Journal Entry 1 by Lorelei03 from Flushing, New York USA on Wednesday, November 05, 2003

I love this author and love this book!!

From Publisher's Weekly -
Part suspense, part literary coming-of-age story, this unusual novel follows a 29-year-old man with multiple personality disorder-a departure for Ruff, whose last book, Sewer, Gas & Electric, was a futuristic political satire. Andy Gage's psyche was destroyed at age three by his abusive stepfather, and from its fragments arose a crowd of personalities vying for control of his body. When the novel opens, the body has just been taken over by 26-year-old Andrew. Andrew's father, Aaron, had been in charge for years, but grew exhausted from the effort of keeping peace among the different "souls," which include sarcastic, horny 15-year-old Adam; five-year-old Jake; gentle Aunt Sam; and the violent, narcissistic Gideon, whom Aaron banished from the "house."

from the book's preface...
"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. . . . " 

Journal Entry 2 by Lorelei03 from Flushing, New York USA on Wednesday, November 05, 2003

I'm going to make this my first bookring (not a ray because I can't bear to part with it permanently!). PM me to join up.

Here is the current list of participants - we can always add more on, so just PM me if you're interested.

1. butlin - NH - COMPLETED
2. arugh48187 - MN - COMPLETED
3. BunRab - TX - COMPLETED
4. WarEagle78 - AL - COMPLETED
5. ecoboy - Canada - COMPLETED
6. Jendudley - TX
7. Kernow8 - VA
8. R-W (formerly known as robert-walker!) - UK
9. jarrett622 - VA
10. kymberlie - TX
11. ndspider - MA
...and then back to me!

I'll be sending this off to butlin in this week's post office trip. Hope everyone enjoys it! 

Journal Entry 3 by Lorelei03 at on Monday, December 01, 2003

Released on Monday, December 01, 2003 at US Mail in US mail, New Jersey USA.

Sent in the mail today to butlin - enjoy! 

Journal Entry 4 by butlin from Hudson, New Hampshire USA on Friday, December 05, 2003

Just received this week...along with 2 others books this week. I will read as quickly as possible to as not to hold up the book ring.  

Journal Entry 5 by butlin from Hudson, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, December 23, 2003

I loved this book. It was a very different type of book. It was a little confusing at first, but once I learned who all the different "souls" were I really go into the book. I will be sending it out as soon as I receive the next address. Thanks for starting this book ray!!!! 

Journal Entry 6 by butlin from Hudson, New Hampshire USA on Tuesday, December 30, 2003

Sending this off to Arugh48187 today. Enjoy!!! 

Journal Entry 7 by arugh48187 from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA on Monday, January 05, 2004

Received this one in my mailbox today. I have a few rings in front of it, but I will get to it soon. 

Journal Entry 8 by arugh48187 from Minneapolis, Minnesota USA on Tuesday, March 09, 2004

This book was phenomenal. The only reason I didn't give it a ten is because the resolution of Andy's past was a little too cheesy. I have always been fascinated with Multiple Personality Disorder. I did a paper on it in college and read almost every chronicle that existed; "Sybil", "The Three Faces of Eve", "Minds of Billy Milligan", and "When Rabbit Howls". Of those, the last one is the best. So I was quite familiar with the topic when I started reading. Matt Ruff has done an excellent job of portraying people with the disorder. I do have one unanswered question. Why is Andrew's body different from his soul? (You'll understand the question when you get there.) It was never explained in the book. Anyway, this book was well worth reading. Thanks for sharing, Lorelei03.

*Note: This book traveled to India with me as I intended to read it there. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time and so it was brought back to the US and read. 

Journal Entry 9 by arugh48187 at Post Office at 153rd and Garrett in Apple Valley, Minnesota -- Controlled Releases on Thursday, March 11, 2004

Released on Thursday, March 11, 2004 at Post Office at 153rd and Garrett in Apple Valley, Minnesota Controlled Releases.

And it's off to BunRab... 

Journal Entry 10 by BunRab from Catonsville, Maryland USA on Monday, March 22, 2004

Just received. I have 2 books ahead of it to read, so I'll start in on this around Friday. 

Journal Entry 11 by BunRab from Catonsville, Maryland USA on Friday, April 02, 2004

Fascinating. Mesmerizing. Pretty much read it straight through, except for a break to sleep for a few hours, and an hour to teach my class. Absolutely fascinating. So interesting it almost makes MPD seem like an interesting thing that you might want to try. (No, I wouldn't.) One becomes convinced that Ruff is absolutely accurate about what it must feel like. 

Journal Entry 12 by BunRab at Post Office in By Post, By Post -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Released on Friday, April 02, 2004 at Post Office in By Post, By Post Controlled Releases.

Mailed off to next person in the ring 

Journal Entry 13 by WarEagle78 from Hoover, Alabama USA on Friday, April 09, 2004

Arrived today in Alabama. Have 2-1/2 bookring books ahead of it -- there were none here this time last week! Ahh.

