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81st out of 360 books
—
369 voters
Mrs. Kimble
by
Jennifer Haigh (Goodreads Author)
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 hap...more
Paperback, 416 pages
Published
December 27th 2005
by Harper Perennial
(first published 2003)
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Hmmm. I have mixed feelings about this book. I couldn't put it down. And I liked the writing style a lot. I liked the ending. I guess I'm always looking for more philosophy or psychology behind things. That said, I think there was a lot of that here, just nothing that I could underline. It makes you think; about the relationships you are in, or who you are in relationships. I think she did an amazing job at portraying the characters too. Remarkable job. She's a very talented writer.
I bought this book at the University of Oregon Book Store with my birthday present (a gift certificate) from Casey. The book was recommended by the woman who runs the bookstore. It tells the tale of three women who all marry Mr. Kimble. A quick read, it was obvious all these women were looking for love they hoped Mr. Kimble could fulfill. In all three marriages, he falls far short as a selfish and self absorbed man. Hopefully, I find true love far different from this.
This was a great quick read book.. At first I thought that the characters, where not that great and development of the characters was poor. Then I got into the heart of the book, and the revolving main character Ken Kimble. Ken Kimble is a casanova character, that is seen as an opportunist and pries of younger women and almost accidently falls into their lives... reminds me of the quote loves them & then leaves them." Intertwined throughout the whole story is the story of Charlie Kimble, it...more
The compelling story of three women who were manipulated by one man. A con artist and a chameleon, Ken Kimble is a despicable character. The women he preyed upon were all very different yet all fell under his spell. Spanning 25 years, Mrs. Kimble is an intriguing page-turner that satisfyingly comes full circle.
I had some trouble warming to this story - it was not until the second half, when Ken Kimble's third wife is introduced, that I really enjoyed reading & wanted to know what would happen to the characters. Ken is a user who appeals to flawed women ripe for being used. Wives 1 & 2 are sad, insecure women - it is not easy to like them but it is very easy to feel sorry for them. Were it not for Ken's son, Charlie, I'm not sure I would have kept reading - but Charlie is strong and acts more a...more
How much is a woman willing to give -- or give up -- for love? That is the question at the center of this book. The tale of the three wives of a handsome sociopath, Mrs. Kimble traces the wreckage Ken Kimble leaves in his wake. Each woman is distinctly different, yet each is willing to sacrifice everything for the man she loves. While it is at times unavoidably depressing -- like watching a train smash into a car stalled on the tracks -- the resolution is, indeed, a tale of just rewards and rede...more
Okay, this is a 3.50 stars. I couldn't commit to four. I have mixed feelings about this book. The author is very talented and does a wonderful job telling the story of this con man who takes advantage of his 3 wives in different stages of his life. However, I hated some of the characters and I felt so badly for his children, my heart would literally ache for them. I just wanted to scream "Wake up and smell the coffee, you idiots!" I guess Haigh does a wonderful job in making us detest some of th...more
Despite the title, this is a portrait of three women (Birdie Bell, Joan Cohen, and Dinah Whitacre) who all end up marrying Ken Kimble, and the stories of their children, especially the oldest, Charlie Bell. To Mr. Kimble, perhaps, the women are all alike, filling a role he needs someone to play. For us, however, getting to know them in their strengths and heartbreaking frailty is the reason to read the book, and it's an excellent reason. They are both individuals and types, and among them they s...more
I wanted to give this book three stars but gave only two. It's a fast read, story is interesting. But writer has not given much thought to the development of characters.I just wished there was more psychological explanation behind every character's move.
I hated first Mrs kimble so much. You can't feel sympathy for such character. The way she forgot her childern after being left by her husband is truly detestable. It was so depressing to read about the childern staying hungry for days while she...more
I hated first Mrs kimble so much. You can't feel sympathy for such character. The way she forgot her childern after being left by her husband is truly detestable. It was so depressing to read about the childern staying hungry for days while she...more
I read this in one sitting because I was getting bogged down by The Broom of the System. Mrs. Kimble is the tale of three women who married the same man (at different times, of course), a Mr. Ken Kimble. Ken Kimble is a charismatic and manipulative asshole. Yeah, it's depressing. But it's not the really dark, intense kind of depressing either.
Most of the book is set in the 1960s and 70s, and there's lots of good stuff about the oppression of both married and unmarried women. All three Mrs. Kimb...more
Most of the book is set in the 1960s and 70s, and there's lots of good stuff about the oppression of both married and unmarried women. All three Mrs. Kimb...more
Well I ended up liking this one more than I initially thought I would. Was kinda gearing up for some typical "chick lit" that relies too heavily on tantalizing sex scenes to make up for the lack of original plot. However, I must say it was a pretty smart read. A type of psychological profiling book that tells the story of the three Mrs. Kimbles. These women, are allowed to tell their own story in the first person, tell exactly how they fell for the charming, complex, chameleon Ken Kimble: an opp...more
This is Jennifer Haigh's first novel. I read her book "The Condition" last month and liked it, so I doubled down. This book is pretty similar, and I like it as well.
