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Inside
A taut, masterful novel of friends and enemies, family and fate, and the relative nature of freedom.
When Myrden returns to his tough St. John’s neighbourhood after fourteen years in prison, he is swarmed by old friends and enemies, and a wife who hasn’t exactly been waiting for him. A cruel twist of fate has made Myrden famous: any wrongfully accused man released after such a lengthy incarceration is soon to be rich.
He clings to his young granddaughter and an old love, hoping his coming settlement can free them from the cycles of revenge and failure that have marked his life. But old scores are not so easily left unsettled.
Written in abrupt prose that brilliantly reflects Myrden’s cautious evaluation of everyone and everything in the overwhelming outside world, Inside pulls the reader forward with the quiet, creeping gravity of Greek tragedy. It is a story about the best kind of friend, the life a man can’t believe he deserves and the value of trying, no matter how doomed he seems to fail, to bring hope into the lives of those still worth loving.
From the Hardcover edition.
When Myrden returns to his tough St. John’s neighbourhood after fourteen years in prison, he is swarmed by old friends and enemies, and a wife who hasn’t exactly been waiting for him. A cruel twist of fate has made Myrden famous: any wrongfully accused man released after such a lengthy incarceration is soon to be rich.
He clings to his young granddaughter and an old love, hoping his coming settlement can free them from the cycles of revenge and failure that have marked his life. But old scores are not so easily left unsettled.
Written in abrupt prose that brilliantly reflects Myrden’s cautious evaluation of everyone and everything in the overwhelming outside world, Inside pulls the reader forward with the quiet, creeping gravity of Greek tragedy. It is a story about the best kind of friend, the life a man can’t believe he deserves and the value of trying, no matter how doomed he seems to fail, to bring hope into the lives of those still worth loving.
From the Hardcover edition.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
About the author
Kenneth J. Harvey
23 books21 followersInternational bestselling author Kenneth J. Harvey's books are published in Canada, the US, the UK, Russia, Germany, China, Japan, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark and France. He has won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award, the Winterset Award, Italy's Libro Del Mare, and has been nominated for the Books in Canada First Novel Award, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and twice for both the Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Writers Prize. His editorials have appeared on CBC Radio, in The Times (London) and in most major Canadian newspapers, including The Globe & Mail, National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Telegraph Journal, Vancouver Sun, Toronto Star and Halifax Daily News. Harvey sits on the board of directors of the Ottawa International Writers Festival.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
September 7, 2015
A comma, a comma, my kingdom for a comma.
Such an annoying book to try and read.
The short sentences quickly became tedious and there wasn't one character in the book I could empathise with.
And with each chapter averaging around forty odd pages, there was little relief from the staccato delivery.
Hemingway may have gotten away with that kind of stuff.....this guy didn't.
The sojourn in Spain near the end livened it up a bit and meant that for me at any rate it wasn't a complete waste of time.
Such an annoying book to try and read.
The short sentences quickly became tedious and there wasn't one character in the book I could empathise with.
And with each chapter averaging around forty odd pages, there was little relief from the staccato delivery.
Hemingway may have gotten away with that kind of stuff.....this guy didn't.
The sojourn in Spain near the end livened it up a bit and meant that for me at any rate it wasn't a complete waste of time.
September 7, 2008
I ended up skimming this book by the end to see if it would end as expected. The writing style was different and it some how was a barrier to me being able to get into the story. There was just something missing about the story and characters.
October 16, 2009
Very unique novel. Written in abrupt, almost staccato style with most sentences four words or less...some only one word. Somehow it seems appropriate for the fractured life of the main character who has just been released from prison. A very interesting reading experience.
October 22, 2013
Really did not enjoy this book at all - I managed to finish it but it was torture. I found some parts hard to follow. I connected with none of the characters - the only good part of the book was when I finished it and knew I never have to read it again.
June 17, 2017
it was a valid and important story. however the style it was written in was often confusing; which I understand is the point and how the character would have been feeling himself in the world again, but still made it harder to read.
July 7, 2018
Did not finish. Made it 40 pages before I quit in rage.
I love a good sentence fragment but a whole book of them is an exhausting read. The writing. Around the fragments is really loose and weak. I hoped for more.
