The Solace of Leaving Early by
Haven Kimmel
If You Can't Be Bothered To Think, Don't Bother With This Novel
Using small-town life as a springboard to explore the loftiest of ideas,
Haven Kimmel’s irresistibly smart and generous first novel is at once a
romance and a haunting meditation on grief and faith. Langston
Braverman returns to Haddington, Indiana (pop. 3,062) after walking out
on an academic career that has equipped her for little but lording it over
other people. Amos Townsend is trying to minister to a congregation that
would prefer simple affirmations to his esoteric brand of theology.
What draws these difficult—if not impossible—people together are two
wounded little girls who call themselves Immaculata and Epiphany. They
are the daughters of Langston’s childhood friend and the witnesses to her
murder. And their need for love is so urgent that neither Langston nor
Amos can resist it, though they do their best to resist each other. Deftly
walking the tightrope between tragedy and comedy, The Solace of Leaving

Early is a joyous story about finding one’s better self through accepting the
shortcomings of others.
Personal Review: The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel
I loved this novel! Recommended, and lent, by a friend of my wife's who
lamented, "I wish I could have conversations like this," Haven Kimmel did
not disappoint. I was wowed, and found myself constantly torn between
not wanting to stop reading, but having to stop reading to reflect on what
she had just written.
One reviewer decried the fact that this novel may have been (based on
comments in her acknowledgements) birthed by Kimmel's unrealized
desire to write a doctoral dissertation on a related subject. Why not use a
novel as a vehicle to explore the complex and interwoven tapestry of
literature, theology, philosophy and art? In fact, I think it's freaking brilliant
to take the stuff of doctor's theses and share it via novel. Who reads
doctors' theses other than doctoral candidates? Maybe we'd all get better
exposed to high-quality thinking if more authors latched on to Kimmel's
idea.
Not all novels have to be fluff, junk food for the soul, light beach reading
(hey, I enjoy my light reading, too). It's perfectly okay that Kimmel
departed from (apparently, since I haven't read anything else from her--yet)
her norm with this work. Perhaps, when I read more of her stuff, I will be
as disappointed with what I perceive as a step down as many of the
reviewers here seem disappointed with her stepping her work up
intellectually. If you want light, literary pabulum, this book is not for you.
Perhaps if you have a PhD in theology, literature, or philosophy, this book
might be far too simplistic. However, if you're intellectually curious, and
prone to stopping in the middle of a book to further explore some tangent,
then this book is for you.
Some reviewers have labeled the characters and conversations
implausible. Au contraire! I'd characterize them both as intriguing and
extraordinary. Her dialog is rich and inviting. Others have criticized this
book as an indictment of small town America. Again, far from it! In her
work, Kimmel depicts well the depth and substance which belies
conventional wisdom regarding rural communities.
Reading Kimmel's book inspired me to order two additional books from
Amazon (three, if you count buying my own copy of this book) and to
spend a few hours surfing the net in search of more information about
some of the concepts Kimmel introduced me to. If you measure a book by
the impact it has on your thinking, the impression which lingers a week
later, The Solace of Leaving Early scores high.
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