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Bei aller Liebe
Eine Woche bis zur Hochzeit ihrer Tochter und Agnes beschleicht ein ungutes Gefühl: So viele Therapeut:innen unter den Gästen, wenn das mal gutgeht. Sie ahnt nicht, wie recht sie hat! Da wäre zum Beispiel ihr Onkel Malcolm, der Agnes nach dem Tod ihrer Eltern aufzog und nie den Mut aufbrachte, ihr zu erzählen, wessen Kind sie wirklich ist. Joseph wiederum ist heimlich in Agnes verliebt, seit sie vor Ewigkeiten bei ihm in Therapie war. Beide Männer haben sich vorgenommen, ihre Geheimnisse endlich zu lüften. Der größte Risikofaktor für die Hochzeit ist jedoch Agnes selbst, die sich gerade von einer intensiven Affäre erholt, von der niemand wissen soll.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2025
95 people are currently reading
5876 people want to read
About the author
Jane Campbell
52 books74 followersJane Campbell was born in Hoylake (Wirral) in 1942. In 1948 her family moved to Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and four years later Jane went to boarding school in Cape Town. In 1959 she spent 18 months at Cape Town University before reading English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford. After marrying a fellow undergraduate, she moved to Bermuda. In 1980 she returned to Oxford where she took a post-graduate degree in Applied Social Science and trained at the Institute of Group Analysis. She has had a Private Practice in Oxford since then and for 20 years worked as a co-director of a part-time postgraduate training leading to an MSc Group Psychotherapy (OBU). In 2017, she sent a short story, “Cat-Brushing,” to the London Review of Books, who published it. She has now written a collection of short stories about the experiences of older women which will be published by riverrun / Quercus in the UK in July 2022. Grove Atlantic will publish the US edition in August 2022. She is now living in Bermuda again for much of the year where her four children live.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
July 8, 2024
Dr. Agnes Stacey’s daughter Elfie is getting married this week and each person who’s attending the small family wedding is keeping secrets and will they be exposed.
Professor Malcom Miller is Agnes Uncle, her parents died in a car accident when she was a young girl and he’s been waiting for the right time to give her a letter written by her mother. Dr. Joseph Bradshaw, is married to Molly and he's now a distant relative, he’s always been obsessed with Agnes since he was her therapist years ago, and she has no idea who he really is.
Agnes will be returning to her ex-husband’s Richards home and he’s married to Bettina. Agnes is having a fling with Freddie who offers to take pictures of Elfie’s and Theo’s wedding. Each person has an opinion, hidden flaws and weaknesses. Malcom is the last link to Agnes mother Sophy, who was an ambulance driver during the Blitz in Liverpool and both are from the seaside town of Merebridge.
I received a copy of Interpretations of Love by Jane Campbell from Ingram Publishing Services and Edelweiss Plus in exchange for an honest review. The author’s debut novel is a story about ordinary people doing the best they can, misunderstandings and hidden abuse, secrets and regrets, coincidences and fate.
I found the narrative complicated and at times hard to follow, I think I pieced it all together and three stars from me and a quick read.
Professor Malcom Miller is Agnes Uncle, her parents died in a car accident when she was a young girl and he’s been waiting for the right time to give her a letter written by her mother. Dr. Joseph Bradshaw, is married to Molly and he's now a distant relative, he’s always been obsessed with Agnes since he was her therapist years ago, and she has no idea who he really is.
Agnes will be returning to her ex-husband’s Richards home and he’s married to Bettina. Agnes is having a fling with Freddie who offers to take pictures of Elfie’s and Theo’s wedding. Each person has an opinion, hidden flaws and weaknesses. Malcom is the last link to Agnes mother Sophy, who was an ambulance driver during the Blitz in Liverpool and both are from the seaside town of Merebridge.
I received a copy of Interpretations of Love by Jane Campbell from Ingram Publishing Services and Edelweiss Plus in exchange for an honest review. The author’s debut novel is a story about ordinary people doing the best they can, misunderstandings and hidden abuse, secrets and regrets, coincidences and fate.
I found the narrative complicated and at times hard to follow, I think I pieced it all together and three stars from me and a quick read.
February 1, 2025
Interpretations Of Love is the first novel by British author Jane Campbell. Some fifty years ago, back when he was just twenty years old and deeply ensconced in his studies, Malcolm Miller assured his dying sister that he had delivered, as promised, the letter she’d written to the father of her four-year-old daughter, Agnes. He hadn’t. And in the aftermath of their shocking deaths by car accident, Sophy’s and her husband, Kurt’s, things were such a muddle, he rationalised to himself, he never delivered that letter to Dr Joseph Bradshaw.
But now, the former Old Testament Studies Professor at Pembroke will be attending a wedding celebration in Gloucester at Lippington House, the home of Agnes’s ex-husband, Richard Stacey. Her daughter, Elfie is marrying her Newfoundland fiancé, Theo, and Joe Bradshaw will be there. Having chatted to him six months earlier, he decides Joe would make a potentially devoted father; he will give Agnes her mother’s letter when he sees the chance.
All this he relates from his Oxford Care Facility where “I can still form a sentence, still find a verb, still nail down the iridescent adjective which will transform a squalid mud puddle into gold.” He reflects on his older sister: “Sophy had an extraordinary capacity to see wonder and goodness in people that I regarded as rather ordinary… It was never her intellect I envied, dry, mechanical thing that now seemed, but her gift for joy. For deep joy.” And while he sat back, in “the safe place in life. The raconteur, the observer. I have always claimed the role for myself. Whereas Sophy lived her life; every moment.”
When Joe first met Agnes, as a therapy patient, it was because she had left Richard, whom Joe quickly decided was a charming psychopath, but they soon broached the subject of her mother’s death when she was just four. He felt a connection with her, because he had lost his own mother early, and Agnes reminded him of her. He hasn’t seen her since her therapy ended, and much has happened in his life since then (affair, divorce, marriage), but is really looking forward to seeing her again, this time in a non-professional setting.
