Mrs. Kimble
3.5/5
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About this ebook
The award-winning debut novel from Jennifer Haigh, author of BakerTowers, The Condition, and Faith, tells the story of Birdie, Joan,and Dinah, three women who marry the same charismatic, predatory, and enigmaticopportunist: Ken Kimble. Resonating with emotional intensity and narrativeinnovation reminiscent of Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto, Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, and Zora Neale Hurston’s TheirEyes Were Watching God, Haigh’s Mrs. Kimble is a timeless story ofgrief, passion, heartache, deception, and the complex riddle of love.
Jennifer Haigh
Jennifer Haigh is the author of the short-story collection News from Heaven and six bestselling and critically acclaimed novels, including Mrs. Kimble, Faith and Heat and Light, which was named a Best Book of 2016 by the New York Times, The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and NPR. Her books have won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Massachusetts Book Award and the PEN New England Award in Fiction, and have been translated widely. She lives in New England.
Read more from Jennifer Haigh
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Reviews for Mrs. Kimble
405 ratings30 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Nicely worked
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A dramatic story of the three women who married an opportunistic social chameleon. Reminiscent of the show 'Imposters', the well thought out plot weaves through each woman's life as they become involved with the Mr. Kimble that is just perfect for them, until he isn't. Written in alternating narratives, this slow paced story is divided amongst the three women set decades apart, yet seemingly intermingled. Engrossing and thought provoking, this intriguing novel reflects the societal views of marriage and divorce in each woman's decade, and their struggle to overcome the adversity left in Mr. Kimble's wake.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5These were the stories of the three successive Mrs Kimbles, married to the one inscrutable Mr Kimble.
Somehow Ken Kimble was able to charm and seduce and marry these women, but the marriages quickly revealed there was nothing beneath his thin veneer. Really nothing. The wives learned they never knew their husband, and we the readers will never know him either. We are just as mystified as they are as to who this man is, where he came from, and why he was like he was. It was a nice maneuver that enhanced our appreciation of the imbalance.
This is the first book I've read by Jennifer Haigh. I like her writing style. It flows smoothly and easily, without clumsy intrusions. This was her first novel yet it was amazingly polished and well crafted, a deserving winner of the PEN/Hemingway award for debut fiction. I will look for another of hers. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the 3rd novel by Jennifer Haigh I've read. She's such a good writer. I find I'm quickly immersed in the people and worlds she creates.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A dramatic story of the three women who married an opportunistic social chameleon.Reminiscent of the show 'Imposters', the well thought out plot weaves through each woman's life as they become involved with the Mr. Kimble that is just perfect for them, until he isn't.Written in alternating narratives, this slow paced story is divided amongst the three women set decades apart, yet seemingly intermingled.Engrossing and thought provoking, this intriguing novel reflects the societal views of marriage and divorce in each woman's decade, and their struggle to overcome the adversity left in Mr. Kimble's wake.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The debut novel by a terrific writer I've followed ever since reading "The Condition", which I still see as her best work. This one is about the three women who in turn married Ken Kimble, an emotional con-man with an empty desert of a soul. Most of this book struck me with its bleakness, as Ken Kimble comes into the life of the next Mrs. Kimble, remakes himself to fit into her venue and seduces her. This threatens to overwhelm the reader, but the final pages are redemptive in the comfort and joy that can exist even in damaged families. I think the book would have been improved by a look inside Ken Kimble, but maybe the author doesn't do this because there's just nothing there.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Readable but boring. Forgettable.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Another 5 star read for Jennifer Haigh. I can't explain it. I have read three of her books and each although totally different, has been a five star read. I guess I enjoy her writing. A guy who seems to be a chameleon marries three very different women. He woos them and then loses interest. Each woman seems to have a flaw that makes them drawn to his charms.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5These were the stories of the three successive Mrs Kimbles, married to the one inscrutable Mr Kimble.
Somehow Ken Kimble was able to charm and seduce and marry these women, but the marriages quickly revealed there was nothing beneath his thin veneer. Really nothing. The wives learned they never knew their husband, and we the readers will never know him either. We are just as mystified as they are as to who this man is, where he came from, and why he was like he was. It was a nice maneuver that enhanced our appreciation of the imbalance.
