作品情報
複数の人格を抱える男女の出会いを通じて、自己とは何かを描く心理的な長編。
複数の人格を抱える男女の出会いを通じて、自己とは何かを描く心理的な長編。恋愛小説の親密さと幻想的な構成を合わせ、心の内側を家として見せる。
書籍情報
- 出版社
- Harper Perennial
- 発売日
- 2004-01-20
- ページ数
- 496ページ
- 言語
- 英語
- サイズ
- 13.49 x 2.01 x 20.32 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780060954857
- ISBN-10
- 006095485X
- 価格
- 2755 JPY
- カテゴリ
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Horror/Ghosts
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.
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.
レビュー
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A Unique Journey of "Self-Discovery"
Andrew is the personality in charge of "driving" the soul-ridden body of Andy Gage. Born from the ashes of Andy Gage's mind, the society of multiple personalities live in a stable arrangement together thanks to a helpful therapist. Andrew is a recently born personality trying to give the body a fairly normal life, starting with a new job at a software company. But Andrew's stability is threatened when his impulsive boss, Julie, hires Penny, another victim of multiple personality disorder. Julie wants Andrew to help Penny tame the chaos in her head. Penny doesn't understand her condition, but some of her other personalities do. Andrew is reluctant to get involved, but Penny's group of protective personas make a plea for help. When his own house of souls collapses under the strain of several shocks, Andrew and Penny end up on a road-trip to confront the past. This is one of the best fiction books I've read this year. Ruff's handling of the multiple personalities is both inventive and sensitive. He is straightforward in dealing with the abuse that led to Andrew and Penny's fractured state - it's clearly important, but not sensationalized. In spite of the serious subject matter, Ruff manages to incorporate a good measure of humor into the story. Andrew's journey gives a whole new meaning to "finding yourself." Ruff's excellent characterizations make it easy to root for Andrew, Penny, and their collective internal societies. I like that Ruff avoids the trap of a cliched, sappy ending, instead making it clear that there are no easy solutions. Ruff's plot was engrossing in all its twists and turns, and only one late section seemed to jump a bit off the tracks. This is a compelling book that will entertain you even as it makes you think about how we all interact with the world.
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Wonderful suprise
I have been a big fan of Matt Ruff ever since i picked up Fool on the Hill decades ago but never took to anything else of his until now. This recommended by a friend and intrigued by the subject matter i gave it go and was very pleasantly surprised. Great storty and very well written..its great journey the book takes the reader on..different and very cleverly done.
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Mi libro de ficción favorito sobre el TID
Sin spoilers, esta historia me llegó al corazón de varias maneras. Aunque el final no fue lo que esperaba ni lo que hubiera querido, el epílogo fue lo que lo rescató, y mucho. Es una historia realista, aterrizada, humanizada, con algo de misterio pero nada paranormal. Spoiler: A pesar de que el nombre dice "romance", y tiene un poquititito de romance, no es el tema central. Y en parte eso es bueno, lo vuelve más real.
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Wunderbares Buch
Mein Buch-Highlight des Jahres. Ich hatte erst Fool on the Hill von Matt Ruff gelesen. Damit konnte ich nicht viel anfangen, aber glücklicherweise hat mir eine Freundin geraten trotzdem noch Set This House in Order zu lesen - und ich war begeistert. Das Buch fängt einen von Beginn ein, es ist eingängig, aber aus einer interessanten Perspektive (eines multiplen Haushalts) geschrieben. Zudem möchte man wissen wie es den Figuren weiter ergeht, ohne dass man ahnt, welches Ende die Geschichte genau nimmt. Über das das Thema MPD in der Realität kann man sicher, wie über viele psychologische Dinge, diskutieren. Ich finde der Autor hat damit einfach ein Thema gefunden, um das er eine gute Geschichte erzählen kann. Und das ist ihm klasse gelungen. Ein Buch das ich jedem uneingeschränkt weiter empfehlen kann.
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Lesen!
Klasse. Geniales Buch über Multiple Persönlichkeiten. Fantasy-/Humorvoll und dramatisch zugleich.
関連する文学賞
- アザーワイズ賞 第13回（2003年） ・受賞