Will journal again when read. 

Journal Entry 14 by WarEagle78 from Hoover, Alabama USA on Friday, May 07, 2004

I've had this book a month tomorrow, so just wanted to post an update. I started the book this week, and it is well-written and quite interesting. Really far better than I had anticipated. I'm about 2/3 done at this time.

I won't be able to get it in the mail when I hit the post office tomorrow, but perhaps when I go Thursday am it will be ready. I already have the address for the next reader.

Thanks for everyone's patience! 

Journal Entry 15 by WarEagle78 from Hoover, Alabama USA on Monday, May 10, 2004

Finished Saturday night, what an intriguing book! I enjoyed it all, although I found the sheriff a bit hard to believe in the last bit of the book. But it did not detract from the impact of this story at all for me. I enjoyed the characters and this look into the world of MPD. Thanks SO much for saring, Lorelei03! It will be off Thursday to Canada. 

Journal Entry 16 by WarEagle78 from Hoover, Alabama USA on Saturday, May 22, 2004

Mailed today, air mail to Canada. Thanks again! 

Journal Entry 17 by ecoboy from Prince George, British Columbia Canada on Friday, June 04, 2004

Arrived a couple of days ago as part of Lorelei03's BookRing. Thank you for passing it along, WarEagle78.

I don't know much about Multiple Personality Disorder, but Ruff makes Andrew's house and his world completely believable. Fascinating (so far... more comments to follow.) 

Journal Entry 18 by ecoboy from Prince George, British Columbia Canada on Friday, June 11, 2004

A great story.

With the help of Dr. Grey, Aaron builds a house in which all the souls can live and work together. It’s a chaotic place. They squabble, they connive, they all have their own agendas, but at least they are talking. And there are rules now.
Some doctors — most doctors — who treat people living with Multiple Personality Disorder believed that therapy can and should lead to a reconcilation, a re-integration of the all new souls that the “original” person called forth to help him or her deal with overwhelming pain or abuse. Dr. Grey has her doubts that re-integration is a necessity or even a possiblity in all cases. In the standard metaphor, a person who is host to a multiplicity of souls is like a shattered vase. With work, the vase can become whole again. Andrew who Aaron called out of the lake to be the head of the new house, explains to the reader that that is a faulty metaphor. An integrated personality is a rose bush in a secluded garden. When a new soul is created it is as if a branch has been ripped from the bush. Sometimes that branch takes root and grows there in the garden. It takes on a life of it’s own. It competes with the original rose bush for space, light, for water and nutrients from the soil. A broken vase can potentially be pieced back together; it is a much more difficult proposition taking a crowd of living beings and making them into one again.
More important than integration, says Dr. Grey, at least initially, is management. If the MDP suffer is going to live in the world of wholes, she is going to need management skills, skills for helping the multitude of souls use their single body effectively in the real world. The souls need a structure to replace the structure that most of us call The Self. And that is the house. A place with a room for each of the souls to call his or her own, a meeting area where everyone can get together to hash out problems, a geography in which the house is set, a set of house rules and an agreement about who will be the head of the house, the one who — most of the time — metaphorically “goes out to work”.
In SET THIS HOUSE IN ORDER by Matt Ruff, we are invited to visit Andrew’s house and to meet his co-vivants. Andrew didn’t build the house; his father, Aaron took on that job. But when Aaron was finished he called Andrew out of the lake to assume the role of head of the house. But there are things that Aaron didn’t tell Andrew about his history and about the house, and therein lies the story.

I just got the next address and will send the book along ASAP. 

Journal Entry 19 by ecoboy from Prince George, British Columbia Canada on Saturday, June 19, 2004

Sent to jendudley in Texas on June 11, 2004. 

Journal Entry 20 by Lorelei03 from Flushing, New York USA on Sunday, October 24, 2004

Okay, I have officially reached the acceptance stage. This book is lost in the post. I am very sad because it was my first ring and because it really is a fantastic book that I wanted to share.

So I bought another copy (this time in paperback - hooray for cheaper postage!), and we'll start again. 

Journal Entry 21 by jendudley from Edinburg, Texas USA on Friday, December 03, 2004

Guess what arrived in the mail yesterday?!?!
I had rec'd the paperback about two weeks ago, but hadn't gotten around to journaling it. So last week, a notice comes in the mail saying I have a package that is too big to fit in the box. And it is from Canada. I ask the mailman for redelivery, he comes around, and guess what...It is the original copy. I am going to speak with the post office today, the postage says the book was sent in June with delivery confirmation. Well, they should have some kind of electronic something that says when the book was where, so I am going to find out where the hold up occured. Not that that will solve anything. I feel really bad that all of this happened. I was thinking about sending robert-walker one copy now, and then when I finish the other sending it on to kernow8. How does that sound?
*edited for glaring grammar and spelling mistakes*