Agnes is a little apprehensive going back to the beautiful house and garden that felt like a prison, a place where she never feels quite safe. She’s “unhusbanded, impoverished, a reputedly clever but only moderately successful academic, emotionally compromised, as it happens, by my love affair with the photographer of the occasion”, and has decided her affair with Freddie, the photographer is over, but isn’t going to dwell on her situation: it’s Elfie’s day. But just when she’s feeling supremely contented with her life, complete, her uncle Malcolm hands her a letter…
Campbell employs three narrators: Malcolm, Joseph and Agnes, each of them obviously relating events from their own perspective, which gives them insight into the travails of others, if not their own. There’s a truly tangled web of relationships amongst the main players, but she does give them some wise words and insightful observations: “we cannot, or should not, carry guilt around with us forever. It is not fair on anyone else. We must repent, make amends if we can” and “Fear of doing the wrong thing. Paralyses all of us . . .” is the comment that Malcolm’s inaction draws, while generally: “It is really true what philosophy tells us, that life must be understood backwards. But with this, one forgets the second proposition, that it must be lived forwards.” A thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Grove Atlantic.
But now, the former Old Testament Studies Professor at Pembroke will be attending a wedding celebration in Gloucester at Lippington House, the home of Agnes’s ex-husband, Richard Stacey. Her daughter, Elfie is marrying her Newfoundland fiancé, Theo, and Joe Bradshaw will be there. Having chatted to him six months earlier, he decides Joe would make a potentially devoted father; he will give Agnes her mother’s letter when he sees the chance.
All this he relates from his Oxford Care Facility where “I can still form a sentence, still find a verb, still nail down the iridescent adjective which will transform a squalid mud puddle into gold.” He reflects on his older sister: “Sophy had an extraordinary capacity to see wonder and goodness in people that I regarded as rather ordinary… It was never her intellect I envied, dry, mechanical thing that now seemed, but her gift for joy. For deep joy.” And while he sat back, in “the safe place in life. The raconteur, the observer. I have always claimed the role for myself. Whereas Sophy lived her life; every moment.”
When Joe first met Agnes, as a therapy patient, it was because she had left Richard, whom Joe quickly decided was a charming psychopath, but they soon broached the subject of her mother’s death when she was just four. He felt a connection with her, because he had lost his own mother early, and Agnes reminded him of her. He hasn’t seen her since her therapy ended, and much has happened in his life since then (affair, divorce, marriage), but is really looking forward to seeing her again, this time in a non-professional setting.
Agnes is a little apprehensive going back to the beautiful house and garden that felt like a prison, a place where she never feels quite safe. She’s “unhusbanded, impoverished, a reputedly clever but only moderately successful academic, emotionally compromised, as it happens, by my love affair with the photographer of the occasion”, and has decided her affair with Freddie, the photographer is over, but isn’t going to dwell on her situation: it’s Elfie’s day. But just when she’s feeling supremely contented with her life, complete, her uncle Malcolm hands her a letter…
Campbell employs three narrators: Malcolm, Joseph and Agnes, each of them obviously relating events from their own perspective, which gives them insight into the travails of others, if not their own. There’s a truly tangled web of relationships amongst the main players, but she does give them some wise words and insightful observations: “we cannot, or should not, carry guilt around with us forever. It is not fair on anyone else. We must repent, make amends if we can” and “Fear of doing the wrong thing. Paralyses all of us . . .” is the comment that Malcolm’s inaction draws, while generally: “It is really true what philosophy tells us, that life must be understood backwards. But with this, one forgets the second proposition, that it must be lived forwards.” A thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Grove Atlantic.
March 11, 2024
3.5. Centered on just a few characters, this book explores love and family and what each means to them. Malcolm is given a letter by his sister before she dies which in it describes a one-night stand during wartime that she had and who may very well be the father of her child. Malcolm sits on this letter for 50 years and then gives it to his niece.
There were many beautiful poetic sentences and paragraphs throughout this novel. But, the paragraphs were, at times, just simply too long. It wasn’t broken out into dialogue and full pages of just one paragraph made this more difficult for me to enjoy and I found myself just skim reading some of them unfortunately. Also since some of the characters were psychiatrists there was much talk of self-analyzing which was a bit too long and drawn out.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jane Campbell and Grove Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
There were many beautiful poetic sentences and paragraphs throughout this novel. But, the paragraphs were, at times, just simply too long. It wasn’t broken out into dialogue and full pages of just one paragraph made this more difficult for me to enjoy and I found myself just skim reading some of them unfortunately. Also since some of the characters were psychiatrists there was much talk of self-analyzing which was a bit too long and drawn out.
Thank you to NetGalley, Jane Campbell and Grove Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
December 26, 2024
Ich checke den inzestiösen Unterton null, die Übersetzung ist echt schlecht und so dringend hat die Welt sie nicht gebraucht; da hätte man sich das ein oder andere Jahrzent Zeit lassen können. Am Ende hat dieser Roman nichts mit mir gemacht, die alten Leute interessieren mich einfach nicht und Jane Campbell hat vielleicht nur eigene Traumata darin verarbeitet. Also liebe Jane, auch du darfst als Psychoanalytikerin zur Therapie gehen. (Am Besten bei jemandem, den du nicht persönlich kennst.)
Ehrlicherweise hat der Roman auch keine zwei Sterne verdient; die kommen ihm nur zu Gute, weil ich den mit meinen Schwestern zusammen diskutiert und fertig gemacht habe, und das ein bisschen Spaß gemacht hat. Luise hätte gerne geklärt bekommen, warum alle Agnes so lieben. Ich, warum man diese Geschichte überhaupt erzählen muss.
Can‘t recommend, besitze ich aber, falls sich jemand der Schlechtigkeit dieses Romans versichern möchte.