I love a good sentence fragment but a whole book of them is an exhausting read. The writing. Around the fragments is really loose and weak. I hoped for more.
November 27, 2007
After the first 50 tortuous pages, I gave up on this drivel! I always feel guilty giving up on a book, but I actually felt relieved when I threw this one aside.
February 11, 2010
Did not like the writing style.
December 7, 2017
Boring ... !!
October 18, 2021
Set in St John’s, Newfoundland, Kenneth J. Harvey’s novel is the story of a man, known only by his last name of “Mryden”, who is wrongfully convicted of murder and then released after spending 14 years in prison. The story picks up at the moment Mryden exits the prison gates and we follow him as he adjusts to the alien outside world: a wife who has moved in with her not-so-new boyfriend; a daughter living with her abusive husband; a granddaughter he has never met; a woman who was once his lover and might be again.
Mryden’s life before he went to prison was largely contained within the rough and working class parts of St John’s and his life on release is the same- it is rife with petty and not so petty crime, substance abuse, domestic abuse and government handouts. The bright spots are his granddaughter, a son who escaped the cycle of poverty (albeit by leaving the province) and Ruth, his once and again lover. For a book framed around a wrongful conviction, scant attention is paid to the crime he was cleared of, or whether he actually did it (the DNA evidence was exculpatory but Mryden’s faulty memory gives him no clean conscience). Rather, Harvey is concerned with watching Mryden readjust to life outside the prison- how has his time inside altered him and what does that alteration means when he is reinserted into his old life.
The writing is intentionally choppy, and I found it hard to read in long stretches- an example: “Those who kept visiting. Prison not bothering them. His buddies. Locked inside. A medal. A woman. To polish the medal. Robin was her name.”
This novel was longlisted for the Giller Prize, Canada’s biggest book prize, and while I can see why it was nominated (it’s a distinctive style and an interesting meditation on a number of topics- poverty, the prison system, whether people truly change, etc.), it wasn’t my favourite. (I also think that lately I’ve been looking for books that have happier or more optimistic endings- sad or melancholic books made hard pandemic reading…).
Mryden’s life before he went to prison was largely contained within the rough and working class parts of St John’s and his life on release is the same- it is rife with petty and not so petty crime, substance abuse, domestic abuse and government handouts. The bright spots are his granddaughter, a son who escaped the cycle of poverty (albeit by leaving the province) and Ruth, his once and again lover. For a book framed around a wrongful conviction, scant attention is paid to the crime he was cleared of, or whether he actually did it (the DNA evidence was exculpatory but Mryden’s faulty memory gives him no clean conscience). Rather, Harvey is concerned with watching Mryden readjust to life outside the prison- how has his time inside altered him and what does that alteration means when he is reinserted into his old life.
The writing is intentionally choppy, and I found it hard to read in long stretches- an example: “Those who kept visiting. Prison not bothering them. His buddies. Locked inside. A medal. A woman. To polish the medal. Robin was her name.”
This novel was longlisted for the Giller Prize, Canada’s biggest book prize, and while I can see why it was nominated (it’s a distinctive style and an interesting meditation on a number of topics- poverty, the prison system, whether people truly change, etc.), it wasn’t my favourite. (I also think that lately I’ve been looking for books that have happier or more optimistic endings- sad or melancholic books made hard pandemic reading…).
August 28, 2024
This is the story of Myrden, who doesn't use his first name. The book starts on the day he is released from prison for wrongful imprisonment after 14 years. DNA evidence has proven him in the clear.
The writing starts as a stream of consciousness and is very stilted, has bad grammar, and is hard to read. But I found a quiet place to read and became immersed. The character grows, as does the language, and at a certain point, it starts switching between the third and first person. Myrden tells the story of his family and owns up to how he's shaped them. Five kids, two dead, one in prison, one success who won't have anything to do with him and, the one girl: an abused wife with a girl of her own. His grandbaby. His one redeeming feature that keeps him moving forward. And an incredible WOW ending. A must read
The writing starts as a stream of consciousness and is very stilted, has bad grammar, and is hard to read. But I found a quiet place to read and became immersed. The character grows, as does the language, and at a certain point, it starts switching between the third and first person. Myrden tells the story of his family and owns up to how he's shaped them. Five kids, two dead, one in prison, one success who won't have anything to do with him and, the one girl: an abused wife with a girl of her own. His grandbaby. His one redeeming feature that keeps him moving forward. And an incredible WOW ending. A must read
October 20, 2018
Considering the sheer number of "Best Book" lists this made, I was expecting much more! Harvey's writing style is stilted and quite frankly, annoying. I didn't get to actually know any of the characters and the whole premise of being "freed" after a wrongful conviction is completely lost. I didn't hate this book, but was quite happy to finish it and forget it.