This is the first book I've read by Jennifer Haigh. I like her writing style. It flows smoothly and easily, without clumsy intrusions. This was her first novel yet it was amazingly polished and well crafted, a deserving winner of the PEN/Hemingway award for debut fiction. I will look for another of hers. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jennifer Haigh's debut novel features the three distinctive stories of women who are wooed by and marry the same man. We meet Ken's first wife, Birdie, just as he has abandoned her for a love affair with a student at the college where he is a dean. Birdie herself fell for the Reverend Kimble when she sang in the choir he directed at her bible college, and was pregnant before he married her. When he leaves, all she can think to do is drink, and her children go hungry as she crumbles under the crushing weight of a life lived alone. Next, Ken marries Joan, a woman who would have been Birdie's polar opposite when she was in her prime, making a living as a journalist, the only woman reporter in her bureau at the Times, unencumbered by society's ideas of a stereotypical female, uninterested in keeping house and having babies, that is, until breast cancer makes an appearance in her life. The cancer spares her life but robs her of more than one breast. When Ken shows up in her life, she's desperate for companionship and to have the children and the life that she never wanted, but as they marry and Ken begins to excel in his real estate career, things don't turn out anything like she was expecting. Finally, there is Dinah. Dinah babysat for Ken and Birdie's kids when she was a girl and chances to meet Ken again years later in Washington, DC, where she works as a chef, when he hits her with his car. Having suffered a broken ankle that keeps her from working and makes living in her dangerous neighborhood even more dangerous, and with the promise of the possibility of surgery to erase an ugly birthmark that has marred not just her face, but her whole life, Dinah feels she has no choice but to accept the help Ken has to offer. One thing leads to another until Dinah becomes elderly Ken's final bride.Mr. Kimble is, by all accounts, a selfish jerk, a pervy guy with a taste for younger women who should be forbidden territory. He is that guy that charms a bit at first but soon reveals himself to be a liar, a cheat, and worse. Readers will hate Ken Kimble, and they should, because it's in their eagerness to be seduced by and married to Ken Kimble, that his wives' characters are most revealed. In the three wives, Haigh has created three memorable characters whose frailties are revealed and badly exploited by the husband they choose. Each character is both irritating and sympathetic as Haigh draws out their respective pasts and their relationships with Kimble. A vulnerability is displayed in each of the three characters that every woman should find as relatable as it is frustrating. If you're anything like me, you'll find the voice in your head crying out at these women not to get involved with this guy, just like it cries out at those boneheads in horror movies who hear that sketchy noise and venture to the basement to investigate while the power is out on a dark stormy night only to be brutally murdered. The women in Haigh's book aren't about to be murdered, but their respective marriages to Kimble are certainly poisonous. Mrs. Kimble has something profound to say about women and perhaps even about feminism. It makes it altogether apparent that there is a line to be walked between being a woman who chooses to be a housewife who lets her husband stand between her and the world and being the woman who puts aside home and family to chase after a career that may or my not fulfill her. Haigh seems to be drawing out the possibility that erring too much in either direction can leave a woman dangerously vulnerable.Mrs. Kimble is an interesting read, but not a quick one. The stories of Mr. Kimble's three wives bear a lot of contemplation. I would hardily recommend Mrs. Kimble as a great book group read and wish that I had read it in a book group. The books is good and stands up on its own, but the possibility it opens up for conversations about women's lives in the past and in the future is much more tantalizing.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5There are three Mrs. Kimbles. The first-Birdie became drunk-ended with a black neighbor. With Birdie Ken was a minister. With Joan, who died of breast cancer, he went into real estate and ended up with the estates of both Joan's father and her uncle. The third wife was Dinah, who was the wisest and strongest. He got caught using government money--selling reconditioned houses to the poor. The houses were not reconditioned and someone died in one--how he got caught. Dinah becomes a caterer. Things to consider==the change in female thinking--impact of the different eras? Which of the Mrs. Kimble's did you like best? least? With Ken, what is the line between sociopath and normal male selfishness--what is he?
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This novel asks the questions why good women are drawn to bad men and about love and loss. Haigh developes her characters well ken kimble is not a nice man and one wonders why these women are drawn to him.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5While this book is not an edge of your seat thrill read, the character development is strong. I enjoyed it enough to finish the story. It had a very "real life" feel about it, almost like a memoir, but without a true hero.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book is eerie in the fact that it highlights the psychological elements of relationships. Does anyone completely know the person they married? This highlights the victim mentality and is chilling in how three different women are caught up in relationships with one deceitful man. A great debut novel.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The tale of a womanizing schemer named Ken Kimble is told through the perspective of the three women he married, as well as the eldest son he left behind, Charlie.We are first introduced to Ken through Birdie, who is dealing, terribly, with the aftermath of Ken's abrupt departure. Back when divorce was spoken about in hushed tones, Birdie had to soldier on with no money and no support. She is left a barely-functioning alcoholic shell, with her children picking up the pieces.The next wife is Joan, a wealthy, never-married career woman who feels regret and mortality surround her at the sunny poolside barbecues that have become her life. As a lonely cancer survivor, she is ripe to be enamoured by Ken, ever the smooth talker, despite him being engaged to the daughter of a friend.After Joan, Ken chooses a trophy wife, another damaged and vulnerable woman. Dinah, once the babysitter for Ken's kids and with a bright birthmark covering half her face, is drawn to Ken over a childhood crush and he steps in like a savior to pay for surgery to remove the birthmark.Weaved throughout the stories of the three