Ehrlicherweise hat der Roman auch keine zwei Sterne verdient; die kommen ihm nur zu Gute, weil ich den mit meinen Schwestern zusammen diskutiert und fertig gemacht habe, und das ein bisschen Spaß gemacht hat. Luise hätte gerne geklärt bekommen, warum alle Agnes so lieben. Ich, warum man diese Geschichte überhaupt erzählen muss.
Can‘t recommend, besitze ich aber, falls sich jemand der Schlechtigkeit dieses Romans versichern möchte.
October 16, 2024
3.5 Very beautifully written. And I am just overjoyed to read about a debut novelist over 80 - I just love that idea so much! Some very interesting character studies too, and I particularly enjoyed that, perhaps unsurprisingly, Campbell has no trouble bringing to life the lives and loves of those in the 2nd half of life. I just found it a bit repetitive and slight such that it dragged.even though it was quite short.
July 19, 2025
This short novel is astounding in its depth of understanding of the human psyche. And that might just be because author Jane Campbell was 82 years old when the book was published.
This is the story of three people whose lives intersect in startling, joyful, and tragic ways. Each one tells his or her story in the first person in alternating chapters:
• Professor Malcom Miller: Now retired from his position as a professor of the Old Testament, Malcolm is a self-described "crusty old bachelor" comfortably living in a care home in Oxford. When he was 20 years old in 1946, his beloved sister, Sophy, tragically died along with her husband in an automobile accident. The day before, Malcolm had visited Sophy and Kurt to pick up their four-year-old daughter, Agnes. Uncle Mally and Agnes took the train back to his parents' home, while Sophy and Kurt enjoyed a night alone. The next day they drove the car…and died. Malcolm has not only been filled with grief over Sophy's death, but also filled with guilt. She had given him a very personal letter to deliver, but he never did. Some 50 years later, he still has it. What will happen if he reveals its shocking contents?
• Dr. Joseph Conrad Bradshaw: Now 80 years old, Joe has spent his life as a serial adulterer. Although he enjoyed a stellar career as a psychotherapist, he can't seem to find peace and solace in his personal life. Marry, cheat, divorce. Rinse and repeat. One of his patients over the years was Agnes, and he immediately felt a connection to her that he never did with any of his other patients—a connection so deep that he becomes obsessed with her. When Agnes's daughter, Elfie, marries, Joe is at the small wedding—only 11 people—and he meets Agnes again after all these years.
• Dr. Agnes Josephine Stacey: Agnes, who is in her 50s, is an Oxford professor who is lonely and deeply distrusting of other people. At one point she says that her life has been predicated on never belonging to anyone. This attitude was no doubt caused by two horrific events: The deaths of her parents when she was four years old and her marriage (and subsequent divorce) to Richard, who physically abused her.
The book has two big events at which the players all gather: Elfie's wedding to Theo, which takes place at Richard's opulent home where Agnes has never felt safe, and then the christening a year later of Elfie and Theo's daughter, Josephine. Secrets are kept and revealed and almost destroy their lives. But this is so much more than plot. Campbell has a deft and remarkable touch in examining how each of the main three characters feels when life's bombshells explode around them.
This a wise and tender novel about love, loss, and redemption.
This is the story of three people whose lives intersect in startling, joyful, and tragic ways. Each one tells his or her story in the first person in alternating chapters:
• Professor Malcom Miller: Now retired from his position as a professor of the Old Testament, Malcolm is a self-described "crusty old bachelor" comfortably living in a care home in Oxford. When he was 20 years old in 1946, his beloved sister, Sophy, tragically died along with her husband in an automobile accident. The day before, Malcolm had visited Sophy and Kurt to pick up their four-year-old daughter, Agnes. Uncle Mally and Agnes took the train back to his parents' home, while Sophy and Kurt enjoyed a night alone. The next day they drove the car…and died. Malcolm has not only been filled with grief over Sophy's death, but also filled with guilt. She had given him a very personal letter to deliver, but he never did. Some 50 years later, he still has it. What will happen if he reveals its shocking contents?
• Dr. Joseph Conrad Bradshaw: Now 80 years old, Joe has spent his life as a serial adulterer. Although he enjoyed a stellar career as a psychotherapist, he can't seem to find peace and solace in his personal life. Marry, cheat, divorce. Rinse and repeat. One of his patients over the years was Agnes, and he immediately felt a connection to her that he never did with any of his other patients—a connection so deep that he becomes obsessed with her. When Agnes's daughter, Elfie, marries, Joe is at the small wedding—only 11 people—and he meets Agnes again after all these years.
• Dr. Agnes Josephine Stacey: Agnes, who is in her 50s, is an Oxford professor who is lonely and deeply distrusting of other people. At one point she says that her life has been predicated on never belonging to anyone. This attitude was no doubt caused by two horrific events: The deaths of her parents when she was four years old and her marriage (and subsequent divorce) to Richard, who physically abused her.
The book has two big events at which the players all gather: Elfie's wedding to Theo, which takes place at Richard's opulent home where Agnes has never felt safe, and then the christening a year later of Elfie and Theo's daughter, Josephine. Secrets are kept and revealed and almost destroy their lives. But this is so much more than plot. Campbell has a deft and remarkable touch in examining how each of the main three characters feels when life's bombshells explode around them.
This a wise and tender novel about love, loss, and redemption.
December 25, 2025
War zwischendurch immer wieder verwirrt, ob der Anzahl der männlichen Nebenprotagonisten. Dann dachte ich, ich habe es, musste aber mal wieder erkennen, dass Charles nicht Richard ist, oder umgekehrt... ach, keine Ahnung
April 13, 2024
Thank you to Jane Campbell, Grove Pressband Netgalley for the ARC.
This is a story about tragedy, loss, and getting through life, despite everything, but with love. And how love can get in our lives in so many diferent ways. And how we can spend our life searching for something, finding it here and there in easy passion, but how it never lasts because there's something missing. And only when we're able to stop and be real with ourselves we can know how we're fooling ourselves. And what do you do when you know what you're missing... but can't have it?
I really judged this book by it's cover and it teuly surprised me for the best.
