt Ruff is a fiction book about a guy with multiple personalities (now called dissociative identity disorder or DID) who decides to help a girl come to terms with her own DID.

I have wanted to read this book for many years, as it is set in Seattle and have characters with DID. I picked up this copy from Goodwill.

Andrew Gage was severely abused as a child and as a direct result his soul fractured into multiple souls as a coping mechanism. Andrew is now an adult trying to live his best life in a small town outside Seattle. When his boss/friend/crush Jenny hires a new worker, Penny, and she also has multiple personalities but does not have insight around it, Jenny asks Andrew to help Penny gain awareness. This leads to Andrew also uncovering secrets in his past that alter the course of both his and Penny’s many lives.

As a mental health professional, it was difficult for me to get past what I call the Hollywoodization of DID as seen in the movies. This came forth in Andrew’s character and his ability to switch between alters on command, etc. Penny’s initial experience with the blackouts was a more accurate depiction, so I appreciated that. At some point you have to accept the creative liberties and enjoy the plot, which did a good job of keeping me guessing till the end.

I have also read Lovecraft Country by Ruff and loved it! (The show is an 11/10)

If you liked Set This House in Order, I also recommend Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber (side-note, hate this book because it’s all a lie so actually don’t read it - what you should read is) Earthlings by Sayaka Murata, Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi, Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor, and i’m thinking of ending things by Iain Reid.

Happy reading :)

Ms.Bjork