Rating: 
Summary: A differing view
Review: Haigh's novel is frustrating and uneven. It is not enough to claim that Ken Kimble's underdevelopment as a character is mere device -- Haigh is trying too hard here to make Ken unlikable and mysterious, and in doing so she prevents the reader from empathizing with his three wives. It does not seem possible that each of these complex characters would give themselves up to an entirely two-dimensional mate. I did not read this novel as an illustration of the common relationship mistakes that women make (I refuse to rely on that hackneyed trope to explain the novel's shortcomings) -- I read it as an exercise in crafting scene. And Haigh is a superior scene crafter. But most of the characters in "Mrs. Kimble" are developed to wildly differing degrees, and this uneveness makes for an unsatisfying sustained reading experience. Also, the often stilted dialogue exchanged between these characters betrays Haigh's rich depiction of their inner lives. One final quibble -- the novel's ending is far too pat. Sophisticated stories to not tie themselves into such neat packages. LIFE does not neaten itself thusly. Given the ambition of the novel's scope, I expected much more from its denouement. I will allow that Haigh is a very skilled and commanding writer. Her sentences are clean and her prose is evocative, intelligent, and exact. But I do not yet find her a novelist.
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging story
Review: I received this audiobook as a gift and I kept my walkman headphones glued to my head until the end. Comfortably written, great descriptions, interesting characters (although Mr Kimble was more of a mystery than a man), and nicely read by Martha Plimpton. I enjoyed how the three very different women's lives were intertwined not only by being married to the mystery man, but also by the children. I was pleased that there was a somewhat pleasant ending for the survivors and they weren't all completely splintered by the man.
Rating:
Summary: Slow
Review: The benefit to this book is that you can read it before falling asleep at night and not worry that you've missed something. The downfall is it's too slow, there's no real development of the story - I felt as if facts were just being laid out, one after the other. On the other hand, I think this author has a great way with words and is very descriptive.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I simply could not put this book down. I can't wait for Jennifer's Haigh's next novel. Well done!
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Enjoyable Read
Review: For a first novel, this was an excellent book. There were a few gaps that I would like to have seen filled in (such as Mr. Kimble's past) but overall I thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly the female characters. I'm looking forward to Ms. Haigh's next book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: This 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 consuming novel. I hope that future books by Jennifer Haigh are as well done as this one.
Rating:
Summary: Sparkling debut
Review: 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).
Rating:
Summary: absolutely amazing
Review: This book is great, I am surprised it was a debut from a writer who looks so young, because her understanding of the perspective of women of various ages and backgrounds was stunning. The book is broken into separate time periods, the first centers in Birdie, the first Mrs. Kimble, immediately after her husband runs off with a student at the college where he works. She has two small children (the story is partially told by the 10-year-old boy, Charlie) and has never worked before. now she must support the little family while trying to hold herself together. The second focuses on Joan, a career woman in her late 30s struggling with a family history of breast cancer when she meets Mr. Kimble. The last is about Dinah, who once babysat the Kimble children for Dinah. She runs into Mr. Kimble overa decade after she first met him in Washington, DC, after she drops out of her first semester at American University. The story is told only from the perspective of the various wives and children of Mr. Kimble, never from Mr. Kimble himself. This is a great plot device because the man is so unknowable to anyone, even to his own family. It is a sad book, very true to life and all through it, I had to wonder what kind of man could leave so many hurt people in his wake, with the uncomfortable knowledge that some men do indeed exist.
Rating:
Summary: Three very different women marry the same enigmatic man
Review: A great first novel despite its shortcomings, Mrs. Kimble is almost three separate novellas about three different women who marry the same enigmatic man, Ken Kimble. There's young, impressionable Birdie, who becomes a dysfunctional drunk unable to raise Charlie and Jody, her two kids, when Ken leaves her for a college student. And then we have Joan, a savvy single woman who somehow succumbs to Ken's charms and stays married to him until she dies of breast cancer. Lastly, there's Dinah, who used to baby sit for Jody and Charlie. The stories of these women seemed to flow so effortlessly; the wives were very well drawn characters. That said, there was a major flaw: Mr. Kimble himself. There was no back story, no explanation of why he was so disconnected and unfeeling, or exactly what about him was so irresistible to women, particularly intelligent ones like Joan and Dinah. Kimble remains as enigmatic to the reader as he does to the women he marries. He seems like such a blank character that it is hard to imagine anyone falling for him. Very rarely did I see any qualities that would endear him to women, or keep them standing loyally by him. It was all rather depressing, really, to think these women loved this man and he was so cold and distant and unknowable, especially to his children. It was nice, at the end of the book, to see that at least one Mrs. Kimble and Mr. Kimble's children, had finally found a little happiness.
Rating:
Summary: Mrs. Kimble
Review: Mrs. Kimble is an insightful mix of the human desire for love, the effects we have on one another's lives, and how those that desire to take advantage can so easily do so through exploiting the need we all have for that love. During my reading there were times I had to set it down and come back the next day because I was unsettled by the all-to-human thought processes of the three Mrs. Kimbles- I saw myself at times. One of the things I took from Mrs. Kimble was a better understanding of how gullibility can allow us to walk into life-time mistakes. It is a colorful story of relationships and the ways we deal with life's major let downs. It is a book that can make us stronger by showing us how others deal with life situations. It is an intimate look at the lives and dreams of three women and the man that didn't flinch at using them up for his own needs. A good smooth read!
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