This book is written in a very intimate poetic way. It really was astounding to me how well it captured the thought process of diferent characters. Maybe because I'm a psychologist missing I really really enjoied this book abd struggle to know that if I searched the book reviews before I could be discouraged to get into it and would be missing such a beautiful narrative that filled my soul while I was getting through it!
This is a story about tragedy, loss, and getting through life, despite everything, but with love. And how love can get in our lives in so many diferent ways. And how we can spend our life searching for something, finding it here and there in easy passion, but how it never lasts because there's something missing. And only when we're able to stop and be real with ourselves we can know how we're fooling ourselves. And what do you do when you know what you're missing... but can't have it?
I really judged this book by it's cover and it teuly surprised me for the best.
This book is written in a very intimate poetic way. It really was astounding to me how well it captured the thought process of diferent characters. Maybe because I'm a psychologist missing I really really enjoied this book abd struggle to know that if I searched the book reviews before I could be discouraged to get into it and would be missing such a beautiful narrative that filled my soul while I was getting through it!
March 19, 2025
Da schreibt eine pensionierte Psychoanalytikerin einen Roman, in dem es (unter vielem anderen) um einen Psychoanalytiker geht – und was macht sie? Anstatt Vorurteile und Klischees über Psychoanalyse aufzubrechen, geht sie lieber all in und übererfüllt diese :D
Das führt wohl dazu, dass Menschen, die sich von orthodoxer Psychoanalyse provoziert oder abgestoßen fühlen, sich auch von diesem Buch provoziert und abgestoßen fühlen werden.
Doch auch abgesehen davon gäbe es einige nachvollziehbare Gründe, das Buch nicht zu mögen: So kann man zum Beispiel dem Buch wohl mit Recht vorwerfen, dass, dadurch dass alle Charaktere ständig über ihre eigenen Motive zum Handeln und Fühlen (und auch über die der anderen) reflektieren, es dem Buch an vielen Stellen an Subtilität fehlt – das Innenleben der Charaktere und die möglichen Gründe dafür werden teils wirklich sehr, sehr detailliert ausbuchstabiert.
Und selbstverständlich fände ich es auch schade, wenn alle Bücher so geschrieben wären wie dieses – doch für dieses Buch fand ich es sehr spannend. Denn durch diese Schreibweise kommt eine große Stärke von Campbell besonders eindrucksvoll zur Geltung: Sie thematisiert schonungslos offen (aber niemals verächtlich machend) und äußerst intelligent die Konflikte, Gefühle, Begehren, Wünsche und Ängste ihrer Charaktere, ohne sich darum zu scheren, ob das von ihr Beschriebene sonderlich geschmackvoll oder tabuisiert ist. Dabei wirkt dies jedoch selten affekthascherisch und nicht nach Tabubruch um des Tabubruchs willen, sondern führt zu wirklich spannend zu lesenden Geschichten.
Die Eindeutigkeit des Innenlebens der Charaktere wird im Fall dieses Buches durch den vermutenden Charakter der Überlegungen der Protagonisten sowie durch die Figurenkonstellation aufgebrochen: Dadurch, dass sowohl eigene als auch fremde Theorien über das Handeln der Charaktere einfließen, entsteht eine interessante Dynamik. Und auch insgesamt fand ich die Charakterkonstellation des Buches spannend.
Sehr gelungen finde ich die eindrucksvoll kreierte melancholisch-das-Leben-resümierende Grundatmosphäre, die das Buch durchzieht.
Dass ich das Buch so sehr mochte, dass mich selbst seine Schwächen nicht mehr wirklich stören, wurde mir spätestens am Ende klar. Denn ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass ich genau dieses Ende bei anderen Büchern als arg klischeehaft oder zu gewollt allegorisch (und vielleicht die Allegorie selbst sogar als etwas holzhammerartig) kritisieren würde. Aber irgendwie hat es mich im Fall dieses Buches nicht gestört, und ich habe es sogar als zu der Geschichte passend empfunden.
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Fazit: Man merkt bei Bei aller Liebe im Guten wie im Schlechten deutlich an, dass es von einer Psychoanalytikerin geschrieben wurde. Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass Kleine Kratzer für die allermeisten ein deutlich besserer Einstieg in Campbell ist. Persönlich habe ich jedoch auch Bei aller Liebe wirklich gerne gelesen.
Das führt wohl dazu, dass Menschen, die sich von orthodoxer Psychoanalyse provoziert oder abgestoßen fühlen, sich auch von diesem Buch provoziert und abgestoßen fühlen werden.
Doch auch abgesehen davon gäbe es einige nachvollziehbare Gründe, das Buch nicht zu mögen: So kann man zum Beispiel dem Buch wohl mit Recht vorwerfen, dass, dadurch dass alle Charaktere ständig über ihre eigenen Motive zum Handeln und Fühlen (und auch über die der anderen) reflektieren, es dem Buch an vielen Stellen an Subtilität fehlt – das Innenleben der Charaktere und die möglichen Gründe dafür werden teils wirklich sehr, sehr detailliert ausbuchstabiert.
Und selbstverständlich fände ich es auch schade, wenn alle Bücher so geschrieben wären wie dieses – doch für dieses Buch fand ich es sehr spannend. Denn durch diese Schreibweise kommt eine große Stärke von Campbell besonders eindrucksvoll zur Geltung: Sie thematisiert schonungslos offen (aber niemals verächtlich machend) und äußerst intelligent die Konflikte, Gefühle, Begehren, Wünsche und Ängste ihrer Charaktere, ohne sich darum zu scheren, ob das von ihr Beschriebene sonderlich geschmackvoll oder tabuisiert ist. Dabei wirkt dies jedoch selten affekthascherisch und nicht nach Tabubruch um des Tabubruchs willen, sondern führt zu wirklich spannend zu lesenden Geschichten.
