The book deals with a sensitive topic such as mental health issues and other subjects such as grief and survivor guilt. I thought it was a bit story but enjoyable at the same time. I wouldn't probably read it again.

Struggling to cope with a tragic loss, Dennis Murphy has learned to live a bit differently. He was always dressed well. Denise always considered maintaining his appearance to be something of a priority and the act of maintaining his professional look was a chore in which he could lose himself happily.

This look at grief and survivor’s remorse was heartbreaking, funny and menacingly intense. The unique approach will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this was very well done from a psychological point of view.

I was surprised to read that this was the author's debut. Dan Mooney writes like a seasoned author. I really enjoyed this book. The fact that it was about mental health issues made me assume that it would be depressing. Another surprise. Mooney found a way to write an original book about mental health, tragedy, and emotional issues in such an interesting, humorous, and entertaining way. The story started off a bit slow for me but soon after started on a quick pace and sent me on an emotional ride, sometimes funny, sad, frustrating, frightening, uncomfortable, heartbreaking, and heart warming.

I appreciated that Mooney slowly built up the story. The details of the tragic event that started Denis on this altered life path is trickled throughout the book, introducing the reader to new details each time it is mentioned. It keeps the reader a bit in the dark, confused, and helps them relate to Denis who feels the same. It also keeps the reader invested and interested throughout the novel. Rather than dropping the story as a whole and leaving it as a simple backstory and justification of his behavior, the reader has to continue re-living the memory, like the Denis. This brings the reader into the story itself.

The characters are relatable and full of depth. Denis is quirky and frustrating yet sweet and full of heart with an underlining of hope and positivity dying to come out and be seen and heard. You end up feeling defensive and protective of Denis, you root for him and want him to succeed. The monsters are life-like and well written, with their own character arcs. You forget they aren't real. Their descriptions are terrifying and heartwarming, funny and infuriating. I found myself emotionally invested in them as well. Rebecca, Frank, and Ollie are good secondary characters, showing patience, impatience, struggle, support, and love - helping keep the "old" audacious and confident Denis alive.

Everything about this book, including the uplifting and empowering ending was great. I highly recommend this book and hope to read more from Dan Mooney.

I was completely gripped by this story and thought the quality of writing was of a really high standard. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend. Thank you.

Mental health is a serious and not easy topic to write or to read about. I have to admit, I'm absolutely NOT looking forward to reading more books with a protagonist who has serious mental health issues.

But I’m so glad that I gave this book a chance. It is so different from what I read and what I imagined. It was like a breath of fresh air.

A heartbreaking tragic but nevertheless hopeful and beautifully told story of Denis and his housemates, and his difficult journey back to life.

I had a hard time getting into this book--the story did not move quick enough to keep me interested long term.

2.5★ (rounded up because the guy needs help with his demons)

“His suit trousers were expertly ironed and sat atop shiny shoes which covered perfectly-pressed socks. Attention to detail is something that the normal person aspires to, but as far as Denis Murphy was concerned; if you don’t iron your socks, you’re living a lie, hiding your gruesome lack of concern from the world.”

I thought this sounded right up my reading alley, but sadly not. Denis Murphy checks the door lock three times, the gate, etc, and walks so many steps to wherever he’s going. One might say he has typical obsessive-compulsive behaviour, and in many ways he does.

He lives with four monsters, as he calls them. Plasterer, the clown with the painted face, wearing paint-splattered overalls; the Professor, a rotting zombie of some sort; Deano, something hairy; and the rather sexy Penny O’Neill,

“her long feline tail flicking back and forth idly, regarded him with tawny eyes and a smile. Being the tallest of the four, she could easily see over Professor Scorpion’s head. Her body, that of a perfectly proportioned woman covered entirely in soft shimmering blonde fur, seemed to tremble with the effort to remain balanced. A woman, but also a cat.

‘Hello,’ she said in her usual smoky voice.”

He has a well-paid job in statistical analysis, and we discover he meets the same two friends for coffee at exactly the same time every Sunday and visits a third in hospital, only ever standing outside the door of the room, waving to the friend’s parents. And every Monday, he suffers a visit from his mother, who yearns to hug her now touch-allergic son.