Mrs. Kimble is a character study. The story is pretty small. It's NOT about a charismatic grifter-ish guy who scoops up some women and marries them over the course of his lifetime (that's a really bad summary, but what can I tell ya... he he). Kimble is a weird, distant guy, but the women just eat him up. (Girls. Shrug) The book IS a...more
Mrs. Kimble is a character study. The story is pretty small. It's NOT about a charismatic grifter-ish guy who scoops up some women and marries them over the course of his lifetime (that's a really bad summary, but what can I tell ya... he he). Kimble is a weird, distant guy, but the women just eat him up. (Girls. Shrug) The book IS a...more
So many thoughts about this book, and I only finished it ten minutes ago. The first, and most prominent thought, is that I never realized it was possible to so thoroughly detest a fictional character. The book is called Mrs. Kimble as it focuses on the three wives of Ken Kimble, a shyster and a con man. He is a chameleon of sorts - someone who never really reveals himself but instead adapts to the people around him. For this reason, I came to hate him, wondering why anyone would be willing to pu...more
I picked this up at a library sale for $0.25 based solely on the cover art and back cover blurb. I didn't have high expectations but I ended up devouring the book in about 2 days, and I would read more by this author.
Mrs. Kimble is a novel in 4 parts revolving around Ken Kimble, a lying, cheating minister-turned-real-estate-mogul and his 3 wives. Ken was born in 1929; the book begins and ends with his death in 1995.
Alcoholic Birdie (b. 1942, m. 1961, 2 children, divorced 1969) and Newsweek forei...more
Mrs. Kimble is a novel in 4 parts revolving around Ken Kimble, a lying, cheating minister-turned-real-estate-mogul and his 3 wives. Ken was born in 1929; the book begins and ends with his death in 1995.
Alcoholic Birdie (b. 1942, m. 1961, 2 children, divorced 1969) and Newsweek forei...more
When I started this book, it looked like I was doomed to hate it because the first Mrs. Kimble is a spineless, incompetent wreck of a mother who deals with her husband leaving her by drowning herself in alcohol. It just seems that there are too many books about disaffected housewives who forget who they are and turn into zombies.
But the first Mrs. Kimble is only the first of Ken Kimble's three wives, and he picks out more interesting and willful women the next times around.
Ken Kimble is never...more
But the first Mrs. Kimble is only the first of Ken Kimble's three wives, and he picks out more interesting and willful women the next times around.
Ken Kimble is never...more
This book was given to me some time ago by a friend and has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while. I finally pulled it out and started reading it...I read the whole thing in about a 15-hour span (not including sleeping for the night!). This book totally engrossed me...the tale of 3 (sequential) wives of the same man...a man charming to all those he meets, yet a chameleon who seems utterly empty. Each woman he marries seems vulnerable for one reason or another (one is naive, one is recoverin...more
I've had this book for quite a while, but finally found the right time to read it! I really enjoyed this story of a man who touches (and not usually in a very good way) so many lives. He can turn on the charm initially and draw women in only to leave them empty and wondering what went wrong. I particularly enjoyed the journey each woman took to reflect on the relationship with Ken and see the progression that they didn't realize was happening at the time. It raises questions about the importance...more
My first reading of this book went badly and I put it aside as the kind of book I don't like. But then, relenting before I took it back to the library, I did pretty much read it... but completely out of order, randomly, and then an attempt to get the story line more accurately. It's an interesting concept, to tell about one man (or snake, as you might prefer) through the three women he married and, of course, dumped. I did not think any of the characters were well-drawn. We knew that Mr. Kimball...more
Very much enjoyed the book - the story, the writer and the clever writing. The narrative unfolds beautifully and we are treated to some exquisite, gently developed characterisation and a storyline that gradually builds and layers weaving between the past and present enigma that is Ken Kimble. Haigh works greatly in female characterisation and through her narrative of his three main 'love' affairs she explains the crumbling and disjointed world of a broken, selfish and quite mysterious man. Kimbl...more
I didn't realize how much I liked this book until I had finished. In fact, I finished and was slightly unhappy with what seemed to be a "cliffhanger" ending. But then, as I always do, I cleared the ebook so that it was back at 0% and remembered that there was a prologue...and that it neatly cleared up the story--at least to an extent.
I really liked how Haigh told three separate stories but kept them intertwined by reinserting a central character. The stories of these women were all extremely co...more
I really liked how Haigh told three separate stories but kept them intertwined by reinserting a central character. The stories of these women were all extremely co...more
The concept, the writing style and most of the characters were all very affective.
Even so, it fell a bit short. The villainous Ken Kimble was badly written. I never saw anything about him that would have made any woman fall desperately, life ruinously in love with him, let alone three women. And yet he, and his wicked ways, was the common thread throughout the book. The linkable character in the stories of three women who loved to their own detriment.