Die Eindeutigkeit des Innenlebens der Charaktere wird im Fall dieses Buches durch den vermutenden Charakter der Überlegungen der Protagonisten sowie durch die Figurenkonstellation aufgebrochen: Dadurch, dass sowohl eigene als auch fremde Theorien über das Handeln der Charaktere einfließen, entsteht eine interessante Dynamik. Und auch insgesamt fand ich die Charakterkonstellation des Buches spannend.
Sehr gelungen finde ich die eindrucksvoll kreierte melancholisch-das-Leben-resümierende Grundatmosphäre, die das Buch durchzieht.
Dass ich das Buch so sehr mochte, dass mich selbst seine Schwächen nicht mehr wirklich stören, wurde mir spätestens am Ende klar. Denn ich kann mir gut vorstellen, dass ich genau dieses Ende bei anderen Büchern als arg klischeehaft oder zu gewollt allegorisch (und vielleicht die Allegorie selbst sogar als etwas holzhammerartig) kritisieren würde. Aber irgendwie hat es mich im Fall dieses Buches nicht gestört, und ich habe es sogar als zu der Geschichte passend empfunden.
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Fazit: Man merkt bei Bei aller Liebe im Guten wie im Schlechten deutlich an, dass es von einer Psychoanalytikerin geschrieben wurde. Ich kann mir vorstellen, dass Kleine Kratzer für die allermeisten ein deutlich besserer Einstieg in Campbell ist. Persönlich habe ich jedoch auch Bei aller Liebe wirklich gerne gelesen.
February 15, 2024
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for a fair and honest review.
The book begins with Malcom Miller telling the story of the deaths of his sister and her husband and how their only daughter, Alice, was left behind. Agnes's mother gave Malcolm a letter before she died, asking her to give it to Dr. Joseph Bradshaw. It seems that Bradshaw is Agnes's father, conceived in a shelter on a night of bombing in London.
In a strange twist of fate, Bradshaw becomes Agnes's therapist many years later, both of them unaware of the connection as Malcolm never passed on the letter. As all the characters converge for the daughter of Agnes's wedding, we hear the thought, fears, secrets and doubts of each of them.
The writing here is brilliant. It is absolutely beautiful, and Campell is able to draw vivid scenes that resonate with the reader. However, the prose is thick with minimum dialogue, the emotion and angst is unending, and this reviewer found it difficult to keep up with which character was now telling the story. At times I felt as if I were just slogging through, but a few pages on my imagination was captured and I was again immersed in the story. This is difficult one to review, but overall I did not enjoy it.
The book begins with Malcom Miller telling the story of the deaths of his sister and her husband and how their only daughter, Alice, was left behind. Agnes's mother gave Malcolm a letter before she died, asking her to give it to Dr. Joseph Bradshaw. It seems that Bradshaw is Agnes's father, conceived in a shelter on a night of bombing in London.
In a strange twist of fate, Bradshaw becomes Agnes's therapist many years later, both of them unaware of the connection as Malcolm never passed on the letter. As all the characters converge for the daughter of Agnes's wedding, we hear the thought, fears, secrets and doubts of each of them.
The writing here is brilliant. It is absolutely beautiful, and Campell is able to draw vivid scenes that resonate with the reader. However, the prose is thick with minimum dialogue, the emotion and angst is unending, and this reviewer found it difficult to keep up with which character was now telling the story. At times I felt as if I were just slogging through, but a few pages on my imagination was captured and I was again immersed in the story. This is difficult one to review, but overall I did not enjoy it.
November 8, 2024
DNF around 30 pages in. This book got on my nerves very quickly and I couldn't take it any more. It looks like it's divided into sections, with a new character narrating each section. The first section is told in first person by Malcolm, a retired Oxford don in his eighties who tells about his older sister Sophy and his memories about her when he was young. Sophy had a one-night stand with a doctor during WWII, and then got married to someone else shortly afterward, partly or mostly because she was pregnant, I couldn't really tell. Malcolm has been hanging on to a painfully lengthy and soul-baring letter Sophy wrote to the doctor, Joe, for decades, even though he promised his sister to send it to him. Why couldn't she just send it herself? Who the heck knows. Malcolm has since opened and read the letter. I suppose he felt justified in doing that since Sophy and her husband died. That letter, oh my, is it awful. It is simply nausea-inducing and never-ending. I started skipping around and it looks like Malcolm goes to some party and meets Joe, who was a therapist and had Sophy's daughter Agnes as a patient. Oh, please. More inappropriate revelations ensue. I strongly disliked this book. The best part is the cover art. Would not go near another book by this author.
July 9, 2024
ich muss den buch einfach 5 sterne geben, weil es einfach gut ist. eine runde geschichte, krass einfühlsam und angenehm.
die charaktere sind so nahbar gestaltet und jede perspektive nachvollziehbar.
das buch behandelt die frage, wie wir uns verbunden fühlen und was wir brauchen, um unsere eigene identität zu gestalten. familie ist doch nicht nur einfach familie.
ich habe die kurzgeschichten „kleine kratzer“ nicht gelesen, aber als debütroman ist „bei aller liebe“ definitiv gelungen.
die charaktere sind so nahbar gestaltet und jede perspektive nachvollziehbar.
das buch behandelt die frage, wie wir uns verbunden fühlen und was wir brauchen, um unsere eigene identität zu gestalten. familie ist doch nicht nur einfach familie.
ich habe die kurzgeschichten „kleine kratzer“ nicht gelesen, aber als debütroman ist „bei aller liebe“ definitiv gelungen.
December 10, 2024
Absolutely phenomenal. Chapters written from three different perspectives, and each is written in a way that clearly evokes the personality of the perspective. What was so wonderful about this book was the way it thoughtfully and lovingly reveals the complexities of love and life and people.
March 2, 2024
Thank you Net Galley and Jane Campbell for my ebook.
Agnes lost her adored parents to a car crash when she was four years old. She will never stop missing her mother’s love. Malcolm, Agnes’s young uncle wants only to love and care for his little niece but he has a secret and he is never sure when to reveal it.
