Matt Ruff Books

I picked up this book because I'm nostalgic about Cornell and Ithaca. The details don't fail to bring back memories, from the DMO (Dish Machine Operations) in campus dining halls, to the Arts Quad, to fatal plunges off the suspension bridge.

Ruff is a fabulous storyteller, and he seamlessly weaves together multiple plots on multiple planes, shifting from conversing animals to a war between rats and sprites to the "Gods" (Mr. Sunshine and Ezra) to Cornell students. Though the story is more entertaining than enlightening, there are some flashes of brilliance early on- blending fantasy with reality ("Meddling in [matchmaking] causes more trouble than it's worth... Ask Shakespeare if you don't believe me"), and use of anthropomorphism ("Cats... after witnessing the magnitude of human foolishness for centuries, have grown aloof and individualistic"). There are countless colorful characters here- my personal favorites are Walter, a straight edged and average man with a repressed desire for rebelliousness, and the Swedish chef of Oakenshields who is certifiably insane because he's the only one who is aware of the sprites.

Despite all of this, somehow my interest was lost in the tedium of countless violent fight scenes and a love story that was too much fated to be compelling. Given that the author wrote this as an undergrad, my hope is that his best works follow this one.

The entire novel is a single apotheosis to the writing and writers. It is full of the strangest characters. The most beautiful woman of the world is named like the Greek muse Calliope. It is the muse for (epic) poetry. She plays a prominent role, as well as too more people engaged in the invention of stories.

The novel is populated with the strangest characters. Half gods, animals, sprites and even the normal people are kind of unusual. The strangest things are happening here - magic abounds. The world in its craziness and sometimes evilness is explained in the context of the author's main love. All is soaked with a fine sense of humor. Beware of the danger: "fit of laughter".

Well and you will find a lot of references to other works of culture. The title is the same as the title of a Beatles song. Many sprites have names, of characters in the plays by William Shakespeare. You find the picture of the movie director Alfred Hitchcock and references to the plot of a horror movie (what the beautiful girl should never do but inevitably does).

Expect a lot of good fun and entertainment. I do recommend this beautiful book.

I have to hand it to Matt Ruff--when he set out to write his first novel, he aimed high. He's got everything but the kitchen sink in this book: ancient storytellers, dogs in search of heaven, magical sprites, motorcycle-riding Bohemian knights, a fraternity that lives in Tolkien House, killer rats...and, believe it or not, a whole lot more. How can you not love a book that tries to throw all that into the same narrative stew?!

Sometimes the book suffers from a lack of focus, and in places the author's inexperience shows through. But at its best--and its best is lovely indeed--this book shines with magic and heart and soul. I hope Ruff will re-visit some of these characters one day; I'd dearly love to know what became of them.

Highly recommended, especially for those who like fantasy set in the modern world.

Searching for a book that will enchant and uplift without being sappy or trite? Give this one a try. A sweet story with great characters that you can truly care about. A bit of the fantastic mixed in with the modern world. This book is written with a sense of humor and wonder.

This novel is nothing less than unique. First off, it must be said that much of Matt Ruff's humor is made through direct and indirect literary references. That being said, one does not have to be an obsessively read literati to enjoy this book. It also has great chararcter development, broad physical humor, and engaging action.

Everyone I have recommended this book to has torn through it in a short period of time. The action sequences are vivid, and vilolent, with well developed characters (that you will care about) being put in harm's way.

First off, let me say that Set This House in Order is a book about child abuse and the psychotic breaks that the protagonists suffer as a result thereof. Therefore, it might be unpleasant and triggery for some. It is, however, a highly engaging and engrossing read that is entirely unlike anything I have read before. It takes, as a core concept, the idea that some people with multiple personality disorder (MPD) should not attempt to reintegrate their personalities but learn to live with them instead.

Thus, you have two characters, one who has learned to cohabitate and another who does not even realize that MPD is an issue. The story flips back and forth between these two people and all of the people within the two people. Moreover, due to the nature of the personal discoveries that occur, it flips around in time as well. Then, just in case you've managed to stay on top of what's going on, there's a nice bout of gender confusion.