Yet, I still really liked it. Which I initial...more
Even so, it fell a bit short. The villainous Ken Kimble was badly written. I never saw anything about him that would have made any woman fall desperately, life ruinously in love with him, let alone three women. And yet he, and his wicked ways, was the common thread throughout the book. The linkable character in the stories of three women who loved to their own detriment.
Yet, I still really liked it. Which I initial...more
I was really surprised as to how much I enjoyed this book. The story set up of basing it around 3 different characters, in different times and circumstances, made it all the more interesting. The characters were likable and I felt sympathy towards them, even though their decisions were not that great. I also loved the fact that the reader could see Charlie's perspective as he was growing up without his father. What I enjoyed most about Charlie was that he wasn't charmed by his father, but saw st...more
No spoilers.
Blurb: A book with no heroes, yet really compelling. Almost all the characters are so well-drawn, it's uncanny - with the exception of Mr. Kimble, the enigma that the Mrs. Kimbles and children are in orbit around. It's not the feel-good book of the year...there's a lot of quiet desperation here. In some ways, this reminded me most of Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections.
Long version:
This is the story of the three women who marry Ken Kimble - not at the same time. A true character-driv...more
Blurb: A book with no heroes, yet really compelling. Almost all the characters are so well-drawn, it's uncanny - with the exception of Mr. Kimble, the enigma that the Mrs. Kimbles and children are in orbit around. It's not the feel-good book of the year...there's a lot of quiet desperation here. In some ways, this reminded me most of Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections.
Long version:
This is the story of the three women who marry Ken Kimble - not at the same time. A true character-driv...more
Ken Kimble is a bit of a ladies' man. His story is told over a number of years through his three wives - Birdie, a woman who mistakenly believes he will return to her, Joan, an heiress with a devastating secret, and Dinah, a woman who has too often been relegated to "behind-the- scenes". Each woman loves Ken for a different reason but his effect on all three will be equally important. And alongside Ken's story is the story of his son, Charlie, whose life is forever defined by the man his father...more
This was such a good book. Just a good novel to read. This would be a good summer on the beach book. It was a winding story about the three Mrs. Kimbles and how they all end up connecting through one man and the family that comes of his first and third marriage. I just enjoyed reading this book. It was a complex story that came to being and how familys interact and protect each other. It was sad in many ways; I didn't want to put it down.
I really enjoyed this despite it being a style that would ordinarily make me wary - I don't like reading short stories as a rule since as soon as you get into a character you then need to restart the process, and this was a cross between that and a proper novel - you end up in the minds and hearts of three women but ultimately it is not choppy or dissatisfying.
The three women share the following in common: an obsession with a sleazebag and below average intelligence/sense of self. The story give...more
The three women share the following in common: an obsession with a sleazebag and below average intelligence/sense of self. The story give...more
I could hardly put this book down. Jennifer Haigh has done an excellent job in writting a story that stirs up alot of emotion and I was reading fast to get to the end in hopes that Mr. Kimble has received his "just desserts."
Ken Kimble is a man we get to know through the eyes of the 3 women he has preyed upon, conned, manipulated, seduced, married and left devastated.
We never hear his side of the story, but it begs the question,
What is wrong with this man." The author, herself, calls him a "ser...more
Ken Kimble is a man we get to know through the eyes of the 3 women he has preyed upon, conned, manipulated, seduced, married and left devastated.
We never hear his side of the story, but it begs the question,
What is wrong with this man." The author, herself, calls him a "ser...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
For me, Mrs. Kimble is an example of excellent fiction, sketching out a map, but allowing you to find your own way to a destination.
I was captivated by the at first glance simple, but expertly-layered story of three women who all fall for and marry the same man. It seems that many readers were put off by Mr. Kimble himself, and yes, he was a despicable man who used the women in his life to further his own selfish pursuits.
However, at least for me, the focus of the story wasn't meant to rest on...more
I was captivated by the at first glance simple, but expertly-layered story of three women who all fall for and marry the same man. It seems that many readers were put off by Mr. Kimble himself, and yes, he was a despicable man who used the women in his life to further his own selfish pursuits.
However, at least for me, the focus of the story wasn't meant to rest on...more
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Jennifer Haigh is an American novelist and short story writer. Her most recent novel, FAITH (HarperCollins, 2010), tells the story of a beloved Boston priest accused of a molesting a child. Her previous novels include the New York Times bestsellers THE CONDITION and BAKER TOWERS, winner of the 2006 PEN/L. L. Winship Award for outstanding book by a New England author. Her critically acclaimed debut...more
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“Destiny, she’d learned, was written in the heavens; a person couldn’t take what the universe didn’t wish to give.”
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“When they touched it was like touching her own body. From childhood they had been the same height; their arms and legs and hands were still perfectly congruent. Only the centers of them were different, aching, fascinated, every part of them heated to the same temperature as the sun warmed pond.”
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Jan 07, 2012 06:34pm
I'm sorry! Sometimes I get cArried away with my reviews! But i...more
Jan 14, 2012 06:35pm