May 21, 2019
Newfoundland. Jail. Released. Wrongful conviction. Myrden.
The short sentences above represent the writing style of Kenneth J. Harvey for his novel "Inside". The story takes place in a small community in Newfoundland where Myrden has just been released from jail after being wrongly convicted. He is to be given a large settlement - the like of which is unimaginable to his selfish, disconnected wife, and worthless to Myrden, who has lost 14 years of his life to "the inside". Harvey writes in the third person about Myrden, and how he can't seem to acclimatize to life "on the outside". Each sentence is (arguably) less than 140 characters which keeps the reader on edge throughout the entire book. I thought that this style would change as the book continued and Myrden's character becomes more comfortable, but, alas, Mryden doesn't have an easy go.
The book is ripe with mystery - I had questions the whole time I was reading it that I was really looking forward to having answered. If he didn't kill the girl, then who did? What had happened that made him a prime suspect? What was his history with Ruth, the main love interest in the book? All of these situations were alluded to many times in the book, but most of my questions were never answered. Clearly that's a choice that Harvey has made, but I think that there was just a little bit too much that was left up to the reader when I'd turned the last page.
What Harvey does accomplish brilliantly, however, is fostering a strong sense of sympathy towards Myrden's character. Considering how distanced you feel as a reader by the short, abrupt sentences, I was surprised to find myself very attached to the main character during my read. I was inside his head - I knew why he was making the decisions he was throughout the novel. His empathy, care and love for his daughter, Jackie, and her daughter, Caroline are real and strong. The bond of friendship he has with his best friend Randy, who harbours a secret, is touching and completely plausible. I could see all these characters in my head as I was reading, and yet I didn't feel at all like I'd read an excess of back story or, really, read any character development at all. They all simply just existed, and it was up to the reader to figure out who was who, what their relationships were and what was going on.
As I've written this review, I've realized I like the book more than I thought I did. I mentioned that I was left at the end with questions that I thought needed answering. I still believe they do. Well, maybe not all of them, but I do think that a bit too much was hinted at that was never referred to again or solved at all. I do think, however, that the book looks like it was an easy write: short sentences, not too much character development, etc, but I can clearly see now that Harvey probably took great care in these blunt sentences in order to give us just enough to get on board, while still making us work for the closeness we are granted with Myrden. "Inside" was longlisted for the Giller Prize and it was chosen as a Globe and Mail "Best Book". I don't know if I would have chosen the novel as an essential novel for Canadians to read, (it simply takes place in Newfoundland), but I do think that it's a wonderful pick for readers that feel they've "seen it all". The writing style, though tiresome at first, becomes entirely refreshing, and it is truly a treat to think back on your time reading the book. It also made me think about how it must feel to get out of jail after being wrongly convicted. Back to your regular life with a huge settlement? Wouldn't that have been all you had craved while in jail? That someone would figure out you were actually telling the truth and that you were actually innocent? This book points out what I'm sure is the case in any situation like this - no money can make up for the lack of time you've lost. It can't give you back the relationships with family and friends that have moved on without you. It can't erase your memories.
I had no turn downs in this book, so I'll give you a sample of the writing by showing you the first paragraph of the book:
They had made a mistake. They had realized. Everything he had moved through. The trail behind him. The institutional walls that kept him. The day in and day out. The tangle of men. It was meant to go away. Each step he took from his cell to the admitting office was fixed in his memory. Years of what was there and what wasn't. If the thought came to him. He'd shut it off. The things that were missing. He tried not to feel himself moving. Tightened up against each action. Refused to see the eyes set steady on him. Being led toward 9 a.m. Release.
