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Title: The Mitford Years Box Set, Volumes 1-6: At Home in Mitford, A Light in the Window, These High, Green Hills, Out to Canaan, A New Song, and A Common Life by Jan Karon ISBN: 0-14-771779-5 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 6 List Price(USD): $77.75 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.85 (86 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: Karon plays with characters the way little girls play Barbie
Comment: As you read this, you might find it hard to believe that at heart, I'm a sucker for warm hometown tales. I still watch, and enjoy, Andy Griffith reruns; Mayberry rules! So I was all prepared to curl up in a comfy chair and fall in love with Mitford too. Alas, this did not happen.
Have you ever watched little girls playing Barbie? Of course you have. You've seen how they haul out those stilt-legged little dolls (which, on their own, don't do much but lie there looking vacuous), and they walk them and "talk" them through imaginary scenarios, in accordance with whichever character they're imagining Barbie to be at the moment.
Well, that's the way Jan Karon handles her stable of lovable, eccentric small-town Southern characters. She fashions her "dolls" out of every cliched notion she can find, and then she walks and talks them through every possible hackneyed scenario, be it dramatic or touching or what passes for humorous -- and she calls it a novel. And wins the heart of millions.
But not my heart.
While the author's sincerity and good-heartedness, not to mention her faith, are apparent in her writing, I feel her stories and characters simply lack authenticity. Furthermore I found most of the characters to be more annoying than lovable; I failed to be won over even by the venerable Father Tim, a marshmallow of a man who, goodness me, remained a virgin till his marriage at 60. (Okay, so he's a clergyman, but still...) And his goody-two-shoes wife is even more irritating, perhaps because I expected so much more of her. I wouldn't want to be a fly on their bedroom wall; I'd probably die of boredom.
I have no objection to reading stories about people of faith, nor do I require steamy sex scenes, or even any sex scenes at all, to make my enjoyment of a novel complete. But I do demand a measure of depth and realism, which I did not find here (but found in abundance in, for example, Gail Godwin's wonderful novel about a small-town clergywoman, *Evensong*).
I know that Ms. Karon lives in a Mitford-like town and, no doubt, her characters are vaguely inspired by real-life people, but something got lost in the trip from the real world to the printed page. I went so far as to read the first four books in this series, hoping they would get better. They did, but only marginally so. I will concede that Ms. Karon seems to have grown a little more comfortable as a novelist. She will never be a Barbara Kingsolver or a Louise Erdrich, and I wouldn't expect that. But I would expect a far more authentic voice than I've experienced in the pages of these novels. I was not motivated to read beyond the fourth book in the series.
So count me NOT at home in Mitford. Give me Andy, Barney, Aunt Bee and even Otis any day.
Rating: 5
Summary: Great for what ails ya
Comment: I came to these books in a backwards sort of way. Most of the people I know who are reading and loving Van Reid's wonderful Moosepath League books read Jan Karon first. I had just finished "Daniel Plainway" and was dying for something that was just as fun, funny, and heartwarming. I had seen Jan Karon's books many times, but finally decided to take the advice of friends and start them. I was so glad. They may not be as laugh out loud funny as Mr. Reid's books, and they aren't such rollicking adventures, but what they do have in common is a grand outlook on life. Too, Mr. Reid's romantic novels are set in 19th century Maine and Ms. Karon's are in modern day North Carolina. But that only goes to show that people are the same everywhere. Jan Karon's people are warm without being cloying, and her outlook on life is optimistic without seeming too rose colored. Her people have funny, but realistic problems of the heart and home. Do read them. And if you love them and haven't read Van Reid's books, you can do what most people have done and "read" them next. Whichever way you go, it's always wonderful to know that there is something more out there that isn't all darkness and anger and violence. Enjoy!
Rating: 5
Summary: Refreshing, enchanting series
Comment: The Mitford Series are an enchanting look into the life of a gentle,, aging minister who loves his congregation and his life. The characters of his little town come alive and you will fall in love with each and every one. Father Tim is the minister every Christian wishes was their own. You will rejoice with Father Tim as he falls in love and courts his "December bride." You will laugh, and cry, and worry with him about his congregation. This is a series that you will not be able to put down and will read over and over just because you will miss the little townspeople and the precious Pastor and his wife when you finish.
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Title: In This Mountain by Jan Karon ISBN: 0142002585 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 29 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon ISBN: 0670031208 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 20 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Patches of Godlight: Father Tim's Favorite Quotes by Jan Karon ISBN: 014200197X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 24 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Christmas in Mitford Gift Set: The Mitford Snowmen and Esther's Gift by Jan Karon ISBN: 0670783498 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 10 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $21.90 |
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Title: A New Song by Jan Karon ISBN: 0140270590 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 03 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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