Product Description

A chameleon, an enigma, all things to all women -- a lifeline to which powerful needs and nameless longings may be attached -- Ken Kimble is revealed through the eyes of the women he seduces: Birdie, his first wife, struggling to hold herself together after his desertion; second wife, Joan, a lonely, tragic heiress who sees her unknowable husband as her last chance for happiness; and Dinah, a beautiful but damaged woman half his age.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49450 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-01
• Released on: 2005-12-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780060858780
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
Sometimes a book can be utterly full of holes and you still can't put it down. In Mrs. Kimble, first-time novelist Jennifer Haigh follows the marital career of Ken Kimble, opportunist, serial husband, and all around schmuck. The first section, set in Virginia in the 1960s, revolves around alcoholic first wife Birdie. As we enter the story, Kimble has already left her alone with two small children she is ill equipped to raise on her own. Kimble's absence in this section sets the tone for the book, which is not so much about Kimble himself as it is about the women he dupes over the years. Next up is Joan, a Newsweek reporter recovering from a mastectomy at her late father's home in Florida. A wealthy, confident woman left unsteady by breast cancer, she falls for Kimble, who now turns up in a hippie-ish incarnation. In the final section, Kimble weds Dinah, who had been his children's babysitter back in Virginia. Their marriage unravels as, at the end of the book, Kimble's secrets are revealed one by one. Unfortunately, the central secret of the book is never laid bare: how did the man get to be such a jerk? Other problems are never dealt with, either: we never believe a whip-smart woman like Joan could be so transparently snow-jobbed. We never understand why Dinah stays with an aging crook. Nevertheless, Mrs. Kimble is still engrossing. Haigh is so gifted at creating vivid scenes and strong characters, we find ourselves surrendering our disbelief despite our better judgment. This isn't the terrific book it might have been, but it's still a superior read. --Claire Dederer

From Publishers Weekly
The three women who successively marry Ken Kimble all believe they've found the perfect partner, and all are proven wrong in Haigh's uneven debut. Birdie is a student at a Southern Bible college in the early 1960s when she meets Kimble, then a handsome young choir director; they marry less than a year later, a day before she turns 19. After seven unfaithful years of marriage, Ken walks out on Birdie and their two young children, leaving the hard-drinking Birdie impoverished. Ken next surfaces in Florida in 1969, engaged to a formerly ambitious coed who dropped out of college to travel the country with him. He summarily dumps her to court 39-year-old Joan Cohen, a strong-willed Newsweek reporter who is recovering from breast cancer surgery. He marries her (after falsely telling her that he's Jewish) and joins her rich uncle in his real estate business. A few years and one miscarriage later, the marriage has quietly soured, and a few years after that Joan has a recurrence of cancer and dies. Ken's third wife is the much-younger Dinah, who used to be his children's baby-sitter. This marriage survives Ken's rise to prominence in Washington, D.C., as the founder of a successful charity. Haigh's women are believable, if a touch cliched, but Ken is a cipher. Haigh leaves us guessing about his motivations, and his irresistible appeal to these women-especially the tough-minded Joan-also remains murky. The novel has sharply incisive passages, but Haigh's thin characterizations don't quite live up to the promise of the clever, intricate premise.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Haigh's luminous debut novel is the story of the three women who become the wives of Ken Kimble, a minister turned real estate agent. For all three, Kimble remains an elusive man, who at first appears to be each woman's ideal, only to reveal his true colors later on. Haigh introduces Kimble's first wife, Birdie, after he has already abandoned her and their two children, Charlie and Jody. Only 26 when he leaves her, Birdie falls into depression and alcoholism while trying to provide for her children. Kimble meets his second wife, Joan, while engaged to a 19-year-old college dropout. At 39, Joan is recovering from breast cancer and a subsequent mastectomy that she has told no one about. Kimble is a welcome presence in the lonely, never-married Joan's life, and when he and his fiancee begin to quarrel, she impulsively invites him to move in with her. Kimble's third wife, Dinah, is young enough to be his daughter, and indeed, used to baby-sit for his children when he was married to Birdie. Highly sensitive about the birthmark that mars her face, Dinah allows Kimble to pay for a procedure to have it removed. Each Mrs. Kimble is vulnerable to the manipulative Ken in one way or another, and each manages to delude herself about truly seeing him for what he is, even when all of the evidence is right in front of her. The women are both weak and strong in their own ways, and the ending proves that Kimble may have done some good in spite of himself. A beautiful novel with memorable, vibrant characters that will have wide appeal. (For other reviews of first novels, see the Spotlight on First Novels, p.571.) Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Tale of One Bad Husband and the Three Women He Wed
Ken Kimble is a chilling and complex creation masterfully drawn by first-time author Jennifer Haigh. He is what some would call a "serial husband," a man who has no trouble attracting women and marrying them before they get to know him very well. This deceptive and deeply unlikeable man is revealed in bits and pieces by the three women he marries.

The first Mrs. Kimble is Birdie, a woman of the 50's who falls apart when he leaves her for a young girl. She becomes a wino and neglects her two children, Charlie and Jody. The second Mrs. Kimble is Joan, a bright and savvy career woman who is devastated when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mansion, her obvious wealth, and her family connections are enticing to the highly duplicitous Ken Kimble. The third Mrs. Kimble is the physically damaged Dinah, a woman half his age who bears him a son, Brendan, whom he neglects and serves merely as a trophy wife for him to trot out when needed.

Throughout the three marriages, we are privvy to the life of firstborn son Charlie and the effects the father he barely remembers have on him. This empathetic character grows into manhood carrying the baggage of his youth, yet becomes a port in the storm to someone who needs shelter as much as he does.

The three Mrs. Kimbles give the reader a look into traditional and non-traditional family values as well as answering a lot of questions about why women marry and why they make the choices they do. The novel is totally engrossing and packs a powerful message on the vulnerability of women.

Very good.
"Mrs. Kimble" is one of the more engrossing books I've read in a while. Jennifer Haigh distinctly creates the three different worlds that Ken Kimble enters, and ties them together in an ending that is satisfying without being overly sentimental. I would compare Haigh to Sue Miller, another writer who skillfully digs beneath everyday relationships.

There are hints that Ken Kimble is someone obsessed with the surface of things, never able to fully engage in the messiness of life. Ironically, his legacy is one of messiness: his wives, children, and business affairs are a tangled web of his deceit. There is bitter frustration for the reader in seeing how easily he can pull some of these things off. Sadly, there are a lot of Ken Kimbles out there. Readers may be compelled to draw on their own experiences with such sociopaths.

Highly recommended... I picked this for my book club and think it will garner good discussion.

Sparkling debut
It turns out you can judge a book by its cover. I was drawn to this book because of its simple, intriguing cover design and I was not disappointed once.

This is an incredible first novel. The writing is assured and occasionally beautiful. Charlie Kimble, the elusive Ken Kimble's son, is rendered stunningly, from childhood through adulthood. There are narrative gaps--the story jumps ahead by years, sometimes decades, but it is all carried off seamlessly. The three Mrs. Kimbles are fully and convincingly developed. The fact that Ken Kimble is not does not bother me in the least, as we see him through the eyes of the wives and child who never fully know him.

I was most impressed by the deeply satisfying ending. I'm looking forward to Ms. Haigh's next effort (no matter what the cover looks like).