I didn't have any trouble following the action, which may say more about me than the writer's skill. That said, it's good. It's really good. The characters seem real, and though I've never (to my knowledge) dealt with anyone with that particular oddity, the lives described seem quite realistic when compared to the lives of friends of mine who come close. Also, the ending has the type of ending that I find that I begin to prefer*, and everything is not tied up neatly. Instead, life goes on it's merry way, pulling some characters along, pushing others aside, and generally reminding everyone that they're not as in control of their destiny as they'd like to believe. A bit like real life in that respect.

If you don't have the triggery issues, I recommend reading it.


* Note: I am still a sappy romantic to some extent, and am very glad that ALL stories do not wind up that way. I need some happily ever after, after all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was sad, which made it difficult to read at times, but I liked it quite a bit. Also the local color of Seattle (I used to live there) was quite fun to reminisce through. While in Sewer, Gas, and Electric, Ruff made me laugh constantly, I was on the verge of tears a few times in this one. I don't believe people can actually have multiple personalities. Psychiatrists are divided on this, although I'm not a psychiatrist. But I still think it's a fascinating thing to read about in a novel. Although this book isn't fantasy, Matt Ruff is a fantasy writer, and I think it takes one to pull this idea off as well as he does in Set This House in Order.

This is one of the few five stars I've given. I loved this book from the get-go. It is the character development, not plot that rules this novel. You can't help but love the main characters -- two MPD victims whose myriad of personalities all have relationships with each other. Fascinating, enjoying, and just plain good!

This book was on several "Best Books of 2004" lists. I started it in December of 2005 and couldn't get into it, then picked it up again in August to give it another go. It got rave reviews on Amazon. I have mixed feelings about it. While I'd give it five stars for concept, the writing bothered me quite a bit.

The part-time narrator, Andrew, has a multiple personality disorder. Like many MPDs, these multiple personalities (souls) have been created as a defense mechanism to shield him from traumatic childhood memories. To give order to his disorder, with the help of a therapist, he has constructed in his mind a house where the souls can all live in peace. It's a well-run community until he meets another MPD, Penny, who doesn't have such control over her multi-faceted psychology. While Andrew does his best to help Penny come to terms with her own situation, circumstances conspire to bring his own house tumbling down and stir up the painful memories that led to his multiple personality disorder in the first place.

The concept of the book is fantastic. The architecture of the mental house and the way it works are wonderfully imaginative. And the way the characters work together to weave the story is fantastic. Dozens of distinct characters are housed in two bodies, and as the story gets rolling, it's character chaos--you never know which soul is going to take over either body next. The narrative often stops suddenly, mid-sentence, because the narrator has been pushed out by another of the souls. This leaves large gaps in the story that are filled in later from a different perspective. It's a really interesting technique. I wish Ruff had pushed it further and used it more.

Now for the bad stuff. The dialogue, I thought, is particularly bad, with too many "Um"s "Well..."s and "Huh?"s--unnecessary filler. There are some odd choices of what to cover in scene vs what to cover with simple exposition, too much over-explanation, and a lot that could have benefited from another editing pass. As for the plot, I thought it had potential but devolved into a sort of Scooby-Doo-esque mystery at the end, with a lot of explaining that wraps everything up very nicely. The resolution, some fairly hokey plot twists, and lackluster dialogue really weigh down what could have been a fantastic book.

Don't get me wrong - as a novel, this isn't the best book I've ever read. It's clear to me, at least, that Ruff's main purpose here is not to spin us through plot twists but to give us a portrayal of how life can be for a multiple. In fact, the sudden plot turn near the end feels somewhat contrived, as if he wrote it at the last minute out of a sudden fear that the main characters' lives and the interplay between them wasn't interesting enough.