marriages are the stories of the kids from Ken's first marriage, Charlie and (to a lesser extent) Jodie. We see them deal with an absent father, get whisked away under duplicitous circumstances to Joan's home in Florida, then get invited for a reunion with their uninterested father by Dinah. Ken's path of hurt extends into the adult lives of his kids and affects the choices they make.The story we don't hear is from Ken himself. Author says this omission was deliberate in notes that are in the back of the P.S. edition. But it is still a glaring hole that makes us wonder how this guy got to be the way he was, and if he ever felt a shred of guilt over it (probably not.) Though well-written, it certainly is a depressing novel. We see the women pick up the pieces and carry on as best as they can. While very human, we don't get an opportunity to emphasize with them beyond what Ken has done to them. Each of them reluctantly explores their own personhood outside Ken, and it's always he who must force them into that situation. Another criticism is that if this is the story of the Mrs. Kimbles, why does Charlie get such a big voice? It is interesting tosee how he deelops, but why choose him over Jodie, whose desire for love from a married man is achingly affected by her dysfunctional upbringing? It might have rounded out the novel better to show her as another female Kimble devastated by Ken, but she is reduced to the character of a needy, simple girl.Much like Ken comes and goes suddenly in each of the Mrs. Kimbles' lives, so does he come and go in the story: always barely in the scene, just waiting to run away or go for a jog (a symbol of his restlessness). Like the women in his life, we are left wondering about his true nature.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mrs. Kimble refers to three different women, the serial wives of philanderer, Ken Kimble. The book begins with Ken's death, then jumps back to the beginning of the story of his first abandoned wife, Birdie. Birdie has been left alone in Richmond, Va. to raise two small children with no means of supporting the three of them. Ken is defined by his absence in the life of this small family as Birdie's despair descends into alcoholism. In this part of the story we come to know Charlie, Ken and Birdie's young son whose character is a thread through out the book.As we come to know the second Mrs. Kimble, Joan, Ken appears and is ready to swing into the 1970's, and into Joan's life as well, at a Florida pool party. The fact that he is engaged to his former student doesn't prevent him from noticing Joan's vulnerability post-mastectomy and death of her father. Nor can he help but notice Joan's wealth.Fast forward to 1979 and Ken is back in Washington, D.C. having acquired the successful real estate development business of Joan's uncle and wealth from Joan's estate. He runs into the facially disfigured former babysitter of Birdie's children, Dinah, and so another Mrs. Kimble is made. And ultimately Ken's house of cards collapses.The author does an excellent job of locating the story of these three women in time and place. The writing is clear and concise, the female characters are well developed, and the story arc is well defined. She explores the inner lives of the three women in an almost surgical manner while Ken remains a shell (schill) of a character. There are occasional flashes of whit and humor as when Dinah, after dressing in the clothes that Ken has selected for her describes herself as "a punchline in a dirty joke."Charlie's character is the one who sees his father for what he is. And it is the adult Charlie who picks up the pieces. It's not clear to me if the author is making a feminist statement about the vulnerability of women in love and marriage relationships. There is certainly a cynical view of love and romance as it appears in this novel.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a good book, once I got into the story. It took me a while to warm up to the first character, Birdie, indeed I never got to really like her, but as the story progressed, I became more and more engrossed. The various characters are interesting, the plot is good, and it is a book I would recommend to anyone who likes good fiction.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed this book about three women who all married the same men -- Ken Kimble. We get each of their stories one at a time. This would be a good beach read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mrs. Kimble is actually three people: the first, second, and third wives of Ken Kimble. I was intrigued by the structure of the novel, the way the author revealed Ken Kimble's character through his relationships with his various wives. A good read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ken 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 is.This was a really well-written story, especially for a debut novel. It is clear that Haigh has immense talent. I loved learning the story of Ken through his wives and, in fact, didn't like the parts where he actually appeared as much as those that were simply about him. All the women are wonderfully constructed and very real; I could easily imagine them. Charlie is an interesting character as well, but not quite what I hoped he'd be. I liked the ending as well - not what I expected but a fitting end, I believe. Will definitely read Haigh's other books.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I don't consider that I'm giving anything away to say that the title, Mrs. Kimble, refers to three women to whom Ken Kimble is married over a span of almost thirty years. This book is a MUST READ for any woman who has been "married to Ken Kimble," that is, a man who at best has intimacy and borderline personality issues, at worst is narcissistic and a sociopath. In her notes, Jennifer Haigh states that Ken is "in many ways a very ordinary person...he simply takes what is given to him." Call me naive but I hope after reading this book, most people would vehemently disagree that his is "ordinary behavior." Don't misunderstand me, in order for a man like Ken Kimble to thrive, you have to have a vulnerable woman (or women). I thank God I'm more Dinah than Birdie or Joan. Great book. Lots of food for thought.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This story turned out to be better than I first expected, much more substantial and well written.The story centers around the lives of three women, who all, at different times, have given their love and trust to the same man. The man, who remains rather enigmatic throughout the book, seems to only care for them until they make a commitment to him. Then, his affection ebbs away and the relationship between him and his current wife becomes distant and cool.Each woman.....Birdie, Joan and Dinah, are all different in their own unique way. Each one has their own way of relating to Ken. Eventually, Ken disappears from their lives and leaves behind a pile of emotional rubble for each woman to deal with.I found this book to be a satisfying read, but was a little disappointed in the abrupt and rather sudden ending.Overall, I enjoyed it and I'd recommend this book to others.