Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls

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. . . .

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.

Author: Matt Ruff
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 01/20/2004
Pages: 479
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.88lbs
Size: 8.05h x 5.33w x 0.86d
ISBN: 9780060954857
Award: Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award - Winner
Award: Washington State Book Award - Winner

Review Citation(s):
New York Times 02/01/2004 pg. 20
Booksense '76 Mar/Apr_2004 03/01/2004 pg. 1

About the Author
Ruff, Matt: -

Matt Ruff is the author of Lovecraft Country and its sequel, The Destroyer of Worlds, as well as 88 Names, Bad Monkeys, The Mirage, Set This House in Order, Fool on the Hill, and Sewer, Gas & Electric: The Public Works Trilogy. He lives in Seattle, Washington.