Three reviews say identity and memory are core concerns in “The Witch Elm” by Tana French (post 5): These are core concerns of multiple personality

“The narrative is fueled by some of the same themes French has explored in the past. It’s reminiscent of The Likeness (2008) in the way it challenges the idea of identity as a fixed and certain construct. And the unreliability of memory was a central issue of her first novel, In the Woods (2007)” (1).

“In the current novel, Toby can’t even be sure of his own past and keeps returning to the holes in his memory…” (2).

“At its core is the impaired Toby’s struggle to make sense of his own memory and identity…Nothing in this book can be trusted, not even Toby’s claims that his brain is untrustworthy” (3).

Characters with 1. a changeable sense of identity, and 2. memory gaps, should make reviewers think of multiple personality. I don’t know whether this particular novel has enough information about the character to make a formal diagnosis, but reviewers of psychological novels should know that identity and memory are the core issues of multiple personality.

1. Kirkus Reviews. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tana-french/the-witch-elm/

2. Stephen King. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/10/books/review/tana-french-witch-elm.html

3. Janet Maslin. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/books/review-witch-elm-tana-french.html