Whenever he goes out, the demon/monsters seem to tear the house apart, spilling, tearing, dirtying, destroying things to the extent that Denis must then spend hours cleaning. At one point, he empties the cleaning bottles because he feels compelled to clean the insides of the bottles.

But he wasn’t always like this. Those three friends were his flatmates. Plus, he lived with a girlfriend. I mean really 'lived with', like a normal guy. She shows up again early in the piece, seems like a lovely girl, and it completely unnerves him.

I kept reading only because I was curious to discover what made him go off the rails, so to speak, but as the story went on with continuing appearances by the monsters (who stayed hidden when his mother or others came) and continued descriptions of the havoc 'they' wreaked, I lost patience.

It’s obvious that there was some trauma, and I’m sure it’s explained later, and there will be many who will enjoy this. But it’s not for me.

The characters, even the real ones, were not people I felt like spending more time with, but I wish them well, as I do the author. I expect we’ll see more from him. I hope so, because I think I owe him another chance.

Thanks to NetGalley and Legend Press for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.

Even though the concept, stigmas discussed and the character development worked for me, I didn't find myself ever relating to the protagonist. At times it was so overwhelming because there were too many things going on and honestly, as a whole it wasn't a bad read but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. High expectations from a book will do that to you.

This will strike a chord with some readers. It didn't fully engage me, but the main character was interesting.

‘He watched the people walk by, studying their faces. As they poured by on the busy street he saw the whole gamut of human emotion. It was visible on faces of every age, and race and was specific to no gender. A river of people, carrying a river of emotion, driven by a great intangible force. It scared him a little.’

Me, Myself and Them by debut author Dan Mooney is many things. It is a tough read. It is incredibly sad. It is a tearjerker. Yet in parts, the laughs reminded me of Graeme Simsion’s The Rosie Project. Overall, it can be summed up as a stunningly original novel that uniquely deals with themes such as loss, friendship and mental health.

The novel centres around Denis Murphy and ‘his foibles.’ Denis plans his day to the minute and refuses to engage with anyone other than his two best friends and his mother. This keeps human contact down to the bare minimum. ‘The battle for conversation is fought in trenches of politeness and references to the weather.’ Denis only knows happiness when he is rigidly following a routine, cleaning up after his unruly housemates or surrounded by even numbers.

‘Attention to detail is something that the normal person aspires to, but as far as Denis Murphy was concerned; if you don’t iron your socks, you’re living a lie, hiding your gruesome lack of concern from the world.’

Did I mention his housemates? As Denis himself says, ‘home is where the hell is.’ This is because he secretly lives with an intimidating clown, an overtly feminine feline, a zombie professor and a mute furball called Deano. The novel could have gotten very weird here but somehow Mooney makes it work. He even makes it believable. He does this by turning the fish out of water technique on its head. Denis is clearly a fish drowning in his own insanity yet unable to see the water all around him.

You would think that this novel would have too much going on to work but Mooney keeps the story going with the gentlest of touches. As we read on, the author begins to drip feed the reader with details of a tragic accident. These scenes are the novel’s true heart and soul and I was greatly impressed with how they were handled.

The shining light of the novel are Denis’ friends and his ex-girlfriend Rebecca who try to help Denis become himself again. Like any battle with mental illness, the events are not all plain sailing. There are many setbacks along the way as Denis fights to conceal the true nature of his thoughts and we are kept guessing right up to the end. These friends steal the show with their patience and dedicated loyalty to Denis.

Mental health is the hardest of issues to write about compassionately but Mooney nails it here using the most unexpected of devices. To conclude, I can’t speak highly enough of this novel. You are just going to have to read it yourself and marvel at it’s brilliant ingenuity.

“I think if you examine yourself very carefully you’ll know why, but then, you’ve never been overly fond of introspection have you? It hurts, so you don’t do it. Eventually you’re going to have to. It shows you what you’re worth to yourself.”

