Used World

I loved the female characters in this book and their relationships with each other, and I was glad to reconnect with Amos (from THE SOLACE OF LEAVING EARLY). The more Haven Kimmel I read, the more I associate the word "redemptive" with her. Her characters have messy lives, but they manage to find their way, however imperfectly, to something fine, something good, something worth living for. It's true (as some reviewers have pointed out), that the story isn't completely linear and includes some digressions, but I like a book that keeps me on my toes.

Once in a while you read a book that's so multi-layered and absorbing, you just don't want to let it go when it's finished. "The Used World" is one of those books. Other reviewers have said that they finished this book and started straight over again at the beginning, and I can see why: you have the feeling that it's so full of riches, you haven't done it justice with one read. "The Used World" follows the threads of three women's stories and binds them together into an unexpected and unusual present. Everything you assume about love and family is shaken up and reinvented. Hazel Hunnicutt, a woman in her sixties who lives alone with her cats, is the proprietor of the Used World Emporium, a warehouse-and-barn full of wares carrying the weight of the past. In flashbacks we learn of Hazel's love for her childhood friend Finney, a girl full of light and fun. The story of Finney's self-destructive love and its sad outcome are an undercurrent to Hazel's present. Hazel's employees are Claudia and Rebekah. Claudia, forty years old and mourning the death of her mother, is a freakishly tall woman forever disenfranchised from the joys others take for granted. The younger Rebekah is a refugee from a fundamentalist church, disowned by her family, pregnant by an immature young man who left her for a college girl. Into this mix come a baby, a dog, a gentler church, some wild sisters, and the unbearable weight of past intentions and actions. Though the redemptive outcome of all these forces is never assured, ultimately there is the chance for more peace than these women have known in their troubled lives. They don't get there easily, but they do get there. The story is simple but the structure complex, the writing magical. The characters, including the cast of supporting players, are so finely drawn that it took my breath away. About baby Oliver who had kicked his blanket over his head, Kimmel writes: "... Oliver had become so distressed he'd kicked his blanket up over his head. 'What a problem,' Claudia said, uncovering him and lifting him up, his little body still such a surprise in her hands. How could something so insubstantial bear within it Oliver's nature, his character, everything that would compel him into adulthood?" These three women spent much of their lives on the outside looking in, an isolation Kimmel illustrates again and again with scenes that ring so true. About the young Hazel visiting her friend Finney's family on Christmas Day: "What a treasure they were, these people for whom cakes collapsed, sleepy, normal people who worked hard and loved their daughter, and knew how to take a holiday off and spend it. They SPENT Christmas Day, like a bonus check or a tax return, while at the sterile Hunnicutt Clinic shoes were always worn; sleeping was a private activity conducted only at night, in a bedroom; and everything was hoarded -- money and joy alike." The dramas of this book, past and present, are woven together with the everyday busine

Haven Kimmel has created an everytown in Jonah, Indiana. You feel its deep, rich history as you see it through the eyes of its three main characters. Hazel, the owner of The Used World Emporium, a secondhand store and her two employees, Rebekah, the young and dumped daughter of a cult member, and Claudia, the big, strong 40-ish misfit may be nothing like you, but you will still wish they were your friends. On the surface, these women live simple, even boring lives in a mundane small town. But, as you read, you'll uncover layers of intrigue and you'll want to discover what makes them tick and how they will react to the challenges they face. This book is anything but preachy, but you will totally feel Kimmel's seminary attendance in the thorough and compelling religious influence. Claudia and Rebekah both wrestle with questions of faith and church. Claudia's pastor, Amos, is another character you'll wish you knew. I'd buy him a cup of coffee, myself. If you are looking to read something that gives you a glimpse behind the curtain of our public personas, read this book.

"The Used World" is one of the best novels I've read in a long time. The key to enjoying Haven Kimmel's work is to let her stories take their time. Yes, this is difficult in these days of so much to do, not to mention the need for instant gratification! I was ready to give up on "The Solice of Leaving Early" about 50 pages into it because I couldn't figure out who was who and what was going on. However, I decided to stick with it, and it was well worth it. Both "The Used World" and "The Solice of Leaving Early" provide a payout to those take their time to savor these wonderful stories.

The many worlds of Haven Kimmel run together in this blindingly beautiful book about the friendship of women. I've read her books all many times, can't wait to read this one all over again to catch the nuances I missed the first time through. THanks Haven!