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is an engrossing first novel by a very promising author. The plot and character development are well done. It was difficult to put down this book once I'd begun reading it. I had hoped to learn more about the reasons behind Ken Kimble's behavior, but this was the only flaw in an otherwise excellent novel.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were a couple of places where I felt like the author gave short shrift to the story but it's a first novel and very enthralling.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good story..easy read...quick read...perfect vacation read! Also liked Baker Towers by same author.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I went to the Hotel Marlowe in Boston for a reading and book signing by Jennifer Haigh and purchased this book. She was so young, I wistfully thought. At the book signing, she said she finished the book in one year and at that point it looked like the ultrasound of a baby. It took two more years of editing before she was ready to send it to a publisher.The book starts with Mr. Kimble dying alone in a car and then goes back thirty years and recounts his three marriages. Very intriguing as the reader is left asking, "Who really was Mr. Kimble?Great book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I enjoyed it very much. Kept me interested. Sometimes got confused w/the timeline & who was who.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good book club read, I was surprised i liked it. Its not the best book I've ever read, not in the top 10...but enjoyable.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A tale of three women who all marry the same man. Ken Kimble is an unforgettable character who preys on damaged women. Haigh is gifted in her ability to create memorable characters.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When I choose books that I buy - and I buy more than I ever used to due to not having a public library in easy access - there is almost always a process. I'm interested in the cover (and yes don't judge a book by its cover so clearly, I look at the next item which is...), the brief synopsis of the book. If I have not at this point been turned off - and occassionally I am turned off this easily because the book, although it had a fascinating cover, will be more cliche than a book of cliches. I usually open up to the first page. If the first sentence grabs me so well that I'm half way down the page or turning the page before I stop, the book is usually under consideration. If not for purchase, for getting later on through interlibrary loan.This book had the interesting cover, the interesting story blurb, and a truly interesting beginning. It was, in fact, the beginning that made me purchase it even though I hadn't been planning on buying anything that day... The book itself is an interesting book that follows the lives of the Three Mrs Kimbles. They are the stars of this story in a way that Mr Kimble although he one of the only characters that actually weaves consistently through the narrative, cannot be. After all, Mr Kimble is, in fact, a scoundrel.This is not a light story and in fact in some places is rather depressing. However, what I think I enjoyed about this book was the way the author was able to take these three women and describe real women with real fears and flaws and the very real reasons they might have been attracted to this man who was rarely what he claimed to be and in fact often was directly opposite of what he claimed to be. In the case of each woman it was personal insecurities that drew them to him and he was very good at preying on those insecurities to his advantage.Of course, the other character that weaves consistently through the narrative is Mr Kimble's son. This boy, the son of the first Mrs Kimble, is another constant in the story. The story of his mother is often told through his eyes, as are the stories of some of the other women as well. He moves from Mrs Kimble to Mrs Kimble until the end of the story when he is the only person who truly understands who or what his father is - although he never spent time around his father getting to know him. He concludes with the idea that perhaps to understand the man, you had to be his son - that no one else ever really knew him.
Book preview
Mrs. Kimble - Jennifer Haigh
Mrs. Kimble
A Novel
JENNIFER HAIGH
The author wishes to thank Claire Wachtel, Michael Morrison, Juliette Shapland, and Dorian Karchmar at Lowenstein Associates, for their extraordinary support of this book;
James Michener and the Copernicus Society of America, for their generous financial assistance; and
Dan Pope, for everything else.
Contents
E-book Extras:
Author’s Note
An Interview with Jennifer Haigh
Reading Group Guide
The man died alone…
Birdie
Joan
1972
Dinah
1994
Spring
Praise for Mrs. Kimble
About the Author
Books by Jennifer Haigh
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
E-book Extra
Author’s Note
Mrs. Kimble didn’t begin as a treatise on marriage and divorce. The book, as I first conceived of it, was about a single mother and her child: Birdie (Ken Kimble’s first wife) and her son Charlie. As I wrote about these two, I became increasingly curious about Charlie’s father. I found myself very drawn to this character, a man who is defined largely by his absence. I wanted to know who he was, how he came into Birdie’s life, and where he went when he left.
Ken Kimble is what I call a serial husband
—a man who marries again and again, who somehow, in spite of his obvious flaws, has no problem finding women to marry. It’s a phenomenon I’ve observed a few times in life, one that raises an obvious question: what exactly is wrong with these women, so willing to pledge their lives to a man they barely know? The answer, I think, has to do with the way women are socialized. We’re raised to believe that marriage is what completes us, that unless we’ve achieved that particular goal, nothing else we accomplish counts for much. This belief has survived feminism, the sexual revolution, the sweeping social changes of the past 50 years. Women, even bright, successful women, still subscribe to it. One result of thinking this way is that we marry the wrong men.
The three Mrs. Kimbles are women of different generations; they have different expectations of men, and of themselves. Birdie is a product of the 1950s, a woman who resists learning to drive, who’s perfectly happy being a passenger. Joan is in many ways a woman ahead of her time; she chooses career over marriage in an era when few women did, but she’s ambivalent about her choices, and in the end chooses a more traditional life. Dinah, who’s much younger, expects more from a husband; she’s frustrated that Ken isn’t a more involved father to their son. Birdie, on the other hand, would have been content to do all the child-raising herself as long as Ken came home every night, paid the bills, acted like a husband, even if he wasn’t faithful to her.