I wanted to like this book I had high expectatives for, but the guy was so far gone on his path that I couldn't tag along or really understand him. I kept pushing on for a bit, waiting to see how he could have gone from who he was to what he is now... understand how the friend on the hospital influenced his change of behaviour, but he is so full of stygmas and so far gone that it was difficult for me to sympatize with him or the narrative.
Probably people can enjoy it because it is not a bad book, but it didn't cut it for me :/

Winner of the 2016 Luke Bitmead bursary, Me, Myself and Them is the story of one man's struggle against the monsters surrounding him. Following a tragic event 7 years ago, Denis never allowed himself to work through his grief and his mental health has suffered. Rather than facing his troubles, he's withdrawn into a different "universe" where he simply exists by following a regimented routine and behaves in an obsessive, compulsive manner focusing on cleanliness and hygiene. Denis has been his own worst enemy as is manifested by his four "housemates". His two remaining friends, Ollie and Frank, are used to Dan's strange ways and accommodate him. But when Dan's ex-girlfriend, Rebecca, re-enters his life, Dan's sheltered existence is threatened as the person he used to be begins to re-emerge and he is forced into an all-out war against the monsters in his house. Which parts of Dan's personality will persist?
This was a beautifully written, introspective story that was uncomfortable to read at times because of its rawness and astute insight into grief and mental health. Those parts were really well done. There were other aspects, e.g. the relationship between Denis and Rebecca, that I found hard to believe (perhaps I'm too much of a cynic). Overall though, this was as funny as it was tragic, and honestly, it was quite bizarre as well. I'll be looking out for further books by Dan Mooney. Excellent debut.
With thanks once again to Legend Press who keep publishing great stories and for providing me with these compelling ARCs.

Denis is a man of strict self-imposed routine. Everything has its own ritual. On first meeting him we assume that he’s on the autistic spectrum and such behaviours as he demonstrates are familiar from many other accounts of autism. But it soon becomes clear that Denis wasn’t born like this, that once he was a fun-loving “normal” young man. So something has happened to cause his current behaviour and gradually the trauma that has so badly affected him is revealed, particularly after the arrival of his ex-girlfriend Rebecca who comes back into his life and threatens his hard-won equilibrium. This is in many ways an unusual and thought-provoking account of a young man’s mental health problems, but I wasn’t totally engaged by it. Denis shares his home with four housemates and, without giving too much away, these housemates act in increasingly bizarre ways. Although the explanation for them gradually dawns on the reader I still found myself unconvinced by them and certainly didn’t find them funny. Although I can accept that grief and trauma can have profound effects on a person’s mental health, I’m also not convinced that someone could become “autistic” as Denis seems to do, without there being some sort of intervention. The book is well-written and well-paced and some of the characterisation, especially of Denis’s friends, is very good, but I couldn’t quite believe in Denis or his girlfriend Rebecca and so remained on the outside looking in. Worth reading, but just not a book that particularly appealed to me.

I generally liked this book. I lost my patience towards the end, I couldn't wait for Denis to finally realize his delusions, and I was surprised by the happy ending, I didn't see it coming.
Seven years of hiding your mental desease seems extremely long time. Or, more likely, seven years of refusing help, seven years of delayed introspection, seven years of accepting you have a problem... there are certain things that make this story a bit unbelievable.
Anyway, I admired Dan Mooney's mastery in bulding the plot, the vividness of Denis's four imaginary housemates or alter egos or split personalities (I believe this confusion is well-intended and well exploited). At a certain point Denis's relationships with his four housmates are pretty violent, and this is where I lost my patience. You can infer from the beginning that the four characters are part of Denis's coping mechanism (or self-punishment?): the cynic clown, the rotting pedant, the cat-woman and the dumb hairball. Throughout the book I tried to explain to myself their significance, why "them", why four and I couldn't pinpoint cat-woman's raison d'etre, the other three are easy to read. But, in the end, it's just an imaginary flatmate of a mentally disturbed man, suffering from OCD, so, why not?
I googled Luke Bitmead (the person the prize won by Mooney is named after) next and I found his story really sad, I appreciated Mooney's achievement of describing what's going on in the mind of a desturbed person even more. We all live and rewrite our own narrative, we all reinvent our stories to fit who we are now, to find a meaning for our existence...

