A Light in the Window

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A Light in the Window
Jan Karon
1995

The Summary
Jan Karon's second novel, A Light in the Window, continues to follow the life of the kind, quiet Episcolpalian priest, Father Tim Cavanaugh, as he acclimates to his new life with Dooley Barlowe, a dog named Barnabas, and diabetes.

Moreover, the novel highlights the growth of the tiny mountain town of Mitford and the budding romance between Father Tim and his delightfully quirky neighbor, Cynthia Coppersmith.

The Good
Karon's novel follows in the same vein as her previous novel, At Home in Mitford, by emphasizing the uncommon good of common people.  Granted, life for Father Tim is far from being full of sunshine and bowls of cherries, but he remains stalwart and good - a Godly man with a good conscience and a good heart.

And you almost can't help getting involved in his life and the lives of the sometimes crazy, sometimes maddening people of Mitford.

More importantly, the novel is easy and entertaining.  It's enjoyable for its simplicity of style and language, and it's a feel-good story that leaves you with a lingering sense of happiness.

The Bad
Here and there, Mitford can get a little dull.  But it's real life.  It can't always be a thrill a minute.

The Ugly
In this go round, Karon's novel becomes a little more gritty and unpleasant.  Well, not so much unpleasant as more attuned to the rougher aspects of life.  The episodes with Buck Leeper, a construction worker now inhabiting Mitford, prove a point that not all people have lived happy lives.

Oh, and Father Tim has a few unpleasant run-ins with the newly widowed Edith Mallory.  (One word, "man-eater.")