Mrs. Kimble also looks at the changing shape of family, what that word means in an era of rampant divorce, of blended families with all their prefixes: step-this, half-that. Early in the novel, Birdie’s shame over being divorced is part of the reason she drinks. She lies about where her husband is; Charlie, who’s only seven years old, picks up on her shame and starts lying about it too. At the end of the book we see something of how the world has changed in 25 years, a recognition that blended families can be quite happy and functional, prefixes and all.
The three Mrs. Kimbles aren’t victims. Ken Kimble isn’t some kind of sociopath. He is, in fact, a very ordinary man; he simply takes what is given to him. He is in some sense a blank slate, a cipher; and that works to his advantage. Birdie, Joan and Dinah are looking for different things; yet each is able to convince herself that Ken Kimble is what’s missing from her life. The novel examines how and why that happens. In that way Mrs. Kimble truly is a meditation on marriage: why women hunger for it, what we’re willing to sacrifice in order to have it.
I hope that you enjoy Mrs. Kimble.
E-book Extra
An Interview with Jennifer Haigh
Mrs. Kimble
A Novel
by Jennifer Haigh
How did producing a full-length novel compare to writing short stories? Was it a challenge to create three distinct but intertwining narratives for Mrs. Kimble?
Short stories are to novels what dating is to a long marriage. A new story is very exciting; there’s a wonderful sense of discovery that comes with inventing and exploring new characters. Because a novel takes so long to write, you’re still plugging away at it long after the initial glow has faded. Novelists, like spouses, don’t get to start from scratch when the novelty wears off. They’re living with the choices they made days, months, years before.
Is there a part of you in any of Ken’s wives, or in Ken himself?
I identify with all the characters in the book. More strongly with the wives, but with Kimble too. Some readers seem to disagree, but I never thought of him as a sociopath. He is in many ways a very ordinary person. He simply takes what is given to him.
The voice with which you narrate Mrs. Kimble is very distinctive; the sentence structure is honed without being sparse, while your dialogue sounds casual but almost always carries an emotionally charged subtext. Did this voice evolve while you were a student in Iowa, or has it always been your vehicle for storytelling?
The narrative voice of Mrs. Kimble is very much my voice; I think it comes through in all my work. I aim for precision in the sentences because that’s the sort of writing I admire. I have a great respect for writers who are humble, whose language allows the reader to see the story but doesn’t get in the way. Language is a window, and if the window is clean, you shouldn’t be aware you’re looking through glass.
Do you consider Mrs. Kimble to be a cautionary tale?
I didn’t intend Mrs. Kimble as a cautionary tale, just a story about life. Then again, life is instructive; we draw lessons from our own experiences and other peoples’.
Any plans for your next novel?
I am now deep into my next novel. It’s like Mrs. Kimble in that it involves a family and much of the story is set in the past. It’s another intimate novel, showing the insides of people’s lives. That’s what interests me as a writer. Private stories, what people think and do and say when they think no one is watching.
E-book Extra
Reading Group Guide
Mrs. Kimble
A Novel
by Jennifer Haigh
Introduction
Deftly exploring the poignant landscape of longing, Mrs. Kimble traces the lives of three women who marry the same opportunistic man, a chameleon named Ken Kimble. He seduces each of them with sensitivity and generosity, and with his obsessively perfected physique. But marriage reveals Ken’s true persona—elusive, workaholic, and hungry for extramarital affairs. All three of his wives are sustained by the hope that he will once again become the hero they fell in love with. For Ken’s children, the reality of their father’s absence is at once devastating and indelible. And for Ken himself, the price of maintaining illusions appears to be negligible.
Spanning four decades in the life of a tantalizingly unknowable man, Mrs. Kimble vividly portrays the pain of unequal affections. In a voice that is neither maudlin nor sentimental, Jennifer Haigh has crafted a debut novel that captures journeys of the heart in a wholly original way. We hope that the following questions will enhance your discussion of this provocative triumph in fiction.
Discussion Topics
Consider the similarities and differences among Birdie, Joan, and Dinah. Is there a common thread that attracts Ken to each of them.
Joan and Dinah have physical traits that cause them to feel self-conscious and prone to rejection. Do you consider Birdie’s vulnerabilities to be equally physical in nature, or are they purely emotional?
What motivates Ken? In your opinion, what enables him to so suddenly shift from being charming to vapid? To what do you attribute his compulsive dishonesty?
The novel’s title reflects the tradition of taking a husband’s surname after marriage. All of Ken’s wives change their last names and become Mrs. Kimble. What does this indicate about the tradition, gender, power, and identity in Ken’s marriages?
Birdie appears in all three parts of the novel. What were your initial impressions of her? Did your opinion of her shift as her life story unfolded?
American society experienced significant changes between the 1960s and the 1990s. Did this appear to affect Ken’s various marriages, or was his behavior consistent across the mores of all decades?
How might Birdie’s life have been different had her father not interfered with her attraction to Curtis Mabry? What is the effect of the Mabry family’s presence in the novel?
Though the novel’s characters are for the most part indifferent to spirituality, religion provides a frequent backdrop in Mrs. Kimble. What is the significance of Ken’s Bible school past? How did you react when he convinced Joan of his Jewish heritage?
Do you believe that Ken’s abandonment of Birdie was the sole cause of her emotional breakdown? How might her life have played out if he hadn’t left her?
