At Home in Mitford

This was a chance find at a Little Free Library, and as I wanted something light and cozy to read, the back of the book sounded like it fit the ticket. So I took it home with me and started reading.

This is definitely meant to be a cozy, Christian read. I went into this book expecting that, even though I am an atheist. I expected some quotation of Scripture, etc etc, and as the main character of this book is a pastor... well, no surprises there.

Others have complained about how sanitized the town or story is. And yes, the story is saccharine, so people who hate saccharine will hate this book. Personally, I am not going to hold that against the author - she wrote with that in mind, for people who LIKE that sort of thing, so I would have show more given this book 3.75-4 stars otherwise. There's some charming side-stories in here, and everything is ohhhhh so sweet in this charming Christian small town. I'd actually want to live there and have these people for friends and neighbors if I wasn't so cynical.

However, there is one character who dragged down this book, and that is Miss Rose. My god, what a cunt. Sure, she's mentally ill, but she also comes across as an narcissist, putting herself above others and lashing out at others for perceived slights. She burned her husband's artwork just because he ate some fucking pickle relish. She treats him like crap, and gets away with it because the whole town fucking enables her.

I'm serious. There's only so much saccharine I can take, and the way the town lets Miss Rose do whatever she wants was just way too much. Even though she is a wealthy heiress, people give her free food because she doesn't want to spend money. No one ever calls her out on her behavior, she steals food more than once and hides it in her pockets at parties and the like and no one says anything. Enabling her only makes her delusions worse. I honestly fucking hate Miss Rose.

The copy of this book I got was paperback, and it came with a preview of the second book in this series, and ugh! It shows the town further enabling Miss Rose to the point of allowing her to interfere with the local economy when she creates a traffic disruption affecting business.

This book would have been far more enjoyable without Miss Rose, and I certainly won't be reading any more of these books. Being compassionate is one thing, enabling is another and there's nothing wrong with some tough love, or an ass-beating, which is what I felt Miss Rose deserved, as terrible as that might make me sound. show less

Mitford, North Carolina is the home of Father Tim, an Episcopalian rector who appears to be facing multiple issues leading to a spiritual mid-life crisis. He doesn't think that his ministry to the townspeople is very effective, he's developed diabetes, adopted a monster dog by accident, and assumed responsibility for an 11 year-old boy when his grandfather becomes ill. All this and a new love interest has moved in next door.

The characters are what make this story come alive. Some make you laugh - Cynthia the new neighbor, others make you want to cry or give them a big hug - Sadie Baxter. Others remind me of neighbors I had when growing up - down to earth and no nonsense. However, Father Tim is the center that draws them together. If my show more priest were half as good as Father Tim I might still be going to church. He speaks from his heart which obviously embraces the Lord wholeheartedly but he's not preachy.

I had a hard time with the start of this book, it seemed to drag but others had told me that I would enjoy it if I liked the Lumby series so I stuck with it and it was worth the effort. Lumby, definitely not, but Mitford is still a place I might like to visit again. show less

I loved this author's very undramatic writing style. It perfectly suited her undramatic character, a 60 year old Anglican priest in a small town in the mountains. The characters were lovable and at the same time very realistic :) I found much to laugh about, enjoy, think about, commiserate with... it was a lovely walk through a miraculously ordinary life!

Father Tim Kavanagh, the nearly 60-year-old priest in what some think of as the sleepy town of Mitford, lives and works and loves his town of eccentrics, from Barnabus the dog who calms down to the recitation of Scripture, to his new, pretty neighbor and a needy boy who moves in with him.

If you enjoy small town, Christian fiction you will find a lot to appreciate in this series, which began in 1994. Father Tim and his flock and funny, maddening, and lovable. When I first read the books in my late teens, I remember being impressed that I could relate to a character who was so very different from me and my time of life. Are they perfect books? No. There's one Black character, for example, and she's... hm, stereotypical and dated, and the show more story her white friend tells of their growing up together in the '20s is pretty cringy. That does keep me from wholeheartedly recommending it to readers, but I will say that it stands out from the Christian fiction of its day for being, yes, very much faith-based but not having the come-to-Jesus moment of the main character be the climax of the book. show less

One of my top ten feel good books. The characters and setting are spot on, Fr. Tim is compassionate and lovable. At 60 years old, thinking himself a confirmed bachelor, he is confronted with sudden fatherhood in the person of a temporary foster child, and impending romance in the person of his new next-door neighbor. The story is well fleshed out, but leaves much room for the ensuing books in the series.

As many times as I have read or listened to this one (the audio is spectacular) I always find something new to take away. While many would consider it "religious", it is not at all preachy, and simply offers soothing life lessons and encouragement.

After spending the past couple years in library school, newly employed at a rather stressful job, and being exhausted from having read dozens of books representing the hottest themes in literature today (young adult dystopian fantasies, mostly), I picked up this book hoping for a rest. I was overjoyed to find exactly that. The chapters are short enough to read over a 30 minute lunch break, which suited by lifestyle at the time perfectly. I couldn't wait to get a moment to pick up my latest Mitford book and see what the cast of characters was up to. It was a total escape from my hectic life, and just what I needed. I loved the series so much that I bought several of the books in audio format and listened to them a second time in my car. show more So relaxing and soul-soothing.

At Home in Mitford is the first in the series, and, not to disappoint, but it is the best of the series to my mind. The other books are all wonderful, too, but just getting to know the main character, Father Tim, as well as the cast of eclectic town residents and the town itself, is the most satisfying part of the series to me. I've no doubt I will return to read this book again whenever I need to escape from reality. show less

The charming town of Mitford may be small, but make no mistake—it’s neither sleepy nor idle. Father Tim, a bachelor, is amply occupied, keeping up with the townsfolk and the lives and needs of his parishioners. Considering the surprises that accompany his sixtieth year, Father Tim will have to accept new ways to take care of his own needs in At Home in Mitford, a novel by author Jan Karon.

This first book in the beloved Mitford Years series is the second Mitford book I’ve read. For various reasons, I broke some rules a few years ago and jumped into the series with Book Ten (or Book Twelve, depending on how you count the bonus Father Tim series that intertwines with this one.) After reading (and loving!) Somewhere Safe with Somebody show more Good, I knew I’d just have to go back and start the series from the beginning.

I found this novel amusing in some places, hilarious in others, and altogether delightful, even as it has its share of heartrending moments. The story moves at a nice clip overall, oftentimes saying just enough, trusting the reader to get it. There’s also a mystery and dashes of romance woven in.

Father Tim and the people of Mitford struck me as a bit more cartoony in this novel than the one I started with, but that’s very likely due to the darling (did I just say “darling”?) illustrations at the opening of every chapter in the Penguin edition I read. All’s not perfect in this town, as the characters face some true-to-life challenges, and not everything in their backstories (including cases of crime and racism) is pretty. I’ll admit I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight at times, but hearing from so many of them got me that much better acquainted with Mitford.

I’m sure this is the kind of series that grows on you the further along you get into it, and I’m looking forward to reading the next novel. show less