Mrs. Kimble

I couldn't decide between two or three stars for this book. I decided on three because the book did hold my attention enough that I read it quickly, in spite of how frustrated I was.

Birdie Kimble has to be one of the most annoying characters I have encountered in all my reading. I'm not sure if Haigh meant for her to come across this way or if she wanted the readers to feel sorry for Birdie because her husband has abandoned her and she just can't cope. I had trouble feeling sorry for the alcoholic mother that neglects her children all because her husband has jumped ship. It happens. You still have to be a mother. Put on your big girl panties and get on with your life.

I liked Joan quite a bit more, but was still amazed by how easily she fell in with Ken. Seems she shouldn't have been taken so easily by him after her past relationships and all that she had been through in her life. It's not as if he was some otherworldly creature capable of hypnotizing these women and making them fall in love with them. He was only a man.

Dinah, I felt sorry for as a wife and a mother. Realizing what her husband was made me feel sorry for her, but ultimately she found her happiness.

All of Ken's children, especially Charlie, I did like and found them all to be well-written characters. The book could've been better, especially if Haigh had given us a reason WHY Ken Kimble did the things he did. Not a great book, not a bad book, but a book that's okay to read if you want to kill some time.

Mrs. 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.