Plot and craft weaknesses aside, though, this is one of the best books I've ever read about multiplicity. I can't possibly express how tiresome it is to read story after story of how "harrowing" and "horrifying" it is to be multiple, what a dreadful condition it is, what a nightmare all multiples' lives must certainly be, since we are, after all, "shattered," "broken," "destroyed" - pick an Adjective of Dread and I can guarantee our lives have been labeled with it. If we aren't written as cringing, manipulative victims of a terrible past, then we're murderers and serial killers With A Difference - and protests to the contrary go largely unheard in the vast, craggy face of the "conventional wisdom" that permeates the genre.

So hooray for Matt Ruff, who did extensive interviews and research among actual multiples who don't fit the stereotype pushed down society's throat - people who actually like being the way they are, regardless of how they got there.

So, what it comes down to is this: as fiction, the book's a decent read, unnecessary plot excitement aside. As a decently accurate alternative to the rest of the multiplicity-related schlock out there, it's one of the most progressive and refreshing books on the subject - fiction or nonfiction - that I've ever had the fortune to find.

Folks expecting a discourse on Objectivism will be disappointed, but this is a fun zany book nonetheless. The sheer imagination of the author is amusing, as you try to decode how all the subplots are going to come together. By the last third of the book, however, the novely wears off, but the author picks up the pace and put in some interesting action to keep reader's interest, though much of the ending is a bit too convenient for my taste. Not an intellectual tour de force, but if you don't get too serious, it will pay you back handsomely in fun.

It's like shooting fish in a barrel.

With a Kalashnikov.

More than once.

Think about it. How many of these Amazon[.com] reviewers, in the limited time and space available to tell the world what they thought of this book, chose to highlight the fact that it makes fun of Ayn Rand? If this book was so great, or so funny, you'd think they'd have found something *original* to say about it. Oh, wanting the book to be original...must have been reading too much Ayn Rand, ha ha.

Go back a few years, to _The Fountainhead_, and read Ellsworth Toohey's views on humor.

I didn't think the book was funny.

This is a hipster book: it cloaks itself in words of profundity, what appear to be "big" concepts to those who think Ayn Rand is philosophy, and allusions to greats like Pynchon, but really it's a lengthy comic book acting out in linear fashion a convoluted but transparent premise, all designed to get you to buy into this guy's off-the-shelf "perspective" on the world. Ruff isn't a thinker, although he does a good job of embellishing this transparent plot, and this book isn't designed to bring you new information as much as gather around those who already agree. It reminds me a lot of T. Coraghessen Boyle, who writes rambling "funny" (not really) books that try through intricacy to obscure the literal political commentary that they are, but fail. This book does so similarly. It's smarmily clever, yet despite all its attempts to appear profound, shallow as a recent puddle. Even for those who like postmodern literature it's hard to argue this book brings learning, or experience, or even a good read to the table. Avoid.

Brilliant! Genocide, electronic slaves, eco-crusaders, the politics of power, social responsibility...how do you construct a novel with all these elements without frightening or boring your reader to death? Matt Ruff knows: a true artist. He extends reality to the point of what is seemingly fantastic; but, is it really? Probably not; however, the flow of Ruff's lyrical writing style and excellent comic relief empowers the reader with a sense of hope. All I can say is... WOW!!! This is a must for anyone's personal library. A rating under 4 doesn't do this book justice. I've given it a 5.

PS: FOTH is a very different book but another great example of Ruff's amazing talent.

update: 6/20/06
I originally wrote my review in 2002 and just realized this book is no longer available on Amazon. Although I still have my old copy, I wanted another clean, unhandled copy for safekeeping. This was an amazing book and I simply can't understand why everyone does not have a copy of it.

This novel defies classification. It is part SF, part satire, but all very readable and enjoyable. It is thought-provoking but doesn't beg to be taken seriously, and certainly not literally.
For the objectivists in the crowd, I recommend it for those who thought *Atlas Shrugged* was gospel when they read it in college, but who are now ready to begin questioning Ayn Rand's philosophy.

