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Summary: Reality of Grace and Redemption
Review: Jan Karon has outdone herself in this novel. She has deftly and beautifully reminds us of grace and redemption in this fallen world: both of their existence and of our need for them. She writes about the realities of life, which can sometimes be painful, but Karon never for a moment lets us forget that God offers redemption for all who merely ask. This redemption not only secures us a place in heaven with God our Father, but it is how He works in our lives day by day, as He measures grace sufficient to meet the need. Father Tim struggles deeply in this novel, making us ache with him, and he learns that dealing once with painful issues (such as his relationship with his father)is seldom enough to banish them forever. He also learns how much his actions and lack of action can wound those he loves most. Having a father who was for many years a minister, I am amazed at how well Karon has captured this often lonely life. So often people fail to realize that ministers struggle sometimes and need ministers of their own, yet they are often isolated and not generally by choice. Thank you, Jan Karon, for writing about the world as it really is and for writing about God as He truly is. And, yes, "in everything give thanks . . . for this is the will of God." Thank you, God, for Jan Karon and for the reality of Christ's redemption.
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Summary: Falling in love with Mitford all over again.
Review: I am just finishing In This Mountain by Jan Karon and I don't want it to end. That's how I have felt about each Mitford book that I have read. Father Tim is like all of us, so human and goes about his life not really realizing how important he is to the people in his life. He sees only his frailities, not all he does and how much he means to his family and friends.
I love the way his heart sings when he is around Dooley and although he isn't his birth father, he has been there for the boy through the good and the bad. Father Tim tries over and over again to place life's activities in God's hands, but like us
all takes control when he really needs to let go.
Rating: 
Summary: Thank Goodness Jan Karon's Characters Are Back in Mitford!
Review: Father Tim Kavanaugh and his author-wife, Cynthia, are back in Mitford, thank goodness, for this 7th installment of Jan Karon's lovely series about a tiny village in the North Carolina mountains. Compared to her last book, a prequel about the couple's wedding that only took a couple of hours to read, this book is much more substantive and fun to read. Once again, Tim's fussy personality and Cynthia's practical sense make for a pleasurable read. It just goes to show you that it doesn't take blood and guts and cussing and sex to make a very good book.
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Summary: A Welcome Return to Mitford
Review: The 7th book in the series is as enjoyable as all of the rest. The characters are familiar to readers of the earlier books but they continue to grow and develop. While Mitford is a comforting place to visit, no one and nothing is ever all good or all bad and that adds to the enjoyment. An excellent read.
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Summary: Jan Karon Puts A Smile In Your Heart!
Review: Simply put, Jan Karon puts a smile in your heart. Her stories are warm and uplifting, and take you to a place where simple pleasures are enjoyed. Reminds me of writing by Kirk Martin in an incredible new book, Shade of the Maple. Very powerful ending that reinforces the honor of commitment and moves you to hopeful tears! Both authors seem to have an inspirational flair to their writing that is wholesome and uplifting. I always look forward to more from Jan Karon!
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Summary: Latest Mitford book
Review: I was a bit disappointed in this novel--don't know if it has been so long since the last one or what, but I felt like this was very choppy, the way the story jumped from one passage to the next. I had a hard time reading it, and have so looked forward to another Mitford visit. The characters are all there, and the examination of Fr Tim's struggle with retirement, depression, health and most importantly, his faith was outstanding and very well done. It was just hard to jump from one thing to the next. Really these books are a good exposure to Christian faith and values, and really want to make you think about it all. I remember thinking there were to be 7 books total, but this leaves off making you think there will be one more book, as there is still a Barlowe brother to be found, and that appears to be the mission of Fr. Tim--reuniting the Barlowe children. All in all, this will not disappoint Mitford fans, just be forwarned that it did not seem to "flow" as the ones in the past.
Rating:
Summary: the best yet!
