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One man, three very different wives, alcoholism, cancer, financial improprieties and disgruntled children. If that doesn't sound like the plot of any number of Lifetime Television movies, then I'm a monkey's uncle. MRS. KIMBLE, the debut novel from Jennifer Haigh, does indeed contain all of these plot points, but luckily is far more than the sum of the rather sordid parts.
The aforementioned man, Ken Kimble, has a highly developed ability to appeal to women. He marries his first wife, Birdie, in 1961 when she is 18 and he, the choir director at her bible college, is 32. Little more than a child in age and temperament, Birdie "found city life unsettling; walking alone downtown, the sheer volume of faces intimidated her. She rarely left the house." Eight years and two children later, he dumps her and takes up with a young coed. The first section of the book details Birdie's descent into alcoholism and startling child neglect. Although we do get a few glimpses of Ken in this first section, it is only in flashback --- the point of view is entirely Birdie's. I found this an interesting choice on Haigh's part, as it makes the reader predisposed to hate Ken. Not that I'm taking the side of the serial philanderer, but some insight into his behavior, from his perspective, would have made a meatier and more complex novel.
The relationship between Ken and the coed doesn't play out (surprise, surprise) and he moves on and in with Joan Cohen. Joan is a Newsweek reporter --- a hard-driving career woman who is truly ahead of her time, the early 1970's. Reeling from a diagnosis of breast cancer and her father's death, Joan seriously questions her life choices, the lack of family and children. This vulnerability makes her easy prey for Ken who has by this time morphed into a Jewish gardener with an ambition to sell real estate. Haigh does a good job in making Joan believable, strong and vulnerable at the same time. Joan, along with the help of an elderly uncle, helps Ken launch his career. Their relationship grows very quickly. Joan's mastectomy and the relatively unenlightened views of breast cancer in the late 1960's could have something to do with her willingness to dive into this relationship. The marriage quickly turns rocky, especially as Joan's cancer returns.
Fast forward a decade or so and we meet up again with Ken, this time with his third wife, who is 25 years his junior. Dinah, the third Mrs. Kimble, had at one time been a babysitter for Ken and Birdie and a chance encounter leads to a relationship. Similar to the other two Mrs. Kimbles, Dinah also has a gaping vulnerability, a huge birthmark that covers most of her face. Ken, by this time quite wealthy, helps her to have it removed and they soon marry. Ken plays more of a role in this third section, although we still don't get much of an idea of what is motivating this behavior. The other characters, the wives and Ken's three children, are all fleshed out and complex. Ken, on the other hand, is seen more as an object of their well-deserved venom than as a real person. The short chapters and rapid dialogue make MRS. KIMBLE a fast-paced and largely enjoyable read, certainly several notches above your average Lifetime movie.
--- Reviewed by Shannon Bloomstran
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