The short sentences above represent the writing style of Kenneth J. Harvey for his novel "Inside". The story takes place in a small community in Newfoundland where Myrden has just been released from jail after being wrongly convicted. He is to be given a large settlement - the like of which is unimaginable to his selfish, disconnected wife, and worthless to Myrden, who has lost 14 years of his life to "the inside". Harvey writes in the third person about Myrden, and how he can't seem to acclimatize to life "on the outside". Each sentence is (arguably) less than 140 characters which keeps the reader on edge throughout the entire book. I thought that this style would change as the book continued and Myrden's character becomes more comfortable, but, alas, Mryden doesn't have an easy go.
The book is ripe with mystery - I had questions the whole time I was reading it that I was really looking forward to having answered. If he didn't kill the girl, then who did? What had happened that made him a prime suspect? What was his history with Ruth, the main love interest in the book? All of these situations were alluded to many times in the book, but most of my questions were never answered. Clearly that's a choice that Harvey has made, but I think that there was just a little bit too much that was left up to the reader when I'd turned the last page.
What Harvey does accomplish brilliantly, however, is fostering a strong sense of sympathy towards Myrden's character. Considering how distanced you feel as a reader by the short, abrupt sentences, I was surprised to find myself very attached to the main character during my read. I was inside his head - I knew why he was making the decisions he was throughout the novel. His empathy, care and love for his daughter, Jackie, and her daughter, Caroline are real and strong. The bond of friendship he has with his best friend Randy, who harbours a secret, is touching and completely plausible. I could see all these characters in my head as I was reading, and yet I didn't feel at all like I'd read an excess of back story or, really, read any character development at all. They all simply just existed, and it was up to the reader to figure out who was who, what their relationships were and what was going on.
As I've written this review, I've realized I like the book more than I thought I did. I mentioned that I was left at the end with questions that I thought needed answering. I still believe they do. Well, maybe not all of them, but I do think that a bit too much was hinted at that was never referred to again or solved at all. I do think, however, that the book looks like it was an easy write: short sentences, not too much character development, etc, but I can clearly see now that Harvey probably took great care in these blunt sentences in order to give us just enough to get on board, while still making us work for the closeness we are granted with Myrden. "Inside" was longlisted for the Giller Prize and it was chosen as a Globe and Mail "Best Book". I don't know if I would have chosen the novel as an essential novel for Canadians to read, (it simply takes place in Newfoundland), but I do think that it's a wonderful pick for readers that feel they've "seen it all". The writing style, though tiresome at first, becomes entirely refreshing, and it is truly a treat to think back on your time reading the book. It also made me think about how it must feel to get out of jail after being wrongly convicted. Back to your regular life with a huge settlement? Wouldn't that have been all you had craved while in jail? That someone would figure out you were actually telling the truth and that you were actually innocent? This book points out what I'm sure is the case in any situation like this - no money can make up for the lack of time you've lost. It can't give you back the relationships with family and friends that have moved on without you. It can't erase your memories.
I had no turn downs in this book, so I'll give you a sample of the writing by showing you the first paragraph of the book:
They had made a mistake. They had realized. Everything he had moved through. The trail behind him. The institutional walls that kept him. The day in and day out. The tangle of men. It was meant to go away. Each step he took from his cell to the admitting office was fixed in his memory. Years of what was there and what wasn't. If the thought came to him. He'd shut it off. The things that were missing. He tried not to feel himself moving. Tightened up against each action. Refused to see the eyes set steady on him. Being led toward 9 a.m. Release.
May 19, 2010
SERIES: Standalone
RATING: 4.25
The emergence of the trend of DNA testing for people who have been convicted of crimes to prove or disprove their innocence has resulted in some major wrongs being righted. Myrden has been in prison for 14 years; the DNA testing shows that he was wrongfully convicted which leads to his release. How does a man adjust to going back to the so-called civilized society outside of the prison walls? Certainly, it would seem that Myrden has a lot of advantages that other released prisoners don't. He's receiving a large cash settlement from the government for the injustice that was done. But part of his trouble is that he isn't really sure that he is totally innocent. He was blind drunk during the episode that led to a person's death and may have contributed somewhat to the crime.
