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hundhemm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
rikkigh's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
marie_aurora's review against another edition
5.0
This is bizarre and just fantastic, unpredictable and emotional. One of my all time favorites!
booksntea99's review against another edition
5.0
This book... I've read it last summer as well and it stuck with me. I've borrowed it from the library again but I think I'll buy it after having read it again. Such a great read
kamckim's review against another edition
I bailed. Didn't like the narrator's voice. Strange story about a man with multiple personality disorder. Too complicated for summer reading.
jkkb332's review against another edition
5.0
I've wanted to read this book for so long that my original note refers to "multiple personality disorder" instead of the more current and more accurate term "dissociative identity disorder." Such a long buildup leaves room for a lot of potential disappointment, but this book delivered and then some.
I've been fascinated by DID since it was briefly covered (again, as "MPD") in my first college psychology class. The idea of the brain taking such drastic measures to protect from trauma is difficult to wrap my mind around (no pun intended) but at the same time, it makes some sense. It almost feels like a glimpse into the things we don't know about the brain, or into the metaphysical science of souls. I know there are a lot of mental health professionals that "don't believe" in DID, but I do, and this book makes it seem even more real and plausible.
The thing I like most about this is that Ruff makes this really strange concept (how does it even work, on a practical level, having so many different people in one mind?) seem so normal. Andrew and Penny are the perfect dichotomy. Andrew, who is fully aware and comfortable with his DID, and Penny, who is unaware and completely freaked out by it. All of their alters that we meet along the way are drawn as fully realized characters (people) in their own rights, and how they experience them and interact with them is fascinating. I've heard of people building landscapes or houses inside their minds to house their alters, but I never fully understood it until now. It was such an abstract concept that Ruff managed to make concrete and realistic.
I'm really amazed by how fast the book flew by for me. I knew it would be heavy at times, because DID is caused by trauma and it was therefore inevitable for this book to hit on some dark topics, which it did. And yet, it doesn't get bogged down in that. There's enough healing to balance out the trauma that it moves the story along quickly. Don't get me wrong - parts of it were hard to read, and I was infuriated more than once. It definitely got dark at times, but it didn't stay dark for long, and that saved it for me.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was Julie. Her character is selfish and annoying, and I was glad when she became a lot less of a focus later in the book.
Overall, 5 enthusiastic stars.
I've been fascinated by DID since it was briefly covered (again, as "MPD") in my first college psychology class. The idea of the brain taking such drastic measures to protect from trauma is difficult to wrap my mind around (no pun intended) but at the same time, it makes some sense. It almost feels like a glimpse into the things we don't know about the brain, or into the metaphysical science of souls. I know there are a lot of mental health professionals that "don't believe" in DID, but I do, and this book makes it seem even more real and plausible.
The thing I like most about this is that Ruff makes this really strange concept (how does it even work, on a practical level, having so many different people in one mind?) seem so normal. Andrew and Penny are the perfect dichotomy. Andrew, who is fully aware and comfortable with his DID, and Penny, who is unaware and completely freaked out by it. All of their alters that we meet along the way are drawn as fully realized characters (people) in their own rights, and how they experience them and interact with them is fascinating. I've heard of people building landscapes or houses inside their minds to house their alters, but I never fully understood it until now. It was such an abstract concept that Ruff managed to make concrete and realistic.
I'm really amazed by how fast the book flew by for me. I knew it would be heavy at times, because DID is caused by trauma and it was therefore inevitable for this book to hit on some dark topics, which it did. And yet, it doesn't get bogged down in that. There's enough healing to balance out the trauma that it moves the story along quickly. Don't get me wrong - parts of it were hard to read, and I was infuriated more than once. It definitely got dark at times, but it didn't stay dark for long, and that saved it for me.
The only thing I didn't like about the book was Julie. Her character is selfish and annoying, and I was glad when she became a lot less of a focus later in the book.
Overall, 5 enthusiastic stars.
mrninjaviking's review against another edition
4.0
I had come across it at Amazon.Com and it looked interesting. Like with other books, I eventually cleaned it out of my wish list only to realize weeks/months later that I wanted to still get it. When I came back to it, it was listed as a "bargain book", only costing $6.99 for the hardcover edition. Couldn't let that one pass me by. It then took me almost two years before actually reading it.
Here is rundown of the book's description via Amazon.Com along with additions of mine through the help of Regina Schroeder at Booklist:
There was part of me that was worried when I bought this book that it might be too complex to really enjoy. Not that I can't handle a complex plot, but that the multiple personalities and switching between them would become too much, maybe even surreal. However, Mr. Ruff's delivery makes it so easy to discern between that I am embarrassed that I ever thought it would be difficult.
This book should appeal to almost any reader. The style is very straight forward. The reading level needed is not very high. But unlike other books that I have read that fall into those categories, this book contains very deep characterization. The presentation of the story gives two sides, both of Andy and Penny, at times overlapping or going back to replay from the other perspective. Often times there are complete chapters that go back in time to give background on some of the reasons events just happened in the chapter previous. The story doesn't march straight forward in chronological order, making it more interesting and engaging, especially when learning more of the characters involved.
One thing about this book though that might put purists off is it's lack of depth on the disorder itself and it's controversy. Like one reviewer at Amazon said:
One other thing that hit me was the ability to talk to other personalities. This comes from being uneducated on the subject. I was under the impression that if someone is diagnosed as such, they switch personalities without any real control, and without knowing or communicating with the other(s). Another issue is that many of the characters in the book that don't have this disorder are accepting of it. This didn't really bother me until much later in the book when one character doesn't believe it to be an actual condition. Though it can be easily explained that Andy would surround himself with people that would believe and not have issue, or move on until he would find those tolerant people. And what are the chances that two people with the disorder would be in such close proximity to each other?