How does Ken’s departure affect his children’s attitude toward love? Do their relationships reflect or defy their parents’ example?
Jennifer Haigh builds the storyline of Mrs. Kimble around brief scenes rather than lengthy, uninterrupted chapters. What is the effect of this technique?
Ken is not the only predatory man in the novel; Birdie is exploited by the mechanic she meets as a waitress, for example. Do the novel’s characterizations of men and women match your own experience with the opposite sex?
With which of Ken’s wives were you most able to relate? How would you have responded in each of their situations?
Though Ken is the most obviously secretive character in the novel, all of his wives possess a certain degree of secrecy and denial. Do you believe that it’s possible to lead a completely honest life—including self honesty?
Ken is an enigma, yet his character is drawn in rich detail. Discuss the significance of his vanity, his attraction to younger women, and his apparent inability to love or show genuine affection. What is the relevance of his conservative childhood, particularly the death of his brother?
Food is mentioned throughout the novel, including Charlie’s perpetual hunger as a child; Birdie’s botched attempts to buy groceries; Ken’s aversion to seafood, which causes Joan to tailor her menus; and Dinah’s Thanksgiving reunion and culinary expertise. Discuss some of your most meaningful memories regarding food.
What makes Ken’s cause of death particularly ironic and fitting?
While there are clearly three Mrs. Kimbles, are there also three Mr. Kimbles? Does each wife represent a separate identity for Ken?
What variations on love (parental, romantic, erotic) are presented in Mrs. Kimble? Which characters appear to experience the most authentic forms of love?
20. The novel closes with Ken’s children brought together by Dinah. Charlie embraces his role as Brendan’s big brother and father figure. What do you predict for the family after Ken’s death?
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.
He had lived alone in a furnished apartment on Largo Boulevard with a sunny terrace and a view of the ocean; in the five months he’d lived there, no one in the building had noticed any visitors. In his apartment police found no books, no photos or personal correspondence, just recent newspapers and copies of the Broward County Real Estate Guide, a free publication distributed in boxes on the beach. In the bathroom were several bottles of pills, all unlabeled; according to the coroner, they were medications to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, slow a racing heart. The man had owned a dozen fine suits and three pairs of expensive running shoes. A neighbor said he’d risen at dawn each day to run on the beach. On the table next to his bed was a gold wedding band.
He’d been seen eating breakfast each morning at a coffee shop down the street—the same thing every day, black coffee and toast. He sat alone at the counter reading newspapers: a local daily, the Miami Herald, and the Washington Post.
How he spent the rest of the day, nobody knew. He was seen twice at a neighborhood drugstore, buying vitamins. He paid his rent with a personal check; five months ago he’d opened an account at First Florida bank. An associate at a local Cadillac dealership remembered selling him the car. He would remember it forever. The man had handed him sixty thousand dollars in cash.
He’d died on a Friday night, the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend. The Department of Motor Vehicles would be closed until Tuesday; pulling the man’s driving record might have taken days, but the sheriff knew someone at the DMV. The man’s Florida license was brand new; no address had been recorded from the Virginia one he’d surrendered. The Virginia DMV had an address on file but no phone number.
The body waited in the county morgue. Plaque in its arteries, an enlarged heart starved of blood. If no relatives were located, it would be buried in the municipal cemetery at the man’s own expense. His checking account at First Florida contained half a million dollars.
The police kept trying.
Birdie
Virginia
1969
Charlie’s mother sat cross-legged on the living room floor, her nightgown pulled over her knees, a spill of photographs scattered across the faded carpet. Years later he would remember the sound of the scissors’ blades gnawing into the glossy paper, his little sister Jody wailing in the background, the determined look on their mother’s face.
She had been drinking; her teeth were stained blue from the wine. She worked methodically, the tip of her tongue peeping out the corner of her mouth. The defaced photos she stacked in a neat pile: Christmases, family picnics, Fourths of July, each with a jagged oval where his father’s face had been. One by one she slid the photos back into their frames. She climbed unsteadily to her feet and placed the frames back on the mantelpiece, the sideboard table, the naked hooks dotting the cracked plaster wall.
Better,
she said under her breath. She took Jody by the hand and led her into the kitchen. Charlie dropped to his knees and picked through the pile of trash on the floor. He made a pile of his father’s heads, some smiling, some wearing a cap or sunglasses. He filled his pockets with the tiny heads and scrabbled out the back door.
His father was there and then he wasn’t. A long time ago he’d taken them to church. Charlie could remember being lifted onto the hard pew, the large freckled hand covering his entire back. He remembered playing with the gold watchband peeking out from under his father’s sleeve, and the red imprint it left on the skin underneath.
His father had a special way of eating. He rolled back the cuffs of his shirt, then buttered two slices of bread and placed them on either side of the plate. Finally he mixed all his food into a big pile—peas, roast, mashed potatoes—and ate loudly, the whole meal in a few minutes. Charlie had tried mixing his own food together, but found himself unable to eat it; the foods disgusted him once they touched, and his mother got mad at the mess on his plate.
His father made pancakes, and sucked peppermints, and whistled when he drove them in the car. On the floor of his closet, he kept a coffee can full of change. Each night lying in bed, Charlie would wait for the sound of his father emptying his pockets into the can, nickels and dimes landing with recognizable sounds, some tinny, some dry and dusty. It was always the last thing that happened. Once he heard the coins fall, Charlie would go to sleep.
