Intricately woven stories that touch each other and see the character's struggles/thoughts (inside) and see where they journey along in life and how they manage their triumphs and challenges. Enjoyed the character's development in each of the storylines.

Not bad but not anywhere near excellent. Interconnected stories which arise when a woman finds an attempted suicidal man on Mount Royal. Had potential but I never cared about anyone in the book.

I loved this book. It's beautifully written, and perhaps more a series of interlinked short stories than a novel. Lots of suicides! Ohlin writes the insides of her characters with great tenderness and understanding.

The writing is good but the story is dull and pointless and the characters are neurotic and needy. I did not enjoy this book.

Finalist, Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize 2012. Jury citation: "Intricate, involving, and inspiring are all words that can be used to describe Alix Ohlin’s new novel Inside. Ohlin has managed to show her readers the frailty and strength of her characters: a therapist, a runaway actress, and a grade six teacher turned single mom. Over a ten year period, her group of characters wander in and out of each other's lives looking for whatever they can find, often realizing it’s something they can't name. Deep and emotional, Ohlin’s novel shows us how coincidental and complicated life can be. A truly rewarding journey."

New York Times book reviewer William Giraldi called it "insufferable schmaltz." The Giller committee short-listed it for one of Canada's most prestigious literary awards. Montreal-born Alix Ohlin's "Inside" has certainly provoked strong reactions, enough to make me curious about the origin of all the fuss. The opening of Ohlin's novel describes Montreal psychotherapist, Grace, cross-country skiing on Mount Royal, where she comes across a man lying face down in the snow. She soon realizes that the man has unsuccessfully hanged himself from a tree and, instantly, Ohlin reveals the story's central questions: when someone has suffered something terrible, how far does another person's duty go to help? What do the helper's motives become beyond simple instinct? In subsequent chapters, the rest of the book's cast emerges. Annie, Grace's self-harming teenager patient, eventually pursues an acting career in New York, where a runaway who reminds her of herself takes over her life; Tug, that man in the snow, tries to shake the demons of an encounter with a gruesome episode of African history; and Mitch, Grace's ex-husband, flees a troubled new relationship to do social work in the Canadian north and quickly finds himself in over his head. Ohlin gives each character's story equal weight, partially overlapping them across time and place. This method can seem daunting to the reader and perhaps the author's strength as a short story writer gets in the way of writing a fully cohesive novel. Indeed, at times "Inside" reads more like a collection of linked stories containing disorienting shifts in space and time. But, if the reader pays close attention, Ohlin’s combination of smooth prose, thematic complexity and structural ambition makes for an equally accessible and demanding novel.

Wielding deceptively simple, straightforward prose, Alix Ohlin draws us into the labyrinthine lives and emotions of a set of connected characters who spiral out and back on their own journeys in Inside. The book's opening scene, where a woman skiing alone literally stumbles across a man who has failed to commit suicide in snowy seclusion, draws the reader in as swiftly and intimately as the characters' unusual collision. From that breathtaking start, Ohlin takes the reader through the complicated lives of Grace, a perhaps overly dedicated therapist; John, a traumatized former international aid worker; Annie, a troubled teenager turned aspiring actress; and Mitch, Grace's ex-husband and a therapist himself who has worked in Canada's Far North. As the overall story moves back and forth in time and from Montreal to Iqaluit to New York City to Hollywood to Rwanda, Ohlin maintains a steady hold on the characters and their intersecting paths, to offer the reader an enticingly, compulsively readable experience. At the recent International Festival of Authors, Ohlin took part in a combined reading and group discussion with her fellow Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist nominees. (In this season of literary awards, Inside is also shortlisted for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.) In an elucidating exchange with discussion moderator Carol Off, Ohlin observed that Inside connects its characters through unanticipated acts of kindness. It's a touching and potent way of encapsulating the entire book. Inside strikingly balances the precious gift of strangers reaching out to help strangers against the bittersweet conundrum of those nearest us and most beloved often being the greatest strangers and enigmas of all. This reader suspects that beautiful dilemma will continue to haunt and intrigue the most.

I enjoyed this novel and the characters stayed with me after I had finished it, always a sign that I have been really engaged by them. Although it is not a perfect novel, I don't think it deserved the horrid review in the NYTimes that started a firestorm of protest. The review itself is very snarky and a similar review could be written about almost every novel ever written. So, no it's not perfect, but if you like character driven novels, give this one a try. Then read some of the reviews and responses and see which you agree with.

This book is awesome in so many ways. Three distinct yet interwoven storylines artfully crafted. And, some of it reminds me of Little Bee which was an amazing book. I also like Montreal, the setting for much of the action. Although, there is not a lot of actual action as two of the characters are psychologists...