At Home in Mitford (The Mitford Years)

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Summary: Discover an attitude that could change your life
Review: Illegitimacy, alcoholism, insanity, death, emotional abuse, organ transplants, loneliness, poverty and homelessness--they happen Here in Mitford, so why are Ms. Karon's books so popular as an escape from the miseries of "real" life? I think the answer is this: readers saturated with the dark side, the problem and victim attitude to contemporary life, don't recognize that it's within their power to cast a different light on all that happens. This is what makes Mitford seem like a heavenly retreat from reality--a shift to the view that a loving human community and the presence of God in everyday life can make even the ugliest of life's realities into sources of blessing. It's not that Billy doesn't suffer from the misery of living for 40-odd years with a mentally-ill wife, it's that he and the whole community around him and Rose see her as human, not as a socio-psychological problem. Her oddities are not so much in need of treatment, as of love. It's not that Miss Sadie hasn't been subjected to cruel and unnecessary deprivations of human affection, it's that she goes on loving and giving generously. It isn't that Dooley hasn't been dumped by his alcoholic mother, it's that a loving community can provide homes for its children. In fact, the only "unreal" thing I found in this novel was Dooley's very mild expletives. Find me an eleven-year-old boy today whose worst cuss word is "poop", and I'll give you a dollar! Karon wrote the novel as newspaper episodes, and so it is packed with incident. This loading on of good stories one after another in such a small space of time may test the beliefs of some readers, but having grown up in a small town myself, I know that this isn't fiction, it's observation. Still better, find yourself a church and settle down--whether in Manhattan or Chicago or Mitford, the community of loving friends will likely be there for you. You just have to be able to look at the world with a Mitford point of view.

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Summary: Nice and confortable to read at night
Review: I bought this book when I was visiting the States but a really live in Caracas, Venezuela; South America. I like buying all kinds of books to keep of with my english.I have read this book wich I enjoyed because I recently visited South Carolina wich I beleive is verry close to Mitford. It is a great book to understand and I am looking forward to buy the other ones that fallow Father Tim stroy.

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Summary: Wonderfully warm and witty!
Review: One of the best books I've ever read!! Before I was half way through the book I ordered the other 3 in the series. This book is filled with goodness and grace. Some may think the town and people unrealistic but Mitford can and does exist when people love and care for one another. From the first page I couldn't put it down and it was with a sense of loss that I finished it. I wanted this to be a never ending novel. It is very touching and you can't help reading it and feeling better about yourself and humanity in general. Long live Mitford and Fr. Tim! I'd live there anyday!!!

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Summary: This book is totally refreshing!
Review: Sometimes you just want to read books that do not contain raw sex, raw language, blood flowing, etc. Some reviews talked about it being too sugarery...I think we need this every now and then. It sort of cleanses the spirit. I will read the rest of the series.

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Summary: A wonderful book about life the way we wish it were!
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed all four of the "Mitford" series. Jan Karon makes you feel like you are a part of the little town of Mitford and you come to know each character well. It's a wonderful portrayal of life in small-town America the way it was (or we wish it were) and even if she does get a bit "preachy" at times, the stories are well worth reading; Father Tim, Cynthia and all the rest will become part of your life. Karon writes much in the style of the "Miss Read" books, stories of an English schoolteacher in the Cotswolds. Wonderful reading for a relaxing, non-stressful evening!

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Summary: a joyfilled refreshing look at God "at work"
Review: This first in the Mitford series is a wonderful introduction to characters so real that they made my heart ache with pleasure for people I grew up knowing. Ms Karon's writing reflects a deeply personal spirtual journey. I am grateful that she has chosen to share her "Mitford family" with the rest of us.

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Summary: Gentle, absorbing stories of the lives in a small N.C. town
Review: These books are just a wonderful little time-out from your life. The stories are so affirming and you really do feel like you've dropped into the little town of Mitford,N.C. and you're keeping up with what's going on. It really makes you want to go and find this place and these people. The stories have an "old-fashioned" feel to them but they are set in a contemporary time. I can't wait to see the next novel in the series.(I certainly hope there will be one!)

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Summary: Relaxing
Review: This is the perfect book to wind-down with. At the end of a long day full of stress and chaos I can hardly wait to curl up with this book and take an enchanting trip to Mitford. I feel as though, if I were not so enthralled with the story, that I could call on Father Tim and tell him my troubles while Barnabus snoozes with his head on my foot. Thank goodness for uncomplicated, soul satisfying reading when you need it.

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Summary: Ack! Too wholesome and preachy!
Review: This book is just too nice. And I mean that in the blandest sense of the word. Unrealistic dialogue and unbelievable resolutions to conflict made me put the book down before I was 3 quarters of the way through. I don't mind stories about clergy, but I do mind being preached at.

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Summary: Karon creates a world of intrigue...colorful characters
Review: I must say that I was pleasantly surprised when I first started to read J. Karon's first Mitford book. I read the first few pages and I felt trapped in the world of Mitford: a place that I had never heard of, yet, never wanted to leave. The irony of this novel is that as much as I thought of Mitford as a Utopia (and still do), it seems to be full of real problems faced by one and all. I highly suggest this book for a wonderfully detailed story. She does a fantastic job in indulging you with the humorous life and times of Father Tim and the rest of Mitford's inhabitants. A superb opener for a series!

Phil