And what does he have to return to? His wife has no use for him, other than as the source of more money than she ever hoped to see in her life. The media is surrounding his home. It's not so easy to just jump back into a life that wasn't so great to begin with. Most of his children are ne'er-do-wells. The only people who have a key to his heart are his granddaughter and a woman who was his lover before he went to prison, Ruth. His granddaughter is living in deplorable circumstances; his daughter is living with a criminal and abuser named Willis, and she doesn't seem to want to change the situation.
Basically, upon his release, Myrden has put himself in solitary confinement and built emotional walls around himself, even with Ruth, who loves him and supports him. Nothing much happens in the book, other than a cataloging of Myrden's life and his attempts to add meaning to his existence despite his own inner barrenness. It's hard to spend time in the head of someone who is so emotionally closed; however, it makes any loving overtures on his part all the more powerful, knowing how difficult it is for him to open himself up. Nonetheless, Harvey has done a masterful job with the development of Myrden's character. Although the changes in him are incremental, there is huge progress made during the course of the book. The result is a resolution that was surprising, sad and moving all at the same time.
Harvey uses a very stark writing style which reflects Myrden's character. Fragments of sentences. No descriptors. To the point. Very. Although the technique is quite clever in that it matches the character so well, it's hard to read that kind of prose over the course of 300 pages.
INSIDE was a painfully compelling read. Equally a tale of hope and hopelessness, it's the kind of book that leaves you thinking about it long after you've turned the last page.
RATING: 4.25
The emergence of the trend of DNA testing for people who have been convicted of crimes to prove or disprove their innocence has resulted in some major wrongs being righted. Myrden has been in prison for 14 years; the DNA testing shows that he was wrongfully convicted which leads to his release. How does a man adjust to going back to the so-called civilized society outside of the prison walls? Certainly, it would seem that Myrden has a lot of advantages that other released prisoners don't. He's receiving a large cash settlement from the government for the injustice that was done. But part of his trouble is that he isn't really sure that he is totally innocent. He was blind drunk during the episode that led to a person's death and may have contributed somewhat to the crime.
And what does he have to return to? His wife has no use for him, other than as the source of more money than she ever hoped to see in her life. The media is surrounding his home. It's not so easy to just jump back into a life that wasn't so great to begin with. Most of his children are ne'er-do-wells. The only people who have a key to his heart are his granddaughter and a woman who was his lover before he went to prison, Ruth. His granddaughter is living in deplorable circumstances; his daughter is living with a criminal and abuser named Willis, and she doesn't seem to want to change the situation.
Basically, upon his release, Myrden has put himself in solitary confinement and built emotional walls around himself, even with Ruth, who loves him and supports him. Nothing much happens in the book, other than a cataloging of Myrden's life and his attempts to add meaning to his existence despite his own inner barrenness. It's hard to spend time in the head of someone who is so emotionally closed; however, it makes any loving overtures on his part all the more powerful, knowing how difficult it is for him to open himself up. Nonetheless, Harvey has done a masterful job with the development of Myrden's character. Although the changes in him are incremental, there is huge progress made during the course of the book. The result is a resolution that was surprising, sad and moving all at the same time.
Harvey uses a very stark writing style which reflects Myrden's character. Fragments of sentences. No descriptors. To the point. Very. Although the technique is quite clever in that it matches the character so well, it's hard to read that kind of prose over the course of 300 pages.
INSIDE was a painfully compelling read. Equally a tale of hope and hopelessness, it's the kind of book that leaves you thinking about it long after you've turned the last page.
October 28, 2014
This is a fairly simple story. A man from the wrong side of the tracks wrongly accused of a murder and the compensation that he would receive because of it. I am sure many would find this a little boring or mundane, but I really enjoyed getting inside Mr. Myrden's head; listening to his every thought on fairly ordinary events. However ordinary the event, his analysis of it is what is particularly entertaining, almost fascinating. For example:
"His mind kept filling with Jackie. She wasn’t there. Caroline either. They didn’t want any part of this party. They knew better. He didn’t either. He never wanted any part of any of it. The stink of a party. The loudness. The drunken laughter. The talk getting more useless by the minute. People should be whispering if anything."
"The woman looked at a pad of paper in her hand. She was in her twenties. Full of what she thought was true."
