I would like to thank Net Galley and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. This is a hard book for me to review. In one aspect, the storyline is simple. Agnes's daughter is being married, Agnes's uncle has a letter written by Agnes's long dead mother . The letter will change the lives of Agnes and several others at the wedding. The story line is written with a different POV for each chapter,. The timeline moves back and forth throughput the book, from World War 2 London, to present day. The writing is lyrical to read, but hard to follow.. This may not be a book for everyone.

This is a story about a chance encounter in May of 1941. This is a story about an undelivered letter left gathering dust. After Sophy Miller’s brief encounter, she gives her brother Malcom a letter to be delivered to Dr. Joseph Bradshaw. Her death bed request is that her brother deliver the letter. In the letter Sophy recalls the events of May 1941, describes her feelings and thoughts about the encounter and suggests the possibility that Joe may be the father of Sophy’s child. Malcom makes the decision to hold on to the letter. Malcom finally delivers the letter to Agnes, Sophy’s daughter, many years later. This decision has numerous ramifications for many people, i.e., Agnes, Joe Bradshaw, Clare, Molly and many others. This book is written beautifully. It has been a long time since I read a book where I stopped and reread some of the passages, which are both well written and thought provoking. Interpretation of Love by Jane Campbell is a good book.

I am very saddened to say that I did not like this book at all. I have never really remembered a time that I did not like a book from a publisher.
I was so distracted by the story and I could not get involved with the story. I would read and get totally lost and not know what I was reading. Very rarely has this happened to me. So again I am so sorry but I did not like it.

“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.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interpretations of Love explores the tangled web of family dynamics, relationships, and the meaning of love in different contexts. It begins with Malcolm Miller the deaths of his sister and her husband, and the domino effect of these events on his own life, his sister's daughter's, and the rest of their family's.

Campbell's writing is analytical and intellectual, reading more like non-fiction. Some parts of her writing make you as the reader ponder your own experiences and position in family dynamics and the meaning of love and affection. However, the format of the story itself (framed as vignettes from different individuals' perspectives) confused me and my mind drifted off somewhat while reading. It took me quite some time to fully visualize the different characters and figure out where I was in the story. Overall, I found it difficult to finish the story.

Beautifully written with deep emotions and complex characters plus a compelling plot premise. The story wandered and never firmly clicked on the plot that would have been intriguing to explore further. A difficult read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I DNF'd this book at 15%. The writing style was not for me and it made it very hard to get into the story.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy to review.

I found this novel to be an interesting slice of life story. The story follows a family through some traumatic events and the secrets that families keep.

The novel is intriguing and interesting and I found the characters to be believable and easy to relate to.

I will look for other novels by this author.

Interpretations of Love is a story of three very well written characters which explores love and family. Agnes lost her parents when she was a small child. Her uncle Malcolm who helped raise her after her parents died. Our third character is Joe is a psychiatrist who has feelings for Agnes.

The story is told in first person by each character and we are able to get to know each character and how love can manifest itself very differently in each of their lives.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jane Campbell’s debut novel Interpretations of Love is insightful, her writing is beautiful, and very descriptive. The book explores love and family and what each means to them and the different forms love can take in one family.

As one person said this book is very touching on the many different forms love can take, Interpretations of Love is the story of a letter and our endless search for the stories that we have lost.

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Interpretations of Love" is a novel that will stay with you long after the last page. Jane Campbell's prose is beautiful, and full of emotion. The way she portrays the lasting effects of a single tragedy on a family across generations is poignant and thought-provoking. We see how past hurts can shape the lives and relationships of those involved for the reminder of their lives.

Even though the writing is beautiful, it is also a bit heavy. This is not a quick read. The novel is a slow burn, and the lack of dialogue can make it a slog at times. The characters are very introspective and the reader has a true understanding of their feelings. They are not very relatable, however. There is no casual conversation or moments of joy in the book. The writing is very formal, and this makes the characters feel aloof.

In the end I would say that "Interpretations of Love" is a double-edged sword. It's a beautifully written story about how different people interpret a tragedy and how they express their love, but it is at times difficult to get past the heavy elaborate prose.