Even with these shortcomings, it doesn't take away from a great story being told. The reader is still brought into the story's world to see the struggles of someone afflicted with the disorder from different sides and different degrees. The explanations are quick and to the point, not too drawn out and stuffed with too much jargon. Most of the explanations are in first person through Andy, and he doesn't understand everything, so why would he over-explain things? It makes for easy understanding of the inside of Andy's head, yet still has the feeling of being complex. The differences between the points of view of Andy and Penny give you a good idea of the struggles one could go through with this disorder. And it also is an added feature to the story telling that makes it more engaging, not giving away too much, drawing out some scenes, but in a good way.
Maybe not a true representation of someone with a multiple personality, but it does come together as a very well thought out and crafted story. And that's all I could have hoped for.
Here is rundown of the book's description via Amazon.Com along with additions of mine through the help of Regina Schroeder at Booklist:
Andy Gage was born in 1965 and murdered not long after by his stepfather. It was no ordinary murder. Though the torture and abuse that killed him were real, Andy Gage's death wasn't. Only his soul actually died, and when it died, it broke in pieces. Then the pieces became souls in their own right, coinheritors of Andy Gage's life.
The "new" Andy Gage was "born" just two years ago, called out of the lake near their house by his father to be the public face of a multiple personality. While Andy deals with the outside world, more than a hundred other souls share an imaginary house inside Andy's head, struggling to maintain an orderly coexistence: Aaron, the father figure; Adam, the mischievous teenager; Jake, the frightened little boy; Aunt Sam, the artist; Seferis, the defender; and Gideon, who wants to get rid of Andy and the others and run things on his own.
Andy's new coworker, Penny Driver, is also a multiple personality, a fact that Penny is only partially aware of. When several of Penny's other souls ask Andy for help, Andy reluctantly agrees, setting in motion a chain of events that threatens to destroy the stability of the house. Now Andy and Penny must work together to uncover a terrible secret that Andy has been keeping, from himself.
There was part of me that was worried when I bought this book that it might be too complex to really enjoy. Not that I can't handle a complex plot, but that the multiple personalities and switching between them would become too much, maybe even surreal. However, Mr. Ruff's delivery makes it so easy to discern between that I am embarrassed that I ever thought it would be difficult.
This book should appeal to almost any reader. The style is very straight forward. The reading level needed is not very high. But unlike other books that I have read that fall into those categories, this book contains very deep characterization. The presentation of the story gives two sides, both of Andy and Penny, at times overlapping or going back to replay from the other perspective. Often times there are complete chapters that go back in time to give background on some of the reasons events just happened in the chapter previous. The story doesn't march straight forward in chronological order, making it more interesting and engaging, especially when learning more of the characters involved.
One thing about this book though that might put purists off is it's lack of depth on the disorder itself and it's controversy. Like one reviewer at Amazon said:
Centered on the fascinating, very rare and controversial condition of multiple identity disorder. This condition raises questions which go to very nature of consciousness. However, the author here is more concerned with weaving a satisfying, fantasy style storyline around the basic concept, than exploring these questions in any depth.
One other thing that hit me was the ability to talk to other personalities. This comes from being uneducated on the subject. I was under the impression that if someone is diagnosed as such, they switch personalities without any real control, and without knowing or communicating with the other(s). Another issue is that many of the characters in the book that don't have this disorder are accepting of it. This didn't really bother me until much later in the book when one character doesn't believe it to be an actual condition. Though it can be easily explained that Andy would surround himself with people that would believe and not have issue, or move on until he would find those tolerant people. And what are the chances that two people with the disorder would be in such close proximity to each other?
Even with these shortcomings, it doesn't take away from a great story being told. The reader is still brought into the story's world to see the struggles of someone afflicted with the disorder from different sides and different degrees. The explanations are quick and to the point, not too drawn out and stuffed with too much jargon. Most of the explanations are in first person through Andy, and he doesn't understand everything, so why would he over-explain things? It makes for easy understanding of the inside of Andy's head, yet still has the feeling of being complex. The differences between the points of view of Andy and Penny give you a good idea of the struggles one could go through with this disorder. And it also is an added feature to the story telling that makes it more engaging, not giving away too much, drawing out some scenes, but in a good way.
Maybe not a true representation of someone with a multiple personality, but it does come together as a very well thought out and crafted story. And that's all I could have hoped for.
sausome's review against another edition
4.0
Awesome MPD book. I love the idea of a house within the mind to contain all the different personalities (or "souls" as this book refers to them). I just think the subject of MPD is fascinating, and the more I read about it, the more fascinating it is!
adru's review against another edition
5.0
Lugu, mis on korraga väga haarav ja päris raske lugeda - inimestest, kel on piinava lapsepõlve tagajärjel psyyhikahäire isiksuse mitmesus (20 minti otsisin, kuidas see eesti keeles õigesti on) ja kuidas nad enda sees korda loovad, aeg-ajalt lõbus või põnev, kogu aeg huvitav, trauma kogu aeg taustaks. Lugeja on koos kogu kambaga tegelastel peas ja tundub peaaegu nende privaatsuse rikkumisena sellest lähemalt rääkida, ehkki see on puhas ilukirjandus, muidugi. Lõpus oli asju, mis jätsid ykskõiksemaks, aga muidu erakordne raamat.
gaijin1331's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis