The Weather Inside

by Emily Saso

Avery Gauthier can’t get far enough away from her the death of her beloved father, the abuse she suffered as a teen, and the religion that tore her parents apart. A reality-refugee, she’s managed to keep the chaos of her former life at bay … until now.

When her husband returns to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, her estranged mother wants back into her life, and the snow—invisible to everyone but Avery—piles up and up and up, Avery is forced to face her greatest fears. She looks to the outside for help, to her mysterious superintendent and the comforts of a local weatherman, only to realize that the solutions lie where the problem within.

A twisted, darkly funny and redemptive tale, The Weather Inside will leave you wondering where the line is drawn between what’s real and what’s imagined, and why Armageddon isn’t always the end of the world.

Genres: Fiction, Canada

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 23, 2016

About the author

Emily Saso's voice, dark humour and style have been compared to Margaret Atwood. Her debut novel, The Weather Inside, is about a former Jehovah’s Witness trying to save her marriage and herself. Her new novel, Nine Dash Line, is a literary thriller about two mysterious people stranded in the South China Sea.

Reviews

[Jackson Bliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Aimee Bender were Canadian, had flirted with Jehovah's Witness, and had a big appetite for dark humor, she would written this novel. For the life of me, I don't understand why The Weather Inside didn't win every single Canadian literary award when it was published. It's fucking amazing. The voice alone is to die for, which just sings in your head, but the originality of the premise, the conceit of the book, the moments of lyricism in the writing, and the off-beat characters, all make for a quiet masterpiece. Buy this book today!

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

it was really confusing and hard to follow.

[P. Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the voice in this book! Emily Saso’s narrator made me care about her and her struggle. A brilliant read!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally read Emily's debut. Cannot wait for fall, for the new novel!

[Rhonda Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much about The Weather Inside gripped me. I found it deeply satisfying, especially the religious grappling and the recovery (from lots) and redemption. TBH, there's nothing Emily Saso writes that I don't love. Her voice is everything. I want more. What's next?

[Erin Bedford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow, according to the main character's beloved father, is "nature's most misunderstood insulator," so when it begins to appear to Avery Gauthier in the middle of July, the reader can be sure that Avery will use it to build yet another layer of protection between herself and a world of fraught relationships she can't handle. The warning her father gives her about building snow shelters, "Don't forget to leave a hole in the roof" is what drives the book. Will Avery remember in time that what she considers protection, could entomb her?
The fact that the author is also a screenwriter won't surprise anyone who's read The Weather Inside. The dialogue snaps off the page, and gives the reader crucial insights into a protagonist who is otherwise in the habit of keeping her true self hidden from view.
The writing is fresh and unflinching, and Avery's is an original and fascinating voice. Her bleak sense of humour makes this a tragicomedy that readers of Atwood's The Edible Woman will certainly enjoy.

[Fmaxwell]

Lucky enough to know the author