This was an interesting read on love and family. There was a lot of characters to keep up with but each had their own POV to tell their story. This book is very different and has some beautiful hidden messages,.

I would recommend this book to the right audience.

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.

An impressive debut novel by an author whose first collection of stories was published to rave reviews in 2022, when the author was 80!! The book brings readers to a seaside town in England, where a family gathers and a long-held and significant secret is eventually unfurled. Absolutely beautiful --

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!

At the beginning, this book sets up what could be an interesting conflict. A withheld secret crucial to two of the primary characters.. It had great potential that never materialized. Instead we get pages and pages of interior conversations, rumination, endless description and awkward interaction centered on a series of unlikeable characters.

The story begins with two siblings, Malcolm and Sophe. She is married and has a five year old child, Agnes. Malcolm is a young university student. Sophe and her husband, Kurt, are going away together for a holiday and are leaving their daughter, Agnes in the care of Malcolm and their parents. Before she leaves, Sophe presses a letter into Malcolm’s hand and makes him promise that he will see it delivered. He promises.

Sophe and Kurt are in a fatal car accident. Kurt dies at the scene but Sophe briefly survives and again makes Malcolm promise he’ll deliver the letter. He promises again.

But Malcolm does not deliver the letter. He reads it and knows what is in it is important, particularly now that Agnes has lost her parents. It is a letter to a man Sophe had a brief love affair with during the war whom she thinks may be her daughter’s biological father. Malcolm, without malice but paralyzed with indecision, defies Sophie's wishes and puts the letter in a drawer.

Pow. The potential for a good story fizzles. While the reader may be waiting for some action to explode, it never does. The characters are too polite. Instead, what does materialize is a series of convoluted relationships one of which is the potential father becoming Agnes’ therapist.

Real conflict or character development never emerges, It is hard to care about any of them and nothing interesting ever happens and it is overwritten with pages of unnecessary description.

The author may have intended this to be a philosophical musing on love and loss but it didn't hold my interest. I think there may be a narrow audience for this kind of book but I cannot be included among them.

Thank you for Netgalley and Grove Press for the opportunity to read and honestly review this advanced reading copy.
See other reviews on www.jantramontano.com/readerscafe

The book is mainly centered around a few characters in one family. When Malcolm's sister dies leaving a letter containing a war time family secret, he waits half a century to divulge it's mysterious contents to his niece.

Quite wordy prose at times. An excellent premise however,

Interpretations of Love begins its story the night before a wedding. Malcolm, the eighty year old uncle, leads off the introduction to the rest of the characters.

Shortly after WWII, Malcolm’s older sister and her husband are involved in a car accident. Just before she passes away, she gives him a letter in which she describes a one-night stand she had during the war. She names the man who may be the father of her 4 yr old daughter and gives instructions to Malcolm to give the letter to him. But Malcolm sits on this letter for 50 years and then gives it to his niece at her daughter’s wedding.

This was a gentle read but I found myself skimming it because there were a lot of superfluous words. Some parts were long and drawn out. There were many beautiful sentences and paragraphs throughout this book but unfortunately not enough to redeem it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jane Campbell and Grove Press for my eARC.

I found this book very interesting in parts, and there were definitely moments where the words just sat with me. However, the narrative style often took me out of the novel and a few times where I had put the book down and come back to it, I struggled to remember whose POV I was in. I do appreciate the different style of writing, but it just didn't always gel with my style of reading.

Thank you NetGalley for thr ARC of this one.

A marriage ceremony, many characters, their secrets and individual stories reflecting upon the choices of romance are the main theme of this novel. It is an intimate celebration of love.

Interpretations of Love by Jane Campbell is based on the themes of reflecting upon choices and giving second chances to the relationships. The book began well enough with a first person point of view which had my interest for some time. While using this prompt by a variety of different characters in the novel made this a bit difficult for me to gradually.

It could have been an interesting read as there is a wedding and meeting of the family is one of my favorite tropes in stories. But, I found this very trope tiring just as I felt it was overwritten at times. Maybe the multiple POV made the book a little disorganized, otherwise the book treats the theme of analysis of love at various stages of life beautifully.


Thank you @netgalley for this ARC


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