"He changed the channel. Two men talking about politics. He listened. Heard the words. Tried figuring some of them out. He got the point of it. Despite the fact that the men were using words they didn't want him to understand. It was a game. A puzzle. People against people. Get them to agree with your point by sounding better. Get them to accept it. Believe in it. People would be improved because of it. It was the solution. If only everyone would understand those exact words."
Yes, the sentences are very short throughout the entire novel. Periods. Instead of commas. But. I. Really. Liked. It.
"His mind kept filling with Jackie. She wasn’t there. Caroline either. They didn’t want any part of this party. They knew better. He didn’t either. He never wanted any part of any of it. The stink of a party. The loudness. The drunken laughter. The talk getting more useless by the minute. People should be whispering if anything."
"The woman looked at a pad of paper in her hand. She was in her twenties. Full of what she thought was true."
"He changed the channel. Two men talking about politics. He listened. Heard the words. Tried figuring some of them out. He got the point of it. Despite the fact that the men were using words they didn't want him to understand. It was a game. A puzzle. People against people. Get them to agree with your point by sounding better. Get them to accept it. Believe in it. People would be improved because of it. It was the solution. If only everyone would understand those exact words."
Yes, the sentences are very short throughout the entire novel. Periods. Instead of commas. But. I. Really. Liked. It.
January 16, 2013
This one snuck up on me. The short, fragmented sentences give a harsh sense of reality to the life of Myrden - a man wrongly convicted of murder (who spends over a decade in prison). Myrden is released to a lifetime's worth of haunting mistakes. The story leaves so many questions, but there's just something bewitching about this prose and I'm left still feeling these characters' sadness and grief roaming around in my head. Another one thanks to www.bookfridge.com - Newfoundland and Labrador reads series.
July 31, 2009
This novel might best be described this way: Short sentences. Short book. Seriously, though, it's a pretty powerful account of a man who is, at the beginning of the book, released from prison after DNA evidence clears him of a conviction for murder 14 years earlier. He subsequently receives a sizable financial settlement & struggles to figure out if he can use it to make it up to his family for failing them.
March 23, 2010
A fascinating tale. The style of this book is very different, but works so perfectly for the story being told, it had me hooked from page 1.
Mister Mryden is a flawed man, just wanting a quiet life, and for his daughter and Grand-daughter to have a better life than he has, and they've had so far!
I was blown away by how emotional this book made me, considering it's very plain, basic language and the short sharp sentences.
An excellent book, well worth a bash!
Mister Mryden is a flawed man, just wanting a quiet life, and for his daughter and Grand-daughter to have a better life than he has, and they've had so far!
I was blown away by how emotional this book made me, considering it's very plain, basic language and the short sharp sentences.
An excellent book, well worth a bash!
February 6, 2008
I spent the first half of this book just trying to get used to the unusual writing style, but after I got over the extremely short sentences, I was really impressed. By the end, I thought it was tragic and really beautifully done. I would've read it again immediately except that it had to go back to the library.
April 26, 2015
Quick read, great message. The perspective was very fresh to me. The book, from Chapter 1 to Chapter 7 had a great character development that I welcomed. We first see the main character as a released convict, who turns husband, father, lover and guardian. I enjoy that we never even got his name! Great book, would recommend.
July 28, 2007
It takes a bit of patience to read through since the entire novel is written in a "staccato" style - completely short/choppy sentences. However, Harvey does a very good job with his insight into a world many of us don't really consider.
July 3, 2010
this was a really interesting book about a man's life after he is exonerated and released from prison. It's slow and takes place mostly inside the main character's head, but I liked it. very muted book. It's definitely not for everyone.
November 16, 2008
I actually did learn something from this book - the beauty of using pronouns sparingly. This is the first book I've read by this author but there will be more.
March 20, 2011
I like deep thinking feeling books. This one did it for me
November 19, 2012
Confusing at times
July 12, 2013
This is a keeper to read again. The style and plot kept me turning the pages and yet many passages made me pause to linger over the author's beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking phrasing.
February 24, 2015
Do you like prison stories? Love haunting and haunted characters? This book is spare and poetic; you can read it in a single evening, and it is seriously great fiction.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews