Tag Archives: Mitford North Carolina

Friday Book Whimsy: To Be Where You Are

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I read Jan Karon’s novel To Be Where You Are earlier this fall shortly after it was released, and it happened to be a particularly difficult time in my life. The latest in her Mitford series featuring our favorite Episcopalian priest Father Tim was an ointment for my heart soul, just as I knew it would be.

The entire series – now a total of 14 books – takes place in the fictional town of Mitford, North Carolina, a small village in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville. While Father Tim and his wife Cynthia are the stars of the show, the surrounding players – his son Dooley and various beloved family and friends – are really what make these stories so lovely. Karon manages to make the townspeople lovable and quirky, but not caricatures of small-town hillbillies.

In her latest novel, Dooley and Lace, now married, are preparing for formal adoption of their foster son Jack, while trying to get Dooley’s vet practice going. Lace has her own distractions, as she has been commissioned to do a painting for a well-known Hollywood actress. All of this takes place as Father Tim struggles to help out several friends in unexpected ways. While a town like Mitford likely doesn’t exist anywhere, Karon’s books always have a realistic way about them. In To Be Where You Are, faithful readers say goodbye to a beloved friend, as we have had to do in the past, but hello to others.

The story is punctuated by the characters’ strong faith in God and belief that they are all part of a bigger plan. I took the prayers uttered by the characters to my heart and prayed them along with them. Much highlighting. Very much highlighting.

To Be Where You Are reminded this reader that at the end of the day, it isn’t the amount of money you earn or the fancy house in which you live, but instead it’s the number of people you can call friends and the blessings that are in you life.

Karon is in her 80s now, and I don’t know how many more Mitford stories she has in her. I hope a few more. While To Be Where You Are left us with a perfect segue to the next book, it also ends with Father Tim and Cynthia driving off in an RV for an adventure. A perfect way to end a series.

Fingers crossed it’s the former. I loved this book.

Here is a link to the book.

Friday Book Whimsy: Come Rain or Come Shine

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searchPotentially, this could be the shortest book review ever. All I REALLY would have to say is that there is a new Mitford book by author Jan Karon entitled Come Rain or Come Shine. Boom. Everyone can correctly assume that I loved the book.

The fictional town of Mitford, North Carolina, makes me happy. I am fully aware that such a wonderful community where everyone gets along and loves one another doesn’t exist. Still, isn’t it so nice to read about something like the friendly folks of Mitford instead of about pain, and murder, and bickering, and poverty, and the horrors of the real world, especially during this time of the year?

In Come Rain or Come Shine, Dooley – who we met in Karon’s first Mitford novel At Home in Mitford – has graduated from veterinarian’s school, set up a practice and is finally getting married to his long-time girlfriend Lace (who we also met in the first novel). Typical for the young couple, they want to make their wedding simple and inexpensive, and to include all of the people they love. They decide, then, to make it a pot luck affair to be held at the ranch where they will reside after they are married.

Since nothing ever goes entirely as planned in Mitford (or in real life), the novel offers a series of surprises and unexpected joys. While Dooley and Lace have to be flexible with their plans and the wedding doesn’t go as smoothly as one would hope, Karon’s story gives us a full picture of love – the love of friends and the love for and of God. The amazing and vivid trust that the people of this town have in God’s provides for a joyful read.

And let’s not forget the wonderful food that is always a part of Mitford – and Karon’s wonderful stories.

Come Rain or Come Shine was written a bit differently than Karon’s previous novels. The point of view changed with each chapter. Being an avid Mitford fan, I was able to recognize whose point of view was being presented in each chapter. However, I would think that if someone picked up the novel without having read Karon’s previous works, it might have taken some time to recognize the point of view. If I have any criticism, that is it.

One of the best parts of the novel, I felt, was getting to know Lace a bit better. While she has been part of the Mitford series from the beginning, she has never played a major role. I enjoyed learning more about who she is and how she thinks.

This is a grand book for someone wanting to read a happy story during this time of year. I strongly recommend it.

Here is a link to the book.

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