May 27, 2019

Looking Back - At Home in Mitford

Update

Finished on May 22, 2019
New Rating: 3.5/5

After sharing my recent post about At Home in Mitford (below), I decided it would be fun to start re-reading this series. I read a chapter or two, picking it up here and there between other books, taking my time and not rushing to finish it too quickly. I enjoyed revisiting Mitford and all the quirky characters, but I may not have liked it quite as much as I did 20 years ago. At times, I found myself a little bored with the story, but the second half picked up and while I may not have loved it, I'm glad I read it again. 

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.



At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Mitford Series #1
Fiction
1994 Penguin Books
Finished in February 1998
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

It's easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable.

Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won't go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that's sixty years old

Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for. And readers get a rich, provincial comedy in which mysteries and miracles abound.

My Original Notes (1998):

Awesome novel! Not a great work of literature, but simply a wonderful slice-of-life story. The characters are so lovable. Puny and Doolie are so funny and I love the romance between Fr. Tim and Cynthia. I'm such a sucker for a romance. I hope they get married!

My Current Thoughts:

I've read several books in this series and I think this first installment was probably the best. I remember laughing out loud and reading passages to my husband. I still own quite a few of the books and have decided to give this one a re-read sometime this year. I'm curious to see if it stands the test of time.

6 comments:

  1. I read this one back about 10 years ago or so (I think). I might have a read another book or two in the series. It was a great book. I might revisit it again one day.

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    1. Kay, it's been almost 21 years since I read it! I'm not sure how many of the books in the series I'll re-read, but I'm looking forward to this one.

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  2. I thought this was such a sweet story too. One book group I belonged to decided to read a bunch of these in the same year and I think that probably wasn't the wisest choice. We kind of got a bit tired of them but I wouldn't mind checking one out now as it's been years.

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    1. Iliana, I think I read a bunch of these within a short period of time, which I agree isn't the wisest choice. I may just re-read one or two, but who knows. I may not like them the second time around, but I'm willing to give this one a chance.

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  3. I read this one and maybe one or two more but they didn't seem to capture the magic of this first one.

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    1. Stacy, I wonder what my reaction will be when I read it for the second time. It's another one I'm hoping to squeeze in this month!

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