Set This House in Order

A hugely inventive, hugely readable novel about two young people with Multiple Personality Disorder. 'A gripping novel of suspense that could have come from the pen of Stephen King at his best.’ Daily Telegraph 
‘Mouse is lying in a strange bed, in a strange house, with her hand pressed between the thighs of a man she has never seen before… She doesn't scream. She wants to, but a lifetime of losing time – and covering up the fact – has left her skilled at controlling her reactions. She screams inside.' 
Penny Driver – 'Mouse' – suffers from Multiple Personality Disorder, blacking out whenever one of her other personalities takes control of her mind and body. So when Penny discovers that her new colleague Andrew Gage also suffers from MPD, she asks for his help. Through therapy, Andrew's personalities have long since learnt to co-exist in harmony in an imaginary house inside his head, but Andrew's 'house' is not quite so ordered as he would like to believe. In helping Penny, he discovers a locked door under the stairs, deep in his unconscious – a door that hides the dark secret as to why Andrew's childhood mind shattered in the first place

Literature & Fiction

Ruff, Matt

Literary

Harper-perennial

"I suppose I should tell you about the house.... The house, along with the lake, the forest, and Coventry, are all in Andy Gage's head, or what would have been Andy Gage's head if he had lived. Andy Gage was horn 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. . . . "
From the author of the cult classic Fool on the Hill comes a strange and moving story of self-discovery. Andy Gage was "born" just two years ago, called into being to serve as 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 co-existence: Aaron, the father figure, who makes the rules; Adam, the mischievous teenager, who breaks them; Jake, the frightened little boy; Aunt Sam, the artist; Seferis, the defender; and Gideon, the dark soul, who wants to get rid of Andy and the others and run things on his own.
Andrew'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....

Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls

Contemporary

Harper

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.

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

“Bad Monkeys has wit and imagination by the bucketload. . . . Buy it, read it, memorize then destroy it. There are eyes everywhere.”
 ―Chris Moore, bestselling author of A Dirty Job and Lamb Jane Charlotte has been arrested for murder. She tells police that she is a member of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil; her division is called the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons―“Bad Monkeys” for short. This confession earns Jane a trip to the jail’s psychiatric wing, where a doctor attempts to determine whether she is lying, crazy, or playing a different game altogether. 
 Clever and gripping, full of unexpected twists and turns, teasing existential musings, and captivating prose, Bad Monkeys unfolds at lightning speed, taking readers to another realm of imagination.

Bad Monkeys

Dramas & Plays

Bad Monkeys: A Novel (P.S.)

A mind-bending novel in which an alternate history of 9/11 and its aftermath uncovers startling truths about America and the Middle East
11/9/2001: Christian fundamentalists hijack four jetliners. They fly two into the Tigris &amp; Euphrates World Trade Towers in Baghdad, and a third into the Arab Defense Ministry in Riyadh. The fourth plane, believed to be bound for Mecca, is brought down by its passengers.
The United Arab States declares a War on Terror. Arabian and Persian troops invade the Eastern Seaboard and establish a Green Zone in Washington, D.C. . . . 
Summer, 2009: Arab Homeland Security agent Mustafa al Baghdadi interrogates a captured suicide bomber. The prisoner claims that the world they are living in is a mirage—in the real world, America is a superpower, and the Arab states are just a collection of "backward third-world countries." A search of the bomber's apartment turns up a copy of The New York Times, dated September 12, 2001, that appears to support his claim. Other captured terrorists have been telling the same story. The president wants answers, but Mustafa soon discovers he's not the only interested party. 
The gangster Saddam Hussein is conducting his own investigation. And the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee—a war hero named Osama bin Laden—will stop at nothing to hide the truth. As Mustafa and his colleagues venture deeper into the unsettling world of terrorism, politics, and espionage, they are confronted with questions without any rational answers, and the terrifying possibility that their world is not what it seems.
Acclaimed novelist Matt Ruff has created a shadow world that is eerily recognizable but, at the same time, almost unimaginable. Gripping, subversive, and unexpectedly moving, The Mirage probes our deepest convictions and most arresting fears.

