Loved it.Now that I have gotten over my reading slump, that I started the year with, I am really doing well.I read this book in less than a week. I am enjoying this author's writing and this series very much. I don't know why I didn't know about this series earlier, but I am glad I do now.There is some romance but it is not central or overdone. The plot is GREAT! The characters are endearing and wonderful and I wish I could live in this little town. Father Tim really gets in some 'pickles' in this book. It is fun to see how he gets himself out and who he goes to for help and counsel for difficulties in his own life. So many people go to their pastor for help and counsel, who does the pastor trust to counsel him.Here is my favorite part of this book... "In the language of food, there were casseroles, and there were casseroles. Most were used to comfort the sick or inspire the downhearted. But certain others, in his long experience, were so filled with allure and innuendo that they ceased to be Broccoli Cheese Delight intended for the stomach and became arrows aimed straight for the heart." pg 4 "Crab cobbler! One of his favorites. He stared in wonder at the dozen flaky homemade biscuits poised on the bed of fresh crabmeat and fragrant sauce. Perhaps, he thought with sudden abandon, he should give Edith Mallory a ring this very moment and express his thanks. As he reached for the phone, he realized what he was doing--he was placing his foot squarely in a bear trap. He hastily clamped the lid on the steaming dish. 'You see?' he muttered darkly. 'That's the way it happens.' Where casseroles were concerned, one must constantly be on guard." pg 4-5LOLToo funny.It is amazing what can be a temptation to a clergyman... especially a bachelor one.
Library copy. Have looked forward to reading this since finishing At Home in Mitford. Do you find yourself smiling when you read this series? I do. Now that's a good read :-) This second in the Mitford series by Jan Karon did not disappoint. Ready to jump into book three! There's really nothing to say about the book, other than I highly recommend that you read it, if you haven't already. Even if you have, as a number of people have told me, it's time to read them again.Small town life, real life problems and personalities, real faith in a personal God, real colorful characters, old, young, in-between, sane and not-so-sane, a marvelous dog named Barnabus, and a published cat named Violet, not-so-marvelous. Plenty of action, plenty of conversation, plenty of aha moments. I especially enjoyed the description and history of Miss Sadie's ballroom ceiling.This book is packed with good stuff about Father Tim and the ways he cares for people. His opinion of himself is in great contrast to what he does. That is a good part of what makes this a great book. That woven together with many other threads.I did wonder about the mention of Percy and Velma's youngest grandchild waving a fly swatter over the orange marmalade cake (p.368), since they had a new grand baby a month or so previous :-)What are your favorite moments in Mitford?
What do You think about A Light In The Window (2005)?
Father Tim is the rector of Mitford, a small town packed with personality. The recently widowed Edith Mallory has got her sights set on him, confirmed bachelor that he is, as her next conquest. Meanwhile, his attempts at a relationship with his lovely neighbor Cynthia seem to be slowly gaining ground. And that's just his personal life! He's got his 12-year-old foster child, Dooley, to look after, a church building project, parishioners to counsel, and of course, the weekly sermon to write. Karon's style reminds me of L.M. Montgomery's Anne books: heartwarming stories of everyday people facing the problems of their lives with hope and humor.
—Linnae
What I learned from this book: It's me, not you. I am the one who is impatient. I am the one who is unable to find any sort of humor in innocent misunderstandings or mistaken identities. (This also explains why I'm not a fan of French farce.) I have proven to myself this year that I am indeed capable of enjoying stories that don't involve other-worldly creatures or kick-butt crime-solving or alternate realities (those would be the Maisie Dobbs books and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society), but I find myself unable to commit to you, dear Mitfordians.Again, please forgive me. It is definitely me, not you. There are thousands, probably millions, of readers who will love you and treasure you for all that you are. Because you are a decent, hard-working and pleasant story. But you don't need me and my unreasonable expectations of action and directness and adventure.Can we still be friends?
—Tracy
While I have no doubt that I am not going to read the whole series, I picked up two when I was at the library and the second dutifully begins where the first leaves off. Someone commented that these are the types of books which little old ladies read when they feel like they can put their collective noses into other people's affairs. If one hasn't read these books, that's a pretty good assessment, which is to say that it is totally incorrect. While Jan Karon has a huge following, no doubt composed in part of little old ladies, these stories are anything but what they appear to be on the outside. While the excitement is of a far more subtle sort, it is extremely human... as well as Christian. Without preaching, it successfully delivers the method of the utmost simplicity, something of which I think our Father would approve. It takes a while to become used to reading these, especially when you are expecting something exciting and dangerous, but what you end up with is that people are real and they solve their issues in very real ways. These are funny, inviting and joyful books of the Christian faith, and without too much of a stretch, I would probably say that they were inspired also. They are works of grace and beauty also, but that takes a while to see, if you are a complicated person with a complicated life. It makes you wonder why we made our lives so complex in the first place...and what we missed when we did so.
—Rhonda