Joe, an older man, also lost his mother at an early age and he, too, will always miss the love he shared with her. Joe is a psychiatrist whom Agnes had consulted during the troubled years of her marriage and he still feels a deep, unexplained, connection to his former patient.
This beautiful story of different interpretations of love is told in alternating chapters by the three main characters. It shows how their lives have been shaped from their earliest experiences, the decisions they have made and the relationships they have formed; their successes and failures. There is sweetness and sadness in all of their lives. They eventually achieve degrees of happiness in their own ways which made me happy as I had come to love them all.
I highly recommend Interpretations of Love to readers of literary fiction. I think I could go on reading Robin Campbell’s elegant prose for ever!
Published by Grove Press, New York
Agnes lost her adored parents to a car crash when she was four years old. She will never stop missing her mother’s love. Malcolm, Agnes’s young uncle wants only to love and care for his little niece but he has a secret and he is never sure when to reveal it.
Joe, an older man, also lost his mother at an early age and he, too, will always miss the love he shared with her. Joe is a psychiatrist whom Agnes had consulted during the troubled years of her marriage and he still feels a deep, unexplained, connection to his former patient.
This beautiful story of different interpretations of love is told in alternating chapters by the three main characters. It shows how their lives have been shaped from their earliest experiences, the decisions they have made and the relationships they have formed; their successes and failures. There is sweetness and sadness in all of their lives. They eventually achieve degrees of happiness in their own ways which made me happy as I had come to love them all.
I highly recommend Interpretations of Love to readers of literary fiction. I think I could go on reading Robin Campbell’s elegant prose for ever!
Published by Grove Press, New York
March 7, 2024
This is a gentle and scholarly book. It starts with Malcolm collecting his niece, just before her parents are killed in an accident. He has a letter that he has been asked to deliver, but for valid reasons he doesn’t until 50 years later.. This book explores different types of love, bereavement especially at a young age and the myriad of things that contribute to our priorities in life. Some readers may find it a bit preachy as the characters self analyse themselves and their feelings, however the beautiful writing and generous and so very human characters make up for that in my mind. It is the sort of book that makes you sit and ponder, would you have done the things they did, especially in relation to the letter. The aftermath of the fallout from the contents of the letter was handled very well. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC to read and offer an honest review of.
December 5, 2024
There was nothing I liked about this book. Nothing. I didn’t like any of the characters except possibly Malcolm. Nope, not even him. What a crap he was not giving Joe the letter and then even worse, telling Sophie he did. What an a_______. I didn’t like the writing at all. I know Campbell is old (I am too), but she wrote like she’s decrepit as well. And I hated the story. There was nothing in it to like. Pieces kept falling apart for me, the sentence structure was often wobbly and old fashioned.
March 16, 2024
Interpetations of love is a beautifully written book about reflection, redemption and second chances. The characters are written with depth and with empathy. Writing from the first person point of view of the major characters is especially effective. This book, while appealing to all, will be especially meaningful to those doing a life review. It brought me to tears on several occasions due to it's poignancy. I highly recommend it.
July 23, 2024
Wow. What an amazing book. I loved “Cat Brushing” too so was interested to see what this novel was like. It is one of the best things I’ve read in a while and I have read several other great books. Undoubtedly I will read this one again as there is so much depth to the emotions described as the complicated relationships between a small extended family group, devastated by early loss, are explored by the main characters in turn. Wonderful! I loved it xxx
September 7, 2024
3,5
Man merkt, dass dieses Buch von einer Psychoanalytikerin geschrieben wurde. Geschmacksache.
Man merkt, dass dieses Buch von einer Psychoanalytikerin geschrieben wurde. Geschmacksache.
August 18, 2024
„Eben noch fühlt man sich, wie ein vollwertiges Mitglied der Menschheit, wenn gleich etwas wackelig, und im nächsten Moment blickt man zu allen anderen hoch, als wäre man wieder ein Baby im Kinderwagen.“
So sieht Malcolm sich am Ende seiner Tage, hellwach, aber körperlich am Ende. Auch seelisch hat er an einigem zu knabbern, denn es hat lange gedauert, bis er seiner Nichte Agnes einen Brief überreicht, der eigentlich an ihren Vater gerichtet ist. Einen Vater, von dem sie nichts weiß, geht sie doch davon aus, dass es Kurt ist, der mit ihrer Mutter Sophy tödlich verunglückte, als sie knapp 6 Jahre alt war. Malcolm hätte diesen Brief längst an ihren biologischen Vater Joe übergeben müssen, hat es aber auch aus egoistischen Gründen nicht getan.
Jetzt ist Agnes über 50 und Malcom ein alter Mann. Erstaunlicherweise haben sich die Wege mit Joe mehrfach gekreuzt. Auf der Hochzeit von Agnes Tochter übergibt er seiner Nichte den Brief.
Jane Campell hat mit 82 ihren zweiten Roman veröffentlicht, randgefüllt mit Lebenserfahrung. Was bedeutet es, wenn man Geheimnisse bewahrt, die den Lebensweg anderer lenken könnten? Hat man ein Recht dazu, wenn man der Meinung ist, dass sie andere verletzen? Natürlich nicht, würde ich sagen, doch wissen wir, ob die Lebenswege dann wesentlich anders verlaufen wären?
Agnes spürt ihr Leben lang eine Melancholie und das Gefühl, nirgendwohin zu gehören. Die Wahrheit hätte ihr vielleicht geholfen, doch ihr leiblicher Vater Joe hat ein unstetes Wesen und so können wir nicht mit Sicherheit sagen, dass er ihr eine stabile Stütze gewesen wär. Was macht einen Menschen also zu dem, was er denkt fühlt, wie er sich selbst sieht
Die psychologische Komponente macht diesen Roman sehr interessant. Dabei ist er in einer wunderbaren Sprache geschrieben, die einem ans Herz geht. Er regt an, über sich selbst und seine Entscheidungen nachzudenken. Viele Sätze haben mich berührt und der Lebensweg der Protagonisten ist interessant dargestellt, ohne direkt ganz auf dem Präsentierteller zu liegen. Man spürt sehr viel Liebe in diesem Roman, merkt aber auch, wie die Protagonisten mit dem Ausdruck derselbigen Probleme haben.
