Father Tim, a cherished small-town rector, is the steadfast soldier in this beloved slice of life story set in an American village where the grass is still green, the pickets are still white, and the air still smells sweet. The rector's forthright secretary, Emma Garret, worries about her employer, as she sees past his Christian cheerfulness into his aching loneliness. Slowly but surely, the empty places in Father Tim's heart do get filled. First with a gangly stray dog, later with a seemingly stray boy, and finally with the realization that he is stumbling into love with his independent and Christian-wise next-door neighbor. Much more than a gentle love story, this is a homespun tale about a town of endearing characters-- including a mysterious jewel thief--who are as quirky and popular as those of Mayberry, R.F.D. --Gail Hudson
I'm giving this one five stars even though I did not personally care for it. Why? Because the author has rendered a magnificently-written, coherent story (albeit, a pretty unreal one) which achieves a high enough level of literary excellence that I'm compelled to call it "American Christian Literature". I believe that the writing is equivalent in quality to that of some past great American authors, say James Thurber, Lloyd C. Douglas, etc.
Some people are simply tired of reading filth and trash (not me -- I LIKE filth and trash in terms of seedy characters, furtive activities and lewd language, except I'm not a fan of pornographic writing nor do I like stories where anything bad happens to kids). If you are a person who's had enough of smutty dynamics and you'd like, for a change, to read a story of fiction that is targeted for adults and yet does not contain foul language or deviant characters, then "At Home in Mitford" might just be for you.
Of the various dillemmas which arise for "Father Tim," I can definitely state that I'd personally solve them all in 30 seconds without a second thought, although not in the thoughtful, concerned, sensitive way that he does *.* These are NOT monumental problems that we're talking about here... they are (from the reader's view) humorous little enigmas for the most part, but clearly important to the lives of the potentially affected characters in the book. The level of melodrama in this book definitely did not make my heart pound but that's what comes of my having worked in law enforcement for over 25 years -- I've seen it all and have pretty much gotten numb to the worst of it.
So, this is a nice, charming, warm, little story which I think many life-long Christians will find some relief in. The moral lessons do not really interfere with the story and, in fact, provide more of a "covert undertone". And the good news is that this one is but the first entry of a series. Some might compare this author's literary posture with that of C.S. Lewis -- I think that Karon's work here is far superior to anything that Lewis ever published -- that's just my opinion and perhaps Lewis fans would not agree.
In summary, for me, this book was as boring as a box of Quaker Oats. BUT, my tastes in fiction are hardly in line with those of regular, normal people (I loved "Fight Club"!) and I must, to be fair, award credit where I feel it is due. This work is nicely presented and I would highly recommend it for appropriate readers... those Christians (or other spiritually-oriented people) whom are seeking some really light escapism.
I was looking very forward to reading this book and desperately wanted to like it. I threw in the towel three quarters of the way through. I respect Karon's goal and believe it was sincere, but the novel fell extremely short in many ways. Mitford is a picturesque town filled with people that ALL get along. There are no disagreements among them. Every thing is sweet, too sweet, right down to the dialogue between the characters. They speak too perfectly. Everything seems to work itself out in an almost perfect way. I understand that this is a Christian based novel, however as many Christians know that prayers aren't always answered in the way we expect or want them to be. Answers to prayers don't always come wrapped up and neatly tied with a bow. One of the deciding factors for me to give up reading this book involved Barnabas the big black dog that bounded unexpectly into Father Tim's life. Father Tim finally takes to him and adopts him. Some time later, the dog is snatched into a car (appeared to be the possible owner, may not have been- didn't read any further to find out). Everyone in the town begins to contribute to a reward fund. Okay fine. Father Tim adopts the dog, never trying to locate the dogs possible owner. Even when the reward money is being collected no one mentions this. This town of hypocrites is collecting reward money for a dog that doesn't actually belong to the "church" rector. Nobody ever gives a thought that there could be a little kid crying his eyes out because his dog ran away. I'm sorry if I gave some of the story away, but in all honesty, consider it a favor. This book is just a poorly written adult fairy tale. I give it one star that is on the brink of burning out! If you must read it, save your money and borrow it because if you make it through, you're not reading again.