This book begins like a thoroughbred racing from the gate with a stride and speed that indicates an easy win or, at the least, a good finish. Then somewhere in the middle of the race, the horse pulls back. You can't quite see what is happening. Was there a foul? Is the horse hurt? As the rest of the pack pulls away, it becomes clear that the horse is badly injured, has broken a leg, and the jockey is struggling to control the damaged animal. At the end, the horse has to be shot and they are calling for a tractor. The closing shot shows the owner crying in her mink coat.

What a disappointment. The first pages, read standing in the book store, got me to buy the book. But the narrative drops away, the events become more and more implausible (in terms of the rules the book itself sets, not some outside set of rules), the narrative begins to feel thin and then, at the end, plain silly. The end is not just a disappointment, it's a betrayal, but maybe "silly" is still the better word, because betrayal implies something of substance to betray, and we have gotten past that point about half way in.

The narrative turns out to be a parable of biblical good and evil presented in a simplistic way. Not simple, simplistic. The author's theological upbringing dominates the characters and the narrative, turning "show" into "tell." Thinking dominates, then eclipses, the writer's active imagination. Ultimately the book does not stand either as theology or dramatic character-driven narrative, and the hackneyed device - "I have a secret!" - that provides an end twist that has not been set up well in advance makes the reader, too, twist in his or her chair, close the book, and sigh.

It's too bad. The book begins with a promise but it isn't fulfilled.

While I generally read novels very slowly it took me to time at all to finish "Bad Monkeys". The slow revelation style of narrative sunk its teeth in and would not let go. I came to Amazon to grab Ruff's other books.

Highly recommend.

I read the book quickly as it was compelling, with fun and engaging twists, nice sci-fi strangeness, a wry tone and a fun ending. Highly recommended.

This was a really good book. For reals, I loved it. I would have given it a perfect score, but I had to knock off a star because I just couldn't buy the ending. I was like "Oh, COME ON! Really?! You're really going to pull that trick?!" And, to be honest, I saw it coming, but was hoping that it wouldn't come to that. You'll know it when you read it. But I am not going to let the last twenty pages of this book spoil the rest of it for me. It was awesome. Still definitely worth the price of admission. Buy this book. Fin.

Okay, let's start out at the beginning. This book was amazing in every aspect, from the plotline (A secret organization of assasins?! Classic, but great.) to the characters (A lady that acts schizophrenic for her own sake even though she is really quite sane makes an appearance.) to... about five pages before the ending. (Jane has her NC gun pulled on our main villain, and then...)

Let me tell you of my experience the ten minutes after finishing the book: nearly crying, I searched through the remaining (blank) pages, convinced that this was some sort of joke, that the real ending was sure to come. The final twist was a baseless, cliched character-destroying move that had me crying, "Matt Ruff, what are you thinking?!"

In the end, I had to write a new ending and tape it to the back of the book to put my broken heart to rest.

'Course, the book was still amazing. Until it ended. Read it, PLEASE read it, but just stop at the point I mentioned earlier. Please.

This book was very bad. It is not genius, clever, or even that interesting. The characters are not developed in any real way and the premise and plot situations are sophomoric and trite. This reads like a college student who had just read some philosophy and other literature decided to write a novel based on what he'd just learned. Had Ruff just read Ayn Rand before he wrote this? There's really no excuse for using her as a character in this book. It's unfair to and not even funny.

This book was a waste of time and my whole book group agreed. It just made us angry. I advise you to use your time more wisely to read something worthwhile. I can't believe this got published.Is it possible to give negative stars as a rating?

I originally wrote this "private" review in December 2002; however, I noticed some of the negative reviews and decided to re-post. Matt Ruff is just amazing. SGE and FOTH are two of my all time favorites. I've read SGE twice but lost my original copy so now I must buy another. Thank you to Amazon for restocking it!!!

12/21/2002:
Brilliant! Genocide, electronic slaves, eco-crusaders, the politics of power, social responsibility...how do you construct a novel with all these elements without frightening or boring your reader to death? Matt Ruff knows: a true artist. He extends reality to the point of what is seemingly fantastic; but, is it really? Probably not; however, the flow of Ruff's lyrical writing style and excellent comic relief empowers the reader with a sense of hope. All I can say is... WOW!!! This is a must for anyone's personal library. A rating under 4 doesn't do this book justice. I've given it a 5.