Das Ende hat mich nicht glücklich gemacht. Ich habe noch etwas darauf rumzukauen, und bin mir nicht sicher, ob es mir gefällt, oder es so genau richtig ist.
Insgesamt ein wirklich atmosphärischer Roman über die Veränderungen im Leben, und darüber, dass man auch im hohen Alter nicht so viel zurückblicken sollte, sonst vergisst man vielleicht nach vorne zu schauen
So sieht Malcolm sich am Ende seiner Tage, hellwach, aber körperlich am Ende. Auch seelisch hat er an einigem zu knabbern, denn es hat lange gedauert, bis er seiner Nichte Agnes einen Brief überreicht, der eigentlich an ihren Vater gerichtet ist. Einen Vater, von dem sie nichts weiß, geht sie doch davon aus, dass es Kurt ist, der mit ihrer Mutter Sophy tödlich verunglückte, als sie knapp 6 Jahre alt war. Malcolm hätte diesen Brief längst an ihren biologischen Vater Joe übergeben müssen, hat es aber auch aus egoistischen Gründen nicht getan.
Jetzt ist Agnes über 50 und Malcom ein alter Mann. Erstaunlicherweise haben sich die Wege mit Joe mehrfach gekreuzt. Auf der Hochzeit von Agnes Tochter übergibt er seiner Nichte den Brief.
Jane Campell hat mit 82 ihren zweiten Roman veröffentlicht, randgefüllt mit Lebenserfahrung. Was bedeutet es, wenn man Geheimnisse bewahrt, die den Lebensweg anderer lenken könnten? Hat man ein Recht dazu, wenn man der Meinung ist, dass sie andere verletzen? Natürlich nicht, würde ich sagen, doch wissen wir, ob die Lebenswege dann wesentlich anders verlaufen wären?
Agnes spürt ihr Leben lang eine Melancholie und das Gefühl, nirgendwohin zu gehören. Die Wahrheit hätte ihr vielleicht geholfen, doch ihr leiblicher Vater Joe hat ein unstetes Wesen und so können wir nicht mit Sicherheit sagen, dass er ihr eine stabile Stütze gewesen wär. Was macht einen Menschen also zu dem, was er denkt fühlt, wie er sich selbst sieht
Die psychologische Komponente macht diesen Roman sehr interessant. Dabei ist er in einer wunderbaren Sprache geschrieben, die einem ans Herz geht. Er regt an, über sich selbst und seine Entscheidungen nachzudenken. Viele Sätze haben mich berührt und der Lebensweg der Protagonisten ist interessant dargestellt, ohne direkt ganz auf dem Präsentierteller zu liegen. Man spürt sehr viel Liebe in diesem Roman, merkt aber auch, wie die Protagonisten mit dem Ausdruck derselbigen Probleme haben.
Das Ende hat mich nicht glücklich gemacht. Ich habe noch etwas darauf rumzukauen, und bin mir nicht sicher, ob es mir gefällt, oder es so genau richtig ist.
Insgesamt ein wirklich atmosphärischer Roman über die Veränderungen im Leben, und darüber, dass man auch im hohen Alter nicht so viel zurückblicken sollte, sonst vergisst man vielleicht nach vorne zu schauen
July 9, 2024
First, thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing an arc of the book. This book will be released on 20th August 2024.
“Interpretations of Love,” a debut novel by octogenarian Jane Campbell, explores the intricate web of love, secrets, and familial misunderstandings. Set during the week of Dr. Agnes Stacey’s daughter’s wedding, the narrative delves into the lives of eleven attendees, each bringing their simmering tensions to the event. Agnes’ uncle, Professor Malcolm Miller, harbors a family secret since Agnes’ parents died in a car crash when she was young.
Dr. Joseph Bradshaw, distantly married into the family, secretly obsesses over Agnes, his former patient. Agnes herself is entangled in a potent love affair as she returns to her ex-husband’s home for the wedding. The novel unfolds through multiple points of view, revealing each character’s struggles with love and their emotional isolation. The central theme revolves around a letter from Agnes’ mother, Sophie, written before her untimely death. This letter, withheld by Malcolm for fifty years, holds the key to understanding the characters’ thwarted attachments.
While the book features beautiful passages and lyrical language, the multiple perspectives and extensive self-analysis can make it feel disjointed and melancholic. Despite its accomplished writing, the narrative’s introspective nature may not appeal to all readers. Overall, “Interpretations of Love” offers a profound exploration of love and regret, reflecting the missed opportunities of life. Though it has moments of poetic beauty, its heavy introspection and melancholic tone might not suit every reader’s taste.
“Interpretations of Love,” a debut novel by octogenarian Jane Campbell, explores the intricate web of love, secrets, and familial misunderstandings. Set during the week of Dr. Agnes Stacey’s daughter’s wedding, the narrative delves into the lives of eleven attendees, each bringing their simmering tensions to the event. Agnes’ uncle, Professor Malcolm Miller, harbors a family secret since Agnes’ parents died in a car crash when she was young.
Dr. Joseph Bradshaw, distantly married into the family, secretly obsesses over Agnes, his former patient. Agnes herself is entangled in a potent love affair as she returns to her ex-husband’s home for the wedding. The novel unfolds through multiple points of view, revealing each character’s struggles with love and their emotional isolation. The central theme revolves around a letter from Agnes’ mother, Sophie, written before her untimely death. This letter, withheld by Malcolm for fifty years, holds the key to understanding the characters’ thwarted attachments.
While the book features beautiful passages and lyrical language, the multiple perspectives and extensive self-analysis can make it feel disjointed and melancholic. Despite its accomplished writing, the narrative’s introspective nature may not appeal to all readers. Overall, “Interpretations of Love” offers a profound exploration of love and regret, reflecting the missed opportunities of life. Though it has moments of poetic beauty, its heavy introspection and melancholic tone might not suit every reader’s taste.
