Synopsis

A chameleon, an enigma, all things to all women -- a lifeline to which powerful needs and nameless longings may be attached -- Ken Kimble is revealed through the eyes of the women he seduces: Birdie, his first wife, struggling to hold herself together after his desertion; second wife, Joan, a lonely, tragic heiress who sees her unknowable husband as her last chance for happiness; and Dinah, a beautiful but damaged woman half his age.
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paperback.

In Remembrance of Mcbeth (07/22/1961 - 10/13/2006)

I received this book from her husband.

reserved for pinklady60.

12/03/07: mailed out!

Received in a trade with Carlissa. Thank you!

Trade paperback

Covering several decades from the 1960s to the late 1990s, the book is about Ken Kimble, a man who marries three women, at first appearing to be each woman's ideal, but in turn ruining each of their lives. The women are both weak and strong in their own ways. All three women are looking for something different, yet each convinces herself that Ken Kimble is what’s missing from her life. A great character study of each of the wives, but we never really know the elusive and deceptive Kimble, because we see him through the eyes of his wives and children.

The book could be considered a meditation on marriage - - why women hunger for it and what they’re willing to sacrifice in order to have it.

Winner of the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award

RELEASE NOTES:

Sent to kristamd via media mail. I saw it on her wishlist and we arranged a trade.

Arrived today in icy Maryland. Thank you for the trade! Your book was mailed 2/6 and should be arriving shortly for a stay in a warmer clime.

I nearly gave up after 50 pages of unrelenting misery -- the first Mrs. Kimble's descent into alcoholism after her husband's sudden departure. For some reason, I persisted, and ended up getting more out of the book than I thought I would. I never really identified much with any of the wives. Each seemed drawn to Kimble due to some insecurity within themselves, and then completely unfulfilled in their marriages to a man who wouldn't let himself be known. Each women was, in a way, trapped within expectations set by others of what a wife should be. I saw hope for the future generation, though - the Kimble kids seemed to have much more humanity and compassion than their father. I liked the variety of places and time periods described in the book.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I will pass it along or release it soon.