Mrs. Kimble (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)
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Product Description
Review
‘A luminous debut novel…with memorable, vibrant characters, that will have wide appeal.’ Booklist
‘The measured prose and care for detail show a promising talent.’ Kirkus Reviews
‘This moving novel explores questions of love and loss – the first, second and third time around.’ Glamour
‘Each Mrs Kimble comes tantalizingly alive thanks to the author’s considerable gift for conjuring up a character with the tiniest of details.’ Washington Post
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.Product Description
Covering a span of twenty five years, Mrs Kimble tells the story of three women married in succession to the same man – a charismatic opportunist named Ken Kimble. Told from the perspective of each Mrs Kimble, it offers a mesmerising look at how three very different women become accomplices in their own deception.
We see Ken Kimble through the eyes of the women he seduces: his first wife, Birdie, who struggles to hold herself together in the months following his desertion; his second wife, Joan, a lonely heiress recovering from personal tragedy, who sees in Kimble her last chance at happiness; and finally Dinah, a beautiful but damaged woman half his age. Woven throughout is the story of Kimble’s son Charlie, whose life is forever affected by a father he barely remembers.
Ken Kimble is able to become, for a while at least, all things to all women. To each of the three Mrs Kimbles, he appears as a hero, to whom powerful needs and nameless longings may be attached. Only later do they glimpse the truth about this elusive, unknowable man.
Each Mrs Kimble is of a different generation, with different expectations of men and of themselves – yet each is able to convince herself that Ken Kimble is what is missing from her life, and pledge herself to a man she barely knows. Mrs Kimble is a meditation on marriage and the illusions upon which it is based.
Beautifully written, stunningly original, this emotionally compelling novel of marriage and illusion marks the debut of an astonishing new literary voice.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What a wonderful read. A reflection on our times with multiple marriages- but taken from the stories of the three wives, an original take. The characterisation of the wives and one of the children is brilliant, although the rest of the characters just exist on the periphery. Although Kem Kimble is a central character we never get to know him or find out why he acts as he does--and it simply doesn't matter! (In any other Book his motivation and personality would be crucial to understanding the story.) Its excellent , read it!
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed this book and could not put it down on my recent holiday to Tenerife. I want to shout about it and tell all my friends how good this book is.
The whole story unwinds page by page as we learn more about the deceptions of Mr Kimble. Absoloutely fantastic. Please read this book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an extremely well written debut novel which tells the story of three women, all of them married to the same man at different times during his life. I felt that it was quite a slow starter, but soon picked up and I became engrossed in the unfolding story.
Ken Kimble is a totally unlikeable character in all ways, he is crude and self-centred but enough of a 'smoothie' to be able to seduce three young, vulnerable women. The story is told in three parts, by each one of his wives in turn. It's so sad to read how women can delude themselves and believe that they are incomplete without a husband, no matter how badly he may treat them.
Full of memorable characters and all tied nicely together towards the end. I'd recommend this one.
Ken Kimble is a totally unlikeable character in all ways, he is crude and self-centred but enough of a 'smoothie' to be able to seduce three young, vulnerable women. The story is told in three parts, by each one of his wives in turn. It's so sad to read how women can delude themselves and believe that they are incomplete without a husband, no matter how badly he may treat them.
Full of memorable characters and all tied nicely together towards the end. I'd recommend this one.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
great read, very entertaining
I actually got this book for 50p from a charity shop and really glad I did.
Really enjoyable read and what a cheat Mr Kimble was!
Really enjoyable read and what a cheat Mr Kimble was!
Published on 13 May 2008 by UK reader
Captivating
I really enjoyed this book. It was captivating from the start. Ken Kimble is a master in the art of seduction, managing to say just the right thing to seduce young, needy women. Read more
Published on 12 April 2008 by Figgy
Beautifully written
My mother and I both enjoyed this book immensely. It's unusual and different. More importantly, it's beautifully written. We will look for more books by this author.
Published on 3 Sep 2005
Phew!!!!!
What a character Mr Kimble was. The three wives led very different lives with him.There is a very deep sadness running through the book, this is the effect he had on his three... Read more
Published on 4 Jun 2004
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