A New Song (The Mitford Years)

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Summary: Another great book!
Review: Another great book as usual! Too bad there aren't more books like her's. Don't we all wish we lived in Mitford! Great Bible quotes, great friendships and a little love splashed in somewhere!

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Summary: Another Great Mitford Read~
Review: Every time I open another Mitford book, it is like going home again. As always, Karon paints a picture of comfort, quaintness, and pure delight in her town and all of it's characters.

In this fifth installment, Father Tim and Cynthia are headed to Whitecap, a little island on the coast where Father Tim will serve as an interim pastor in this new town. Here you will meet a new set of characters, as Father Tim & Cynthia meet the community of Whitecap. Beloved Mitford is still in the picture, as were are kept up to speed with its goings-on, as everyone from Emma to Dooley call in to check on Tim & Cynthia.

As always, Father Tim steps in to help the town of Whitecap with the ups and downs of life that it's members come across while not forgetting about his friends and loved ones back in Mitford. In A New Song, Father Tim will reach out to a town recluse, Morris Love, who lives in the neighboring mansion, next to Dove Cottage, where Father Tim and Cynthia are staying. Cynthia also steps in as a surrogate mom for a brief time, to little Jonathan, who's mother is recovering from an emotional breakdown. As the stories unfold, you'll find yourself loving the new set of townsfolk, and continuing to love the old ones. Of course, the ending of A New Song, leaves you wanting for more~

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Summary: A New Song
Review: Father Tim Kavanaugh, the longtime rector of Lord's Chapel in Mitford, has at last retired. After a few months of relaxing with his lovely wife, his bishop asks him to serve as an interim pastor of a small chapel on Whitehead Island. Knowing that this isn't the bishop's bright idea, but God's, Tim eagerly takes on the challenge.

After drawn-out goodbyes in Mitford - and many parishoners trying to convince him to stay - Tim and Cynthia head to Whitecap. Of course, even the way there isn't easy, as the couple hits a downpour in their convertible, and faces a washed-out bridge. Once they arrive, they begin to enter into island life, which is both a new and different kind of life, and yet similar, than that they were accustomed to in Mitford.

Tim faces similar challenges from those he knew as a Mitford pastor - a single mother's bout with depression, petty fighting amongst his parish, and a recluse neighbor's need for prayer. Yet, there are new challenges on Whitecap too, particularly when a hurricane strikes the people in a profound way.

A New Song is an interesting installment to Jan Karon's series chroniciling the life of Tim and Cynthia, and yet was not as satisfying as some of her other books. I missed the cast of characters from Mitford, but did not grow very attached to any of the new townspeople from Whitecap.

What was more present than in many of the other books was Father Tim's personal relationship with God, and how much he craved that relationship for his parishoners. While religion has, of course, come into the other books; in this book it seemed far more personal. Father Tim considered himself tethered far more closely to God on his island home, rather than tethered to the earth, as he was in the mountains. He seems to listen more closely to God, praying in ways that would surely seem foolish to others, particularly for his next-door neighbor. His celebrations of the liturgy are also more moving, whether they are done at the home of a shut-in, or at a homecoming for his new chapel.

All in all, this book is sure to be required reading for all followers of the Mitford books.

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Summary: A New Song is a breath of fresh air
Review: Good for Father Tim and Cynthia. Cynthia finally got Father Tim to venture out beyond the great town of Mitford! They didn't get off to the best start with the massive storm on the way to their new home, but all turned out good. Poor Johnathan gets a wonderful loving home while the town takes care of his mommy and I think that was probably my favorite part. I loved how Cynthia, not being a mom herself did such a wonderful job with a sad little boy who wants nothing but his mommy back. This book had such heart to it. A very good read.

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Summary: Best Book Since Her First One
Review: My wife and I have read each of Karon's Mitford books aloud to each other over the past few years. I enjoyed this book more than I had the previous two in the series. I think that the new locale and the fresh characters really breathed new life into the series. I know from book blurbs that the next installments of the series will be returning to Mitford. I almost wish the author would spend another book in Whitecap, the setting of this book.

Mitford is not abandoned; some storylines continue, including those of Buck Leeper and Dooley Barlowe. But Whitecap Island and its residents have a distinctness that whetted my appetite for more. There was a pleasing authenticity to the descriptions of the island community, and I enjoyed discovering it alongside Father Tim. From 'Ernie's Books Bait, & Tackle' to St. John's in the Grove, this is a fascinating place to visit. In St. John's, Father Tim is introduced to church politics of quite a different sort from his experience with the Mitford church. And the conversations in Ernie's shop are some of the best dialogue Karon has written.

If there is one disappointment for me with this book, it is that Karon couldn't resist the temptation to resolve a neat ending for the Jeffrey Tolson character. Sometimes it's better to let the readers speculate about the fate of secondary characters, and I think this was a perfect case for just that sort of a vague or unstated ending.

If anyone wondered whether the author had enough creativity to go beyond Mitford, I think this book provides an affirmative answer. In my opinion this is the best book since her first one (_At Home in Mitford_)

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Summary: Another Mitford Goody!
Review: Recently retired after years of serving as the rector of Lord's Chapel, Father Tim is going to agree to pastor a small parish off the Atlantic coast. There's one big problem though: How can he and Cynthia leave the town, and the boy they love?

Soon however, the charming island of Whitecap rveals its own cast of unforgettable characters. There is a lovelorn bachelor trying his hand at personal ads, a church organist with a past,a gifted musician who never ventures beyond his gate for some reason or other, and a young mom who struggles terribly with paralyzing depression.

Mitford is never far from Father Tim and Cynthia's mind-especailly when Dooley gets in some trouble with the law.

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Summary: Gentle soap opera
Review: The series are all gentle soap operas which are non-offensive to all readers. Nothing to be embarrassed about sharing with your mother. I liked this one the best because the main character and his wife get to go somewhere new. Whitecap sounded like a great place to spend some time and the townfolk were funny and likeable. Too bad the Pastor moves back to Mitford in the next book(s).

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Summary: BEST OF THE SERIES!!!
Review: This was my favorite Mitford book of all. I loved the new town of Whitecap and the new parishioners Father Tim comes to know. I couldn't stop reading this one and I can't really say that about the other 4 although I do love them all. Karon's characters are so real - they are people you know! I was very intrigued by Jeffrey Tolson's character and disappointed that Ms. Karon never really resolved his situation with his wife and with Father Tim and the rest of the congregation. I would like to have heard Jeffrey's side of the story and learned more about why his wife was so severly depressed (was her depression a cause of her husband's infidelity or was the infidelity the cause of the depression - we never find out).... Even with these faults, the book is a joy. As an Episcopalian myself I never fail to recognize the characters in Father Tim's congregation and even more so this time as I grew up on an island much like Whitecap. A friend of mine who read the book was let down that the Kavanaughs had left Mitford but I thought it brought a freshness to the series. I would love to read more about Whitecap!

Pam Funk

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Summary: very unplausible stories
Review: With each passing book, the story lines seem to get thinner and thinner, which is why, I suppose, Karon decided to uproot the preacher and his wife and move them to an island 600 miles away from Mitford. A change of scenery to introduce some new people and stories. Still, it seems the main character spends most of his time either praying or saying "consider it done." The characters seem to lack depth and almost everyone is perfect. And the people who aren't perfect still get to have happy endings. The things that make for a good story - a character who wants something and is trying to get it against all odds, a plot that has a climax, a believable antagonist and protagonist, etc. - are lacking in this book.