Haigh does bring the separate stories of the three wives of Ken Kimble together as they are bound together by the two children of his first marriage to Birdie, Charlie and Jody, and there is a full circle structure back around to the beginning of the novel where Ken is found dead in his car.
Overall, it is an interesting story of a man as seen through the eyes of his wives, and it does have some depth of character disply of the three women and in particular, his son Charlie. How their lives are affected by the rather distant and selfish Kimble is reflected in their own images of themselves, but I felt that they were all a little too easily fooled by the man.
It was a fairly enjoyable read, but without the depth of underlying story offered by the more literary fiction efforts of those like Steinbeck, McCarthy, Faulkner or Marquez. While Haigh certainly carries the story along, there is no great revelation of the nature of mankind, nor even any real insight into the character of Ken Kimble. No statement on the state of humanity, or the willingness of women to fall for a smooth talking man is left with the reader, but then, this is not a requirement of the fictional novel. It is simply a well-enough written story.
My next read may lead me to once again pick up the next McCarthy in my pile.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology