All In the Mind [Import] [Paperback]

Alastair Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2009

Alastair Campbell’s powerful first novel is a gripping portrait of the strange dependency between patient and doctor.

Martin Sturrock desperately needs a psychiatrist. The problem? He is one.

Emily is a traumatized burn victim; Arta a Kosovan refugee recovering from a rape. David Temple is a long term depressive, while the Rt. Hon. Ralph Hall MP lives in terror of his drinking problem being exposed. Very different Londoners, but they share one thing: every week they spend an hour at the Prince Regent Hospital, revealing the secrets of their psyche to Professor Martin Sturrock. Little do they know that Sturrock’s own mind is not the reassuring place they believe it to be. For years he has hidden in his work, ignoring his demons. But now his life is falling apart, and as his ghosts come back to haunt him, the only person he can turn to is a patient.

Set over a life-changing weekend, Alastair Campbell’s astonishing first novel is both a comedy and tragedy of ordinary lives. It is rich in compassion for those whose days are spent on the edge of the abyss.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Campbell, Tony Blair's former spokesman and director of communications and strategy, has crafted a skillful and compelling debut novel about Martin Sturrock, a psychiatrist whose simmering meltdown informs him that he may be in need of treatment of his own. The novel weaves together the stories of Sturrock's patients—a woman victimized by sex traffickers, a philandering lawyer, an alcoholic MP, a depressed factory worker, an Albanian refugee raped during a home invasion—on the streets of contemporary multicultural London. With their many flaws, Campbell's characters are fully formed people—sharply observed and nicely nuanced—and while plenty of time is spent in sessions, no prescriptions are ever issued, keeping Campbell away from clumsy aphorisms or magic pill answers to the problems that ripple out into the patients' (and shrink's) families and the wider world around them. Interestingly, Campbell takes a few swipes at his former political life, depicting it as full of backstabbing treachery and cutthroat competition. Despite the sometimes brutal subject matter, the many moments of kindness and hope make this a strong first novel providing much catharsis in its own right. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Friday was a very bad day in the life of Martin Sturrock, a brilliantly successful psychiatrist with a less-than-successful home life. By noon, Martin offended three of his patients, could not refuse to give the eulogy for his father’s sister (for whom he has nurtured a 40-year-long resentment), and began the plunge into a debilitating depression. His patients (a refugee from Kosovo who was raped in her English home, a man who lives with deep-seated depression, and an alcoholic British cabinet minister on a bender) fight to overcome the traumas that brought them into treatment while attempting to make headway in daily life. Omniscient narration provides rich character depictions in what is ultimately a plot-driven book. Suspense is provided by the reader’s desire to know what’s happening next with the patients, their friends, and their families, and the increasing dysfunction of the doctor himself. The book’s climax is a shocker, the resolution of patients’ problems a bit too facile, and the ending over the top. Not that readers will mind—not at all. --Ellen Loughran --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Hutchinson; Airports / Ireland /Export ed edition (January 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0091925797
• ISBN-13: 978-0091925796
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,560,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Thoughtful, July 14, 2009

By 

Kelly Aitken (Clearwater, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All in the Mind: A Novel (Hardcover)

I literally just finished Alastair Campbell's All In The Mind and ran to review it. This novel was just breathtaking.

I love to read books on psychiatry and the aspects of the mind, which was how I became interested in the book in the first place, but it turned out to be so much more.

There is beauty in the story of Martin Sturrock and the people he treats and their relationships to him and those around them. I even cried at the end of this book, which happens seldom. And at first I thought they were sad tears but there was a genuine smile on my face as I turned the last page. The novel is sad but inspiring. And gives you much to think about.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, deeply moving, March 29, 2010

By 

Hsiaoshuang "Hsiaoshuang" (Singapore) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: All in the Mind: A Novel (Hardcover)

I was late for an appointment because I had to finish the book. It was a page-turner of a different kind -- every page is packed with insight and revelation on human nature and mind, and I was greedy to read on and on. But I wished I had not read to the end because I was crying and found it difficult to get up to go for my appointment.

Read this book only when you are in a stable, contented frame of mind. And read it in one sitting. Then take a red pencil, re-read and underline those sentences and phrases that leap up at you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For me the book was excellent and somewhat important..., January 3, 2009

By 

R. MACKENZIE (Oxford UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: All In the Mind (Hardcover)

As a person that has suffered depression in the past and as someone that treats clients that are currently battling their way through mental health issues, I found this book to be a fascinating insight into the world of sufferers and into the potential problems that the professionals that treat them may obtain through their working life.

For me the book was excellent and somewhat important. You see, as a therapist one of the challenges in treating people with depression, is the way that people react to their illnesses (sometimes not even seeing them as ill at all, but attention seeking). For far too long many people have been misunderstood when they convey to friends and family that they are suffering from a mental health issue such as depression. This book would certainly help to educate those friends and family members that are willing to be open minded and to learn.

All of the story lines from the various characters were handled with respect and where delivered very interestingly.

I am looking forward to this becoming a film on the small screen sometime in the future and awaiting eagerly the announcement of Campbell's next novel.

I would be interested to hear the views of other therapists or sufferers of mental health issues on this book.

Warmly,

Richard MacKenzie
Author of Self-Change Hypnosis