At Home in Mitford

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At Home in Mitford

Jan Karon

1994

The Summary
At Home in Mitford tells the story of Father Tim, the local Episcopalian rector, as he learns to cope with his rebellious health (i.e. diabetes) and his growing attachment to his lovely neighbor, and lives a simple - if not active - life in the mountain hamlet of Mitford.

The Good
Jan Karon's novel is a tale about a good man with a good life, who lives among relatively good (although certainly eccentric) individuals, and keeps a good relationship with God. Characters like Father Tim and places like Mitford aren't normally found in popular fiction (and Karon's Mitford novels are quite popular, to tell the truth), because they show a facet of fiction not typically embraced: normalcy.

And At Home in Mitford is really as normal as fiction can get. Karon portrays life, regardless of whether it is boring and dull, or glorious and miraculous. It's life, and it's a good life.

Speaking of good, you could say it is a good novel for all ages, because Karon never - and I do mean never - incorporates gratuitous amounts of violence, foul language (in fact, I only found one obvious "curse word"), sex, drugs, or heavy drinking.

It's a plain, good novel into which you can invest you time - and, most likely, you will become invested in Karon's novel. It's hard not becoming invested in the lives of Father Tim and Dooley Barlowe and all the true characters of Mitford.

The Bad
On the flipside of being a plain, good novel, At Home in Mitford can become a little boring. Granted, there are a few mishaps - such as a dog the size of a Buick which listens to Scripture, a jewel heist, a kidnapping, and a diabetic coma - but there isn't a true catastrophe involved.

Life simply goes on. It will manage to keep your attention, but much of what Karon writes may almost seem too good to be true. I mean, really, a dog that listens to Scripture?

Who would have thought.

The Ugly
Except for some poor editing in a few areas, there is honestly nothing ugly in Karon's novel. Trust me, I've looked.