A New Song (The Mitford Years, Book 5)
by Jan Karon
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Book Reviews of A New Song (The Mitford Years, Book 5)
Book Review: At Home -- in Whitecap
Summary: 4 Stars
Father Tim Kavanaugh, the longtime rector of Lord's Chapel in Mitford, has at last retired. After a few months of relaxing with his lovely wife, his bishop asks him to serve as an interim pastor of a small chapel on Whitehead Island. Knowing that this isn't the bishop's bright idea, but God's, Tim eagerly takes on the challenge.After drawn-out goodbyes in Mitford - and many parishoners trying to convince him to stay - Tim and Cynthia head to Whitecap. Of course, even the way there isn't easy, as the couple hits a downpour in their convertible, and faces a washed-out bridge. Once they arrive, they begin to enter into island life, which is both a new and different kind of life, and yet similar, than that they were accustomed to in Mitford.
Tim faces similar challenges from those he knew as a Mitford pastor - a single mother's bout with depression, petty fighting amongst his parish, and a recluse neighbor's need for prayer. Yet, there are new challenges on Whitecap too, particularly when a hurricane strikes the people in a profound way.
A New Song is an interesting installment to Jan Karon's series chroniciling the life of Tim and Cynthia, and yet was not as satisfying as some of her other books. I missed the cast of characters from Mitford, but did not grow very attached to any of the new townspeople from Whitecap.
What was more present than in many of the other books was Father Tim's personal relationship with God, and how much he craved that relationship for his parishoners. While religion has, of course, come into the other books; in this book it seemed far more personal. Father Tim considered himself tethered far more closely to God on his island home, rather than tethered to the earth, as he was in the mountains. He seems to listen more closely to God, praying in ways that would surely seem foolish to others, particularly for his next-door neighbor. His celebrations of the liturgy are also more moving, whether they are done at the home of a shut-in, or at a homecoming for his new chapel.
All in all, this book is sure to be required reading for all followers of the Mitford books.
Book Review: A wonderful book and series
Summary: 5 Stars
I just finished reading "A New Song," and actually finished up the entire Mitford series in sequence. I received the first two books for Christmas and ended up getting the other three for myself because I liked the first two so much! I was hooked on this series from the first chapter. Father Tim, Cynthia, and the entire towns of Mitford (and Whitecap Island in "A New Song") captured my heart. I love Father Tim's ability to get involved with this parishioner's lives and Cynthia's spunk and sense of humor. Even the pets (Barnabas and Violet) were well-drawn in this series, and Dooley Barlowe was a delight!
Whitecap Island isn't Mitford; however, and I did miss the fact this book wasn't set in Mitford. However, with phone calls and issues of the "Mitford Muse" I was able to stay in touch with the home folks of Mitford right along with Father Tim! I loved the way Junior's, Morris', and the Tolsons' problems were resolved in this book. And these are just a few of the unforgettable characters Ms. Karon has created -- all her books are full of them.
I was truly sorry to turn the last page and finish this book (and the series). I can't wait for "A Common Life" to come out in April! I'll definitely be buying it, and I'll definitely revisit the "Mitford" series, because once isn't enough to read this wonderful set of books. What a refreshing change they were, and what a wonderful way to spend the winter!
Here's hoping Jan Karon continues to add many more books to this series. Since "A Common Life" backtracks a little bit, I'm still wondering if Dooley's two lost brothers will be found, and I'm curious about what Helene Pringle will end up doing. And what WAS in that ivory envelope Father Tim gave her?
Keep them coming, Ms. Karon!
Book Review: Another Visit with Old Friends
Summary: 4 Stars
A visit to Mitford is like a breath of fresh air, a reacquaintance with old friends, and a renewal of faith all in one. After four previous books, Jan Karon has once again drawn us into the spell of the small town life that glows with love, life, and spirituality. This time, we not only get to catch up with all our old friends in Mitford, but we are introduced to another congregation of interesting and unforgettable characters. When Father Timothy and Cynthia go to a small island off the North Carolina coast, we become involved in the lives of another set of wonderful--and a few not so wonderful--people. Whitecap Island is as much a microcosm as is Mitford, and Father Tim assimilates the various levels of society so that a cast of colorful characters emerges and duly receives the blessings that seem to flow effortlessly from his loving ministry, not only to his own congregation, but to everyone in town