Whenever my life gets too busy, I’m drawn to simple books. Not simple in terms of writing – bodice rippers are for cold winter nights – but simple in terms of plot. This summer, Mitford has been a great source of comfort.

In this installment, Father Tim is dealing with life after retirment, and finding it not exactly to his liking. While some of the conflict in this novel is a little too black-and-white to my liking, I really appreciated seeing how several characters were approaching faith. and
Whenever my life gets too busy, I’m drawn to simple books. Not simple in terms of writing – bodice rippers are for cold winter nights – but simple in terms of plot. This summer, Mitford has been a great source of comfort.

In this installment, Father Tim is dealing with life after retirment, and finding it not exactly to his liking. While some of the conflict in this novel is a little too black-and-white to my liking, I really appreciated seeing how several characters were approaching faith. and wrestling with their views. This novel has several different points of view, which helps shed light on the story.

I’ve seen someone compare the Mitford stories to The Waltons television series. I agree that they are similar in tone and approach. But again, when life gets out of control, it’s nice to retreat to a small town with beloved characters, and see how they deal with the ongoing complexities and challenges of living a life of faith.
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This is the kind of Mitford book I love! The last few I read apparently happened after this one, so I’m reading the series out of order. It doesn’t really matter. I remember not liking the ones that take place outside of Mitford as much. This one takes place completely in Mitford, woohoo! I’ve already read the one where Dooley and Lace get married and I remember being confused, mostly because all the skipping around to different characters and only using pronouns so I never knew who she was talk
This is the kind of Mitford book I love! The last few I read apparently happened after this one, so I’m reading the series out of order. It doesn’t really matter. I remember not liking the ones that take place outside of Mitford as much. This one takes place completely in Mitford, woohoo! I’ve already read the one where Dooley and Lace get married and I remember being confused, mostly because all the skipping around to different characters and only using pronouns so I never knew who she was talking about. This one, Karon uses proper names to introduce characters, stays with each scene long enough so I know what’s going on, and builds up several plot lines smoothly. It’s cozy and homey and has a happy ending. Father Tim deals with a bout of depression but gets through it and encourages others. It’s all very uplifting.
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