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Summary: Audio Edition Not Up to Snuff
Review: As a late-in-coming fan to the MITFORD series, I met the audio book with leaps of joy... after all, hearing the words in the author's own voice is a rare treat! Unfortunately, the abridgement that is so necessary to keep the listening time and cost manageable makes it almost painful for a true fan to hear... you are excruciatingly aware of each and every edited scene, and every cut rankles more and more. Jan Karon is a joy to hear, and the book remains among my favorites, but for my grandmother's Christmas present, I'm looking elsewhere. At least one other audio book producer has all of the MITFORD novels unabridged, and while they're decidedly more costly, it's worth it. Listening to an abridgement of a work like AT HOME IN MITFORD is like drinking flat ginger ale... or like eating at the Grill when Percy ain't cooking!
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Summary: Nothing else quite like this in American literature
Review: If you combine Barbara Pym and E F Benson, throw in a little Garrison Keillor, and then transplant the result down to the American South, you might just get an inkling of what Jan Karon has done in creating the town of Mitford, North Carolina.I haven't encountered anything quite like this town, or anyone quite like its various residents, in all my previous travels in the worlds of literature - but having discovered Mitford and her townsfolk I'm extremely reluctant to leave. Each one of these people is a completely unique character - and boy, do I mean character. There's Father Tim (his last name is Kavanagh, but you won't know that from this book - I only know it from reading the back cover of another book in the series), the rector of the local Episcopalian church. He's the moral and spiritual center of Mitford, as well as one of its leading citizens. He's also been "adopted" by a humongous dog which he names Barnabas. How the dog (or should I say small horse?) meets up with Father Tim is just the starting point of this wonderful book. There's a twelve-year-old boy named Dooley who captures Father Tim's heart, who looks and sounds like he just wandered in from the outskirts of Mayberry. And then there's the good rector's new next-door neighbor, a gorgeous and intelligent dream named Cynthia, who captures his heart in quite a different way. It's rather obvious what road this relationship will be going down, but the resolution won't be appearing in this book (apologies for the spoiler). These are the three main characters in "At Home in Mitford", but there are dozens more that you will undoubtedly adopt into your own literary family.
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Summary: Love this series but there's another...
Review: Love this series but there's another that just astonishes me on how good it is. Try Homer Hickam's "Coalwood" series. Begin with the #1 NY Times best-seller October Sky, then go to The Coalwood Way and then Sky of Stone. Mitford fans, trust me on this, you will not be disappointed. Hickam's Coalwood books are the real thing. No matter how affected you might be from the Mitford books, I think you'll be hooked just as much if not more with the Coalwood books!
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Summary: At Home in Mitford
Review: Sweet series of books, but copied ... from the older Thrush Green books by "Miss Read", the English writer. Check them out on Amazon.com and decide for yourself.
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Summary: Once you're into it, you'll be hooked!
Review: My mother and mother-in-law, both of whom have read all of the books in this series and loved them, told me that I just had to read these books. They also both cautioned me that in the beginning chapter, all the characters and foundation building details, which are an absolute necessity from the get go, would slow down my reading at first....but, keep going, they said. I did, and I will thank them forever. I have since joined the ranks of those who have read and loved each and every book in the Mitford series.
Father Tim is a benevolent pastor to not only his church, but to the many citizens of this delightful community. The town is full of all the positive and negative characters one will find in any community, and Ms. Karon has found the good humor of their sometimes ridiculous situations, as well as the sweet, poignant moments. This is also Father Tim's story, and his way of handling the challenges of life in this splendid little town of Mitford. You will forever wish that you could live there!
Older children will also enjoy the series. My eleven year old son is hooked on these stories, and they are perfect for reading aloud.
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Summary: At Home in Mitford... a book for everyone
Review: I thought that this book was excellent. There's a character in this story for everyone. It's a book that your whole family can enjoy. There are not very many wholesome good books these days. This is one of them. I recommend this book and also the second book in the series, "A Light in The Window". Hope you like this story as much as I did. It's a very readable story. Enjoy!!!
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Summary: its not Mitford, its Stepford
Review: I don't know how so many people love this book. There is no story, no conflict that can have a satisfying resolution, no challenges, no passion- at least not up to page 155 which is where I bailed out. I thought perhaps when a new neighbor is introduced, she would discover the alien pods lurking in everyone's basement, but I see from the back cover, she actually marries the main character. They must have got her too.
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Summary: Deeeelightful!!
Review: If you like "feel good" books, like to laugh, smile, chuckle and just be thoroughly entertained by a book.....then you will want to read this. Then you will get to know the people so personally that you will also want to read ALL of the books in the series. I am now just beginning the second one, "A Light In The Window" and am looking forward to it. There were times in this first book that I laughed so hard I had to put the book down until it passed. It's like visiting with much loved neighbors and friends each time I pick up the book. OH...it also has some suspense, intrigue and most other things you find in just every day life with every day folks. A totally delighful find in a series. And....as an added bonus, it also gave my faith a much needed shot in the arm.
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Summary: TAKE ME AWAY TO MITFORD
Review: Have you had problems in the last weeks and months...maybe years...then I reconmmend a trip to Mitford. It is laugh out loud funny and sweet tear sad. What a getaway! This book was hard for me to put down because of the peace I found in the pages. What a smell the freash air; hear the church bells; let's have a picnic kinda book. Enjoy and maybe I'll see you there.
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Summary: At Home with a Lovely Book!
Review: At Home in Mitford, the first book in the Mitford series, begins the chronicle of the life of Father Tim, a bachelor Episcopalian priest who lives and works in Mitford, a small town in the South. As Father Tim nears his sixtieth birthday, he begins to realize that, as much as he loves his work, his preaching has become stale, and he has become tired, and perhaps a bit lonely. As the year progresses, however, the empty gaps in Father Tim's life become full. Contact with several strangers in the town invigorate his preaching. The recognition of a serious illness begin to help his physical condition. And, three unexpected characters come into his life to begin to fill the empty places. At Home in Mitford is a charming book which can make any reader feel at home. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
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