Review - Inside by Alix Ohlin

Quercus (7 Jun 2012)

My thanks to Newbooks Magazine for an early reading copy of this book to review.

Inside

by 

Alix Ohlin

My Review

Three protagonists, Grace, Anne and Mitch weave their story over a period of ten years. In 1996, Grace, a psychiatrist, rescues a man, John Tugwell, who has attempted suicide. In 2002, Annie, struggling as an actress in New York, takes a homeless girl into her apartment. In 2006, Mitch a divorced councillor uses other people’s troubles to alleviate his own.  These interconnected stories, told in separate strands, and with clever psychological insight, form the basis of this emotional and complex story. 

The author, Alix Ohlin, has with some skill woven together a story which is at times understated, but entirely absorbing as she manages to rationalise the bleakness of the narrative with a clever perception of the human psyche.

On a personal level, I found the story intriguing, the characterisation is well managed, and the story flows well. The separate strands of the narrative are well defined, and the pendulum movement of time passing is absorbed seamlessly into the narrative.

I enjoyed it, it’s different and thought provoking.