Review: This is the 7th book in Jan Karon's wonderful Mitford series, and it was definitely worth the wait. This one displays more insight and emotion into the characters, particularly Father Tim, as he deals with several tough issues. But there is still the same small town humor that we've all come to know and love in this series, and I again finished another Mitford book wishing I could visit this place and meet these eccentric, loveable, and strong characters. Pick this book up today - I read it in 2 days and could barely put it down. You won't be disappointed, and will hopefully find your faith stretched as a result!
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Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Reading any of Karon's "Mitford Series" is somewhat like reading about people who have been raised for their entire lives to date in some dark closet. Her characters are absolutely and purely ignorant of virtually any and all aspects of human culture, human civilization or human achievement. Their conversation reveals no inkling of what year it is, or what state they are in, much less what nation or planet they are on. In the real world these creatures would have spent the last 50 years glued to the front of the boob tube, and essentially their entire conversation would be devoted to soap operas, talk shows and televised sports.
Yet apart from a few vague references to a "remote," or the "five o'clock news," there is little evidence anyone even has a TV... much less reads a (non-local) newspaper or books, fiction or nonfiction. [Hope, who runs the local bookstore, does seem to know who Thirkell and Wodehouse are.]For quite a few years Karon has been mining the vein of "non-books" diligently, rather than supplying new "adventures" (to use the word very loosely) for Father Tim and his fellow prisoners. This is finally the 6th Mitford novel (despite what the publisher claims), and takes over roughly where A NEW SONG left off. As we join the team, Father Tim and wife are getting ready to spend a year living in a tent in Goatbugger, Tennessee doing something the author never bothers to specify, because it is obvious to both author and reader that Tim ain't gonna get there (what would become of Violet, for example!). Instead Tim, in his customary mindless way, manages to seriously injure himself and another minister, and spends the rest of the novel in a deep, brooding depression. It's not that Tim is communing with his inner thoughts, because like all the other characters, HE HAS NO THOUGHTS! And that makes this novel very rough going, to say the least. As another reviewer noted on these pages, "pray" is almost the only verb in the book, and it seemingly appears about 5 times per page. Otherwise, nothing happens. There is some nonsense about a lunatic who wants to build a log cabin the size of a cathedral, or maybe a cathedral the size of a log cabin, his raving being unclear on this point; continuing villain Edith Mallory makes her customary pointless appearance; Father Tim gets a computer and goes online so he can read his own e-mail; some ex-cons need the good Father's support; one of Dooley's missing brothers turns out to have, gosh, been right there all along; and that's pretty much the size of it. About the only suspense concerns whether or not incidental characters Hope and Helene will become regular church attendees and I wouldn't dream of spoiling that for you! Rumors are afoot that in a later novel in the series, Father Tim will encounter for the first time in his life a Muslim, or a Hindu, or a Jew, or a Catholic, or a university professor, or a scientist, or even an uppity knee-grow, and expire from shock and heart-failure. I don't think loyal readers need to worry.
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Summary: They Just Get Better and Better
Review: I've liked Karon's Mitford books, but this one was almost too much. Must EVERY exchange between Tim and his friends include, "Im praying for you," and "And Im praying for you, too"? I started noting this early on, checked each occurrence, and there's more than forty such exchanges. Now even for a priest, that'a little much. And I have come to skip over the paragraph where Tim asks Cynthia, "And what DON"T you love?" Her cutesy replies are gag material. And the description of Edith Mallory "trapping" Tim in a locked room and trying to seduce him is almsot Saturday Night Live material. All this said, the nice telling of ordinary stories in an ordinary town is refreshing, and with the above qualifications, this still is a good read.
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Summary: Karon takes it deeper
Review: While I have enjoyed the other Mitford books, if I've had any complaint it is that the stories are a little too pat and everyone is a bit too cute. I was pleased and moved by the direction that Karon took In This Mountain. I felt this book had more substance than her previous books, while retaining their charm. Father Tim's wrestlings were very meaningful to me, and sermon he delivers near the end of the book is a masterpiece. I hope this indicates the future direction of the Mitford series.
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