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An Interview with Jennifer Haigh about Mrs. Kimble
How did
producing a full-length novel compare to writing short stories? Was it a
challenge to create three distinct but intertwining narratives for Mrs.
Kimble?
Short
stories are to novels what dating is to a long marriage. A new story is very
exciting; there's a wonderful sense of discovery that comes with inventing and
exploring new characters. Because a novel takes so long to write, you're still
plugging away at it long after the initial glow has faded. Novelists, like
spouses, don't get to start from scratch when the novelty wears off. They're
living with the choices they made days, months, years before.
Is
there a part of you in any of Ken's wives, or in Ken himself?
I identify
with all the characters in the book. More strongly with the wives, but with
Kimble too. Some readers seem to disagree, but I never thought of him as a
sociopath. He is in many ways a very ordinary person. He simply takes what is
given to him.
The
voice with which you narrate Mrs. Kimble is very distinctive; the
sentence structure is honed without being sparse, while your dialogue sounds
casual but almost always carries an emotionally charged subtext. Did this voice
evolve while you were a student in Iowa, or has it always been your vehicle for storytelling?
The
narrative voice of Mrs. Kimble is very much my voice; I think it comes
through in all my work. I aim for precision in the sentences because that's the
sort of writing I admire. I have a great respect for writers who are humble,
whose language allows the reader to see the story but doesn't get in the way.
Language is a window, and if the window is clean, you shouldn't be aware you're
looking through glass.
Do you
consider Mrs. Kimble to be a cautionary tale?
I didn't
intend Mrs. Kimble as a cautionary tale, just a story about life. Then
again, life is instructive; we draw lessons from our own experiences and other
peoples'.
Any
plans for your next novel?
I am now
deep into my next novel. It's like Mrs. Kimble in that it involves a
family and much of the story is set in the past. It's another intimate novel,
showing the insides of people's lives. That's what interests me as a writer.
Private stories, what people think and do and say when they think no one is
watching.
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