Iodine and A Girl Named Zippy

I was introduced to author Haven Kimmel over spring break, when I went to hear Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors) in conversation with her at the Carolina Theater.  Kimmel (who lives in Durham) and Burroughs are good friends and their unique connection made for a hilarious and intimate experience.  Mostly, though, I was struck by Kimmel’s (to put it simply)…weirdness.  Quirky, offbeat statements are what she’s made of, and that mixed with a strange wit, a huge appetite for research, a Quaker upbringing, and an insatiable need to write make for a very interesting, unique lady.  She came across as a little bit crazy, and I mean that in an entirely good way.

 So, I decided to read something she’s written.  I started with Iodine because Augusten Burroughs said during the conversation that it is the best thing she’s written.  (It is also the most recent.)  Iodine is a novel about a female college student with an assumed name who lives a secret life as a squatter after running away from an abusive mother and the father that she is in love with (yes…that kind of love) but who refused her advances (It’s not at all as provocative as it sounds).  Her real name is Trace but her name at college is Ianthe, and it is Ianthe who falls in love with her professor and begins a relationship with him.  In the meantime, Trace is unpacking the psychological damage caused by her abusive upbringing.   

 I was unprepared for how confusing this book was going to be.  It switches back and forth between Trace’s diary/dream and memory journal in first person narration, and third person narration following Trace/Ianthe.  Though I teach my students to question the veracity of first person narrators, I forgot to follow my own advice, and it took me about halfway through the book to realize I couldn’t trust anything Trace was saying.  She’s a bit crazy and her memories are all jumbled and repressed.  Once I figured that out, the book made more sense.   Still though, I didn’t love it.  The characters felt distant, the romance strange, and the story unfailingly dark and heavy.  It’s not a bad book; I just didn’t connect with it.  Perhaps if I had more experience with psychological distress?  Not that I’m asking for it.

 Iodine was so weird that I wasn’t sure it accurately represented Haven Kimmel’s work, so I decided to try again.  I decided it was sign from Heaven (not really) when I found A Girl Named Zippy at a thrift store for 50 cents on the same day I finished Iodine.  Zippy is Kimmel’s memoir of her childhood in tiny Mooreland, Indiana.  It was less strange, less heavy, more humorous, and much more enjoyable.  Kimmel narrates her memories in first person, looking back on her childhood, but preserving much of the voice of an naive child.  It is a mostly lighthearted story that still touches on some of the imperfections and problems in her town and her family. Kimmel comes across as a extroverted, mischievous and accepting child.  She, happily, does not comment on the impact or importance of her experiences, but lets her memories speak for themselves.  It is an often funny and sometimes touching book, the way a childhood memoir should be. 

If you want to check out Haven Kimmel, start with A Girl Named Zippy.