October 7, 2024
Jane Campbell's Interpretations of Love is a short book written from the perspective of an adult woman looking back at her life and the lives of her older relatives. Campbell is in her eighties; her age as a first time novelist has given her a unique perspective on love. She is both introspective and creative. Her previous career and educational background led to an ability to write believably about characters with familiarity with psychotherapy, both as therapists and those seeking their help. The issues here involve guilt and responsibility. An old letter triggers an emotional explosion within several lives and families when it surfaces. Since it takes fifty years to be delivered, and then not directly to the intended recipient, it might have had a very different impact if delivered earlier. One possibility that might have impacted an earlier delivery is the availability of DNA testing fifty years ago. Regardless of the possibility of getting an accurate assessment of the contents of the letter earlier, the exploration of relationships is certainly relevant to the meaning of love. Familial identity and loss become more crucial than romantic love. Most of the characters seem to be at risk for depression. Yet the fact that an eighty - something author is writing a debut novel and living a productive life in Bermuda and England is an inspiration.
February 20, 2025
Eine anstrengende Geschichte, die für mich zu philosophisch und tiefgründig ist, sodass ich nicht mitgehen konnte.
March 27, 2025
Ich dachte es wäre ein Buch über Liebe. Es geht aber viel mehr um Trauer. Generell fand ich es mehr langweilig als berührend.
April 28, 2024
I appreciate that I’ve received this ARC from NetGalley and I also appreciate the author for debuting a book for us readers to possibly enjoy. I am not a writer and I can’t even imagine the time and sacrifice a writer makes to publish a book that they put their heart and soul to. I’ve attempted to finish this book because this was my first ARC book. I was excited and ready to get lost in my own little world of reading haven.
The first few pages, I immediately felt like I was lost. I didn’t understand which character was telling the story. I thought it maybe just me being distracted so I had to go back and read the pages prior. I told myself, “buckle down and pay attention!” More pages go by and I was still lost. That’s when I started realizing the dialogue and the lack of character development was the issue causing me to be distracted. So much that I’ve think about what I’ll cook dinner, what’s my week’s schedule like, who’s texted me, or if I should browse social media instead. Not a good start when your mind starts to wonder off from reading.
I tried to read roughly 40 more pages and that’s when I finally had to tell myself “who are you kidding-you’re not going to want to finish this book.” Guilt and relief was the emotions I’ve felt. In the end, I had to forgive myself for the guilt of sending this book on the DNF library but I’m proud of myself for trying.
The first few pages, I immediately felt like I was lost. I didn’t understand which character was telling the story. I thought it maybe just me being distracted so I had to go back and read the pages prior. I told myself, “buckle down and pay attention!” More pages go by and I was still lost. That’s when I started realizing the dialogue and the lack of character development was the issue causing me to be distracted. So much that I’ve think about what I’ll cook dinner, what’s my week’s schedule like, who’s texted me, or if I should browse social media instead. Not a good start when your mind starts to wonder off from reading.
I tried to read roughly 40 more pages and that’s when I finally had to tell myself “who are you kidding-you’re not going to want to finish this book.” Guilt and relief was the emotions I’ve felt. In the end, I had to forgive myself for the guilt of sending this book on the DNF library but I’m proud of myself for trying.
May 14, 2025
No .No. and NO. I was really disappointed in this book , thought it would have been better. Oh well.
dnf
March 6, 2024I didn't get it.
Maybe I wasn't in the mood. I might pick it up again since I don't have much left
Maybe I wasn't in the mood. I might pick it up again since I don't have much left
November 29, 2025
Bunch of British babble, not my cup of tea.
There might have been a really good story in here but the first person, dense British babble of unending sentences obscures it. And the characters all sound the same, like they've each written an essay for an Oxford class. Could not finish after about halfway through. I was hoping for a masterpiece from an 80+ year old writer with whom I identify. Kudos to her for getting published. I will never cease to be amazed why the publishing gatekeepers publish some and not others.
There might have been a really good story in here but the first person, dense British babble of unending sentences obscures it. And the characters all sound the same, like they've each written an essay for an Oxford class. Could not finish after about halfway through. I was hoping for a masterpiece from an 80+ year old writer with whom I identify. Kudos to her for getting published. I will never cease to be amazed why the publishing gatekeepers publish some and not others.
August 8, 2024
5 stars
I enjoyed this book. It took me a long time to get to pick it up and start reading but once I did it was a relatively a quick read. Professor Malcolm, an Oxford Don, has felt guilt over not passing on a letter his sister gave to him wrt her daughters father. It's been fifty years. His neice has had problems of her own and has sort out help from a therapist. The Therapist has issues of his own as like Agnes he lost his mother at a young age. Joe, the therapist, feels drawn to Agnes and we learn about his complicated love life and current romantic situation. Agnes has had quite a bit of trauma to sort through. I think there are many layers to this book and believe its worth trying. Don't expect car chases but a slower description of people's inner lives. The ending is poignant.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own
I enjoyed this book. It took me a long time to get to pick it up and start reading but once I did it was a relatively a quick read. Professor Malcolm, an Oxford Don, has felt guilt over not passing on a letter his sister gave to him wrt her daughters father. It's been fifty years. His neice has had problems of her own and has sort out help from a therapist. The Therapist has issues of his own as like Agnes he lost his mother at a young age. Joe, the therapist, feels drawn to Agnes and we learn about his complicated love life and current romantic situation. Agnes has had quite a bit of trauma to sort through. I think there are many layers to this book and believe its worth trying. Don't expect car chases but a slower description of people's inner lives. The ending is poignant.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own
February 19, 2024
The cover is my favorite part of the book. Very well done. Unfortunately, the contents was lacking for me. I got so far into it and did not finish. It failed to gain my interest or draw me in.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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