The Mirage: A Novel

11/9/2001: Christian fundamentalists hijackfour jetliners. They fly two into theTigris &amp; Euphrates World Trade Towersin Baghdad, and a third into the ArabDefense Ministry in Riyadh. The fourthplane, believed to be bound for Mecca, isbrought down by its passengers. The UnitedArab States declares a War on Terror. Arabianand Persian troops invade the EasternSeaboard and establish a Green Zone inWashington, D.C. . . .
Summer, 2009: Arab Homeland Securityagent Mustafa al Baghdadi interrogatesa captured suicide bomber. The prisonerclaims that the world they are living in isa mirage—in the real world, America is asuperpower, and the Arab states are just acollection of "backward third-world countries."Other captured terrorists have beentelling the same story.
The gangster Saddam Hussein is conductinghis own investigation. And the headof the Senate Intelligence Committee—awar hero named Osama bin Laden—willstop at nothing to hide the truth. As Mustafaand his colleagues venture deeper into theunsettling world of terrorism, politics, andespionage, they are confronted with questionswithout any rational answers, andthe terrifying possibility that their world isnot what it seems.

Soon to be a New HBO® Series from J.J. Abrams (Executive Producer of Westworld), Misha Green (Creator of Underground) and Jordan Peele (Director of Get Out)
The critically acclaimed cult novelist makes visceral the terrors of life in Jim Crow America and its lingering effects in this brilliant and wondrous work of the imagination that melds historical fiction, pulp noir, and Lovecraftian horror and fantasy.
Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, 22-year-old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George—publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide—and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite—heir to the estate that owned one of Atticus’s ancestors—they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.
At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn—led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb—which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his—and the whole Turner clan’s—destruction.
A chimerical blend of magic, power, hope, and freedom that stretches across time, touching diverse members of two black families, Lovecraft Country is a devastating kaleidoscopic portrait of racism—the terrifying specter that continues to haunt us today.

Lovecraft Country: A Novel

United States

Reference

The critically acclaimed author of Lovecraft Country returns with a thrilling and immersive virtual reality epic--part cyberthriller, part twisted romantic comedy--that transports you to a world where identity is fluid and nothing can be taken at face value. John Chu is a "sherpa"--a paid guide to online role-playing games like the popular Call to Wizardry. For a fee, he and his crew will provide you with a top-flight character equipped with the best weapons and armor, and take you dragon-slaying in the Realms of Asgarth, hunting rogue starships in the Alpha Sector, or battling hordes of undead in the zombie apocalypse. Chu's new client, the pseudonymous Mr. Jones, claims to be a "wealthy, famous person" with powerful enemies, and he's offering a ridiculous amount of money for a comprehensive tour of the world of virtual-reality gaming. For Chu, this is a dream assignment, but as the tour gets underway, he begins to suspect that Mr. Jones is really North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, whose interest in VR gaming has more to do with power than entertainment. As if that weren't enough to deal with, Chu also has to worry about "Ms. Pang," who may or may not be an agent of the People's Republic of China, and his angry ex-girlfriend, Darla Jean Covington, who isn't the type to let an international intrigue get in the way of her own plans for revenge. What begins as a whirlwind online adventure soon spills over into the real world. Now Chu must use every trick and resource at his disposal to stay one step ahead--because in real life, there is no reset button.

88 Names: A Novel

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ruff, Matt. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ruff, Matt

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ruff, Matt. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Set This House in Order

Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls

Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls

Bad Monkeys

Bad Monkeys: A Novel (P.S.)

The Mirage: A Novel

The Mirage: A Novel

Lovecraft Country: A Novel

Lovecraft Country: A Novel

88 Names: A Novel