This book was hauntingly fabulous! Every page was great! Well be recommending this!

Everything is at its best in Denis Murphey’s life. As long as things go as he plans them and as long as there are no odd numbers. His days are highly regulated: waking up at exactly the same time, the amount of minutes he needs in the bathroom, his breakfast. Once a week, he visits his friend Eddie who is in hospital and also once a week, he sees his mother. Everything is at its best. But then Rebecca reappears in town. His ex-girlfriend. How could she? And how can he avoid meeting her? He cannot and soon his life and the life of his four housemates is turned upside down.

At first, there were a lot of things I was wondering about. First of all, of course, Denis’ strange behaviour. That there is a kind of over-control impulse which limits him in his life is quite obvious. He has a fixed plan and he cannot tolerate any variation from it. He seemed to me to suffer from autism spectrum disorder due to his repetitive behaviour patterns and his restricted range of activities and friends. Soon, however, it becomes obvious that something has triggered this behaviour and that he certainly was not born with it. So, the big question arises: what has happened?

Second, the housemates. There are four of them, very singular creatures with distinctive features and somehow destructive traits of character. The fact that they talk to Denis all the time did not necessarily mean for me that they were humans, I guessed at times that they were cats, but this assumption did not really fit with everything in their description and behaviour. When I finally sorted out who or rather what they were, it all made sense.

It is not revealing too much of the story when saying that the protagonist is suffering from a serious mental health problem. A lot of what happens only happens in his brain but he cannot cope with it or even fight it. The demons that haunt him are real for the time being and what is in his head cannot get out or be explained to anybody. He is alone with his fight and several times prone to give up the war he is waging. I really appreciated the metaphor of the four housemates who inhibit Denis and who tell him what to do since this renders it possible for people who have never been in close contact with such an illness to understand not only how those affected feel but first and foremost how difficult it is for them to get back to a “normal” life and to be in command over their life.

All in all, a difficult topic masterly transferred into literature and thus a valuable contribution in the fight for understanding mental health problems.

I don't no what it is about this book but i absolutely loved it, Its a confusing start but once you realise ~Denis the main character is a little bit nuts it all falls in to place, Denis lives his life with perfect regularity, right down to the correct amount of steps to get into town or the once a week required 120 minutes with friends who accept his weird little ways and avoiding odd numbers etc, but this is how Denis lives that is until he catches a glimpse of someone from his past and then everything begins to spiral out of his control.
I've never suffered from OCD but I understood the mental anguish that Denis is suffering from and it has been so brilliantly written that you can totally relate to why he acts the way he does and you are left with so wanting Denis to succeed and escape his monsters. Everyone should read this book.

Dan Mooney took age old themes from the mental health spectrum and the stages of grief then turned them into his own unique story with a splash of heart and humor so you don’t get bogged down in an emotional quagmire. Mooney really captured the realism of the struggles involved when your mental health is being held together with scotch tape in his character Denis who is trying to live his life as predictable and ordinary as possible.

When that sense of order starts spinning out into chaos and his carefully crafted bandaid on his mental health starts to fall off you are treated to an intricate description of how he has to learn to deal with the world at large, people and facing his fears. He must learn to confront what he once he ran away from and Mooney handled this part of the character development and plot in a believable style.

With the issues of mental health becoming more on the forefront of modern society this book squarely places itself at the heart of that fight and deserves to be a part of the conversation.

Wow, I really loved this book. It is so well written and a great story. Denis is a man who requires order in his life. Every day is mapped out precisely, and he does not deviate from the plan. His "roommates," 4 monsters, create a lot of mess and chaos in his home, but cleaning up after them keeps Denis in control. When an ex-girlfriend shows up in his life again, his sense of order starts to fall apart and he is suddenly forced to interact with the outside world again and confront the things that made him retreat from the world in the first place. I don't want to give spoilers (although some of them are obvious fairly early on), so I won't describe the plot more than that. I will say, however, that this book was fantastic and I absolutely loved it. It was funny and sad and sweet and weird and just lovely. 5 stars.