Birdie was unwell. It was mid-morning when she opened her eyes, the room filled with sunlight. She rolled over and felt a sharp pain over her right eye. The other side of the bed was still made, the pillow tucked neatly under the chenille spread. She had remained a considerate sleeper, as if her sleeping self hadn’t yet figured out that the whole bed was hers alone.
She lay there a moment, blinking. She had been dreaming of her childhood. In the dream she was small, younger than Charlie; she and Curtis Mabry, the housekeeper’s son, had hidden in the laundry hampers. You nearly give me a heart attack,
said the housekeeper when she discovered them. You’re lucky I don’t tell your mother.
Through the thin walls she heard movement, the bright tinkling music of morning cartoons. She lifted herself out of bed, her nylon nightgown clinging to her back. In the living room the children looked up from the television.
Mummy,
Jody squealed, springing off the couch and running to hug her leg. She wore shortie pajamas, printed with blue daisies. Birdie wondered for a moment who’d dressed the child for bed. She couldn’t remember doing it herself.
Can I go outside?
said Charlie. He lay sprawled on the rug, too close to the television.
"May I go outside please, she corrected him.
Yes, you may."
He scrambled to his feet, already in socks and sneakers. The screen door spanked shut behind him. Birdie unwrapped Jody’s small arms from her leg. Let me get you some breakfast,
she said. The children seemed to lie in wait for her, to ambush her the moment she crawled out of bed, full of energy and raging needs. At such times it could be altogether too much—her stomach squeezed, the sign of a rough morning ahead—for one person.
She took Jody into the kitchen. It was a point of pride for Birdie: her kitchen was always immaculate. The room simply wasn’t used. She hadn’t cooked in weeks, hadn’t shopped except for brief trips to Beckwith’s corner store, to buy wine and overpriced loaves of bread.
She found the box in the cupboard and poured the cereal into Jody’s plastic bowl, decorated with pictures of a cartoon cat. She opened the refrigerator and a sour smell floated into the kitchen. The milk had spoiled.
Oops,
she said, smiling brightly. She ought to pour it down the drain, but the very thought of sour milk turned her stomach; she left the carton where it was. She eyed the wine bottle corked with a paper napkin. Beside it an unopened bottle, the one she hadn’t got to last night. She closed the door.
Looks like it’s toast for us,
she said. She put two slices of bread in the toaster. She hadn’t finished the bottle, so why did she feel so wretched? On Sunday night she’d had two full bottles, and not so much as a headache when she woke the next morning.
The toast popped, the sound a jolt to her heart. Perhaps she hadn’t overindulged, just consumed unwisely. She’d already learned that red wine hit her hardest, that a small meal—toast or crackers—cushioned the stomach and allowed her to drink more. Beyond that, the workings of alcohol were still a mystery. It seemed to hit her harder at certain times in her monthly cycle; why, she couldn’t imagine. She wondered if this were true for other women. She had no one to ask. Her mother was dead, and anyway had never touched anything stronger than lemonade. Her father’s new wife probably did drink, but Birdie couldn’t imagine talking to Helen about this or anything else.
Butter?
Jody asked.
Sorry, button.
Birdie spread the bread with grape jelly and thought of the wine.
She would have been married eight years that Tuesday.
THEIR HOUSE sat back to back with the Raskins’ house; a tall hedge marked the border between the two yards. Charlie stepped through a bare spot in the hedge and cut through the Raskins’ backyard; then he crossed the street to the Hogans’. Mr. Hogan had already left for work. A single light burned in the kitchen window. Out back the Hogans’ dog, Queenie, snored in her pen. Next door the Fleurys’ German shepherd barked wildly—he barked at anything that moved—but Queenie didn’t even stir. She was an old, fat dog, collie and something else. A heavy chain hung from her collar. Charlie wondered why the Hogans bothered. He couldn’t imagine Queenie going anywhere.
He tiptoed toward the pen, where Queenie’s bowl was filled with kibble. The nuggets were still crunchy. Later in the day they would be soft from sitting out in the heat. He filled his pockets with the kibble. He felt bad stealing from the Hogans, but Queenie was fat and lazy. Anyone could see she had too much food already.
From the Hogans’ he went through the Arnetts’ yard and into the woods. The path ran along a shallow stream. Earlier that spring a gang of older boys had built a dam there. He’d been watching the dam for weeks to see if more mud and sticks and rocks were being added. One of the gang, a mean, freckled boy named Jeffrey, had moved away; Charlie had seen the truck drive up to Jeffrey’s house at the bottom of the hill. Since then the boys had neglected the dam. Charlie hoped that if he watched and waited long enough, they would forget the dam completely and it would be his.
He knew about moving. When he was little they’d moved to Richmond from Missouri. He remembered the kitchen full of boxes, his mother wrapping dishes in layers of newspaper. His father had driven the truck. Charlie had sat next to him on a box of books.
There had been no truck when his father went away, no boxes of dishes and newspaper that Charlie saw. He wasn’t there when his father left. He was riding the bus to Pappy’s house with Mama and Jody. When they came back his father was gone. Charlie was six then, had since turned seven. His father hadn’t come back for his birthday. He hadn’t come back at all.
