Review of Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh

Let me preface this post by saying that I read Mrs. Kimble awhile ago, and the fact that I still remember large parts of it speaks to the effect it had on me.

In theory, there is nothing novel (no pun intended) about the book. It is the story of Ken Kimble, a minister, and the three woman who play central roles in his life. A third of the book is devoted to his first wife, Birdie, a woman he eventually leaves. Another third is about his second wife, Joan, a wealthy-- and lonely-- woman. The last third revolves around Dinah, a woman he first met when she was a child and he was an adult, married to Birdie.

We learn about Ken through the eyes of Birdie, Joan and Dinah. We never get first person perspective from Ken, and I think this is what makes the book so interesting. We learn about Ken-- who he is, who he wanted to be, his faults, his strengths-- through the women in his life, each who has her own issues. Each of the women is complicated in her own way, adding another layer of complexity to the story.

Jennifer Haigh's book spans three decades, though the first few pages take place in the present-- and they were what drew me in. Here are the first few lines:

"The man died alone, in a baby blue Eldorado on Route A1A, waiting for the drawbridge to be lowered. As his heart seized, his foot lifted off the brake; the car crept forward and nudged the bumper of a lawn service truck. The driver of the truck radioed his office and waited for the ambulance to arrive. By the time it came, the man was already dead."

Just One Pink gives Mrs. Kimble a 9.