Rating: 
Summary: Better than most debuts, but still lacking in parts...
Review: I'm still in the middle of this novel, but I wanted to write a quick review before I forgot. Basically, Haigh has chosen an interesting twist on American domestic suburbia. She fattens up each short passage with plenty of realistic imagery- none of this "sparse prose" that alienates readers. I like that Haigh took chances with her descriptions and I think her style is elegant. If you enjoyed The Hours by Michael Cunningham, you might enjoy Mrs. Kimble. (Might.)My problems so far are with the dialogue, which I agree is stilted in places, and the opening of the novel. Birdie's story wasn't at all what I expected for an opening- the repetition of her lush non-existence, the neglect of her pitiful and intelligent children left me wondering if I would find anyone in the story to connect with. Sometimes the details of their daily existence are downright tedious. Overall, I'm glad I stuck with the book and I hope to finish it in the coming week. I've been so disenchanted with what's coming out of the MFA programs these past few years that I'm glad to have finally found such a book I can recommend to my friends.
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: An Amazing Book!
Review: Jennifer Haight has written one spellbinding, debut novel, MRS. KIMBLE. Ken Kimble, handsome and charming, appears to be a dream-come-true for the three women he marries. However, each Mrs. Kimble discovers in time he's a con man. Throughout the span of the story each becomes disillusioned at his distant nature and solitary pursuits. As we become more acquainted with Birdie, Joan, and Dinah, we feel sympathy for them. They are real; Ken is hazy. Also the book is an intriguing study about men, women, and marriage.
Rating:
Summary: A reader from Olympia
Review: Mrs. Kimble is a compelling readable novel about a chameleon of a man who seduces and marries three very different women. Although this was an enjoyable read, I felt the characters lacked depth. Ken Kimble's motivation for being so smarmy is never explained or understood. More troubling than that was how easily he seemed to charm these women. I found his second wife's sudden conversion from investigative reporter to smitten wife who only scratched the surface of her husbands dearth of history especially unbelievable. Surely breast cancer isn't an excuse for loosing all insight. Still a very pleasant read that will make beer bellied honest husbands everywhere look good.
Rating: 
Summary: A great debut novel!
Review: Mrs. Kimble is a very enjoyable read. My test of a good book is when I continue to think about the characters long after I have finished the book. I think Ken Kimble will definitely meet that criteria. I found the characters to be quite interesting and well developed, but it would have been interesting to have had a bit more insight into what made Ken Kimble tick. I look forward to reading more of Jennifer Haigh's books as she clearly has talent.
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!
Rating:
Summary: Original Ideas, Intriguing Characters
Review: Mrs. Kimble is full of intrigue and originality. We are able to witness the same man, a man who is best described as uncommon, through the eyes of each of his three wives. Collectively, they make up most of his adult life. Each of the women are complex within themselves and their situations and hopefulness ignite compassion in the reader throughout. I agree that some of the circumstances were a little too unbelievable in the real world. Sometimes, it is very hard to believe why the characters seem to do what they do, and Jennifer Haigh never really seems to explain why either. Nonetheless, it is an interesting read if you have already read the phenomenal books of today. You might want to first spend your money on a book called Lucky Monkeys In The Sky by a fairly unknown author named Michele Geraldi. I tell everyone that it is the best novel I have read in at least a decade, and I still don't seem to hear much about it. Believe me, it is a very very compelling novel. When you are done with that novel (probably after reading it ten times like I did) then I would move on to novels like Mrs. Kimble. It is a good book to resort to, but not really a book that will change you.
Rating:
Summary: Author needed some fact checking
Review: OK, yes the book was entertaining, but it always irritates me when I find factual errors. Case in point: Joan and the children travel to Disney World after breakfast and return on the SAME DAY before dinner. It is approx. 4 hours from the Miami area to Disney, 4 hours back. They wouldn't have had time to stand in one line.
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: Brilliant and then some
Review: The honest and pure nature of this writing will render you helpless. You will have no choice but to submit to the energy of this prose. Haigh's writing is so powerful it is, frankly, unsettling. How can she know so much about the things we wish to keep unknown? The things we spend our entire lives hiding or wondering about. Haigh simply slips insider our soul and lays it out before us. Please allow me to say, "Wow." You'll do the same.
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