He followed the creek upstream, to where six big rocks lay end to end, making a bridge across the stream. If he was careful he could cross without getting his sneakers wet. He’d always wondered if somebody had made the bridge, carried the heavy rocks to the middle of the stream, or if they’d simply been there forever.
On the other side he ran downstream to where the ground got swampy under his feet. He crossed the swamp to the empty house—old, falling down, its windows covered with boards. Under the front porch lived a mother dog and her four puppies. He’d found the puppies when they were just born, silky, mouselike things with pinkish eyes and small, slick heads, snuggled in close to their mother’s belly. He visited them every day.
He ran around to the front of the house. Here, boys,
he called softly. The black puppy, the friendliest one and Charlie’s favorite, came first.
He reached into his pocket for a piece of kibble. The puppy came to him and mouthed it, its moist tongue sliding over his palm.
THE THING to do was make a list. In the past Birdie would write down everything: milk, hamburger meat, potatoes. Her husband would drive her to the A&P and walk down the aisles with her and they would talk about the prices of things; he’d lived on a farm as a boy and knew what was in season. Afterward he’d carry the bags into the house and place cans and boxes on the shelves; she’d separate the Green Stamps the cashier had given her and paste them into books. She had saved Green Stamps for years, redeemed them for a carpet sweeper, an egg timer she kept by the stove.
She’d kept busy then. She’d cooked his breakfast. Eggs, she wrote carefully. Bacon. She’d read to the children and made their lunches. Cheese slices. Tomato soup. While the baby slept she would dust or sweep or wash clothes. Oxydol. Clorox bleach. Every few days she’d wash two dozen diapers; the new disposables were too expensive, her husband said. After the laundry she’d start dinner. It seemed impossible, now, that she’d ever done so many things in a day.
Birdie looked at her list, written in wavy letters on the back of an envelope. The ink had begun to smear onto her sweaty hands. The complexity of the plan overwhelmed her: the driving across town, the finding of things in the bright aisles, the carrying of heavy bags from carport to kitchen. She sat for a moment with her head in her hands, her eyes leaking tears.
Jody appeared in the doorway. Whata matter, Mummy?
Birdie rubbed her eyes. Nothing, button.
What did you got on your face?
Birdie peered at her reflection in the toaster. Her eyes seemed too far apart, her face round and flat as a dinner plate. There were splotches of bright blue around the eyes and mouth. She rubbed her face with sweaty fingers. Her hands were spotted blue, as with some rare disease.
It must be this ink pen.
She got to her feet and tossed the pen in the trash. She noticed then that Jody wore nothing but a diaper, and was suddenly ashamed. What kind of mother was she, letting her child run around the house half naked? What if someone should come to the door? What if—she tried to stop the thought, but couldn’t—he should come back?
Let’s get some clothes on you.
She drained her glass and passed through the living room. Charlie had come back and lay sprawled before the television. The children’s room was a true disaster: toys scattered across the floor, tiny socks and underpants, small muddy footprints on the worn yellow carpet. She found Jody a clean sundress and ran a comb through her soft curly hair. She would take her children to the store, where she would locate the items on her list. People did this every day.
Birdie went to the dresser in her bedroom and took the envelope from the bottom drawer. Inside were four twenty-dollar bills, the last of the money her husband had left. She folded one of the bills and tucked it into her pocket.
Charlie,
she called. Turn off the television. We’re going to the store.
THE CAR was sweltering inside. Jody wailed when Birdie placed her on the black vinyl seat.
Hot!
she cried.
I know, button,
said Birdie. Sweat bubbled up from her scalp and trickled down her forehead; she swiped it away with the back of her wrist. She felt a raging thirst. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d driven the car. Weeks? Months? The hood stretched eternally in front of her. She felt like the captain of a large ship. Ahoy, she thought, turning the key in the ignition.
Nothing happened.
It’s just been setting awhile,
she said to Charlie’s serious eyes in the rearview mirror, his father’s eyes watching her. She pumped the gas pedal a few times and turned the key again. The engine sputtered, but wouldn’t turn over.
Goodness,
said Birdie.
Why won’t it go?
said Charlie.
Child, I don’t know.
It was not a complicated operation, starting a car. She couldn’t imagine what she’d done wrong. Again she turned the key and pumped the gas. From somewhere in the back of her head, she heard her husband’s voice: Don’t flood the engine. But it was too late; the car refused to start.
They climbed out of the car. Birdie noticed two bags of garbage waiting at the curb. For the second week in a row, the trash collector had forgotten her house.
We’ll walk to Beckwith’s,
she said. Let me go get my handcart.
She left the children sitting on the stoop. Inside, she took the half bottle of wine from the refrigerator and drained it in several gulps. She located the handcart in the kitchen closet and wheeled it onto the porch.
BECKWITH’S WAS EMPTY that afternoon. The front door was propped open. A ceiling fan stirred up a limp breeze, the sweet dirty smell of baked goods and cigar smoke.
Miz Kimble.
Beckwith nodded from behind the counter. He was a stooped, indoorsy man, his skin and