PS: FOTH is a very different book but another great example of Ruff's amazing talent.

It's the future and Mr. Gant is a strong force to be reckoned with in the business industry and there's an eco-terrorist group intent on bringing him down. There's also an artificial intelligence trying to take over and a mutated shark on the loose in the city`s sewers. All this is wrapped up in a large ball of satire and craziness. Overall, I liked this one. Unfortunately, there are instances where the author is trying too hard to be clever and that's what puts a kink in my enjoyment of the story because a lot seems forced or just downright irritating. But hey, all-in-all it's a pretty fun read.

I could write a 448 page book describing all of the different things I didn't like about this book, but I'll keep it short and sweet. This book was amateurish at best. When reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to a record, I frequently find myself in awe of the creators' talent. I criticize carefully, knowing that I probably couldn't do better. In this case though, I probably could do better than Matt Ruff! The humor, plot, and characters go beyond falling flat; they're damn near concave. The characters are all so superficially developed that it's as if they all have the same voice and the same (god awful) sense of humor. It was painful to read a 448 page book that is peopled by the annoying, unfunny, predictable uncle I never had wearing 40 different outfits and having 40 different names. I rolled my eyes so many times reading this book that I almost lost my balance on the subway. If you are looking for something TRULY edgy with a futuristic theme, check out Dhalgren.

To begin with, I understand the comparisons with Ruff to authors like Thomas Pynchon and Kurt Vonnegut. Each of these latter authors encompass a very particular American postmodern literary idiom, first seen in the 1950's and still present today in the work of authors like David Foster Wallace and William T. Vollmann. Like these authors, Ruff's voice is verbose (and I don't mean that in a negative way) and eccentric, his plots expansive and multi-layered. However, unlike all the authors mentioned above, Ruff's book fails to carry the burden of a convoluted plot and a hyperactive narrative style. More importantly, though, it also fails to convince me that there is any real meaning behind this character parade.

Not helping are Ruff's tired and unsophisticated ideas. Talking about androids might have been brilliant and intriguing when Philip K. Dick was doing it in the late sixties; writing about them in the early nineties (when I assume Ruff was composing this mess), is not. So, too, with the inclusion of Ayn Rand, Herbert Hoover, and Walt Disney in the story. With the latter, Ruff seems giddy to relate all the new biographical information he has just learned about Disney and rather sanctimoniously supposes we haven't already read about; yet, fails to make this information mean anything to his plot or what we must suppose is the overall cultural critique presented to us.

With the characters of Rand and Hoover, on the other hand, what we have is an author using historical figures as characters that, without the ability to "talk back," become victims of Ruff's critical intent. Authors do this all the time--create characters merely as springboards off which to bounce their ideas, or airborne targets which they can shoot down without fear of rebuttal. Ruff's problem is that by using such public and infamous personages as these--characters that already carry enough cultural stigma to carry novels all by themselves--their fictional victimization becomes too obvious, too contrived, and so literarily presumptuous as to be only conceivable from the pen of a freshman in first-year workshop.

Lastly, what of the plot? The question I kept asking myself is: what does it matter? What do the stories of Lexa and Philo and Harry Gant matter? What are they pointing us toward? Why all the mention of American history and cultural nostalgia and why this ridiculous plot that involves painted submarines and lemurs? And why is this supposed to be funny? Why indeed! Beneath the surface, this novel is not a satire of popular, political, philosophical, or even aesthetic America culture despite the constant riffing off "American" themes like capitalism, technology, and war. Instead, it is a long, confusing, and boring quasi-sci-fi, quasi-comedic novel about nothing at all. And that's not clever: that's just a waste of time and paper.

I wasted two weeks reading this book and feel like contacting Grove Press and asking them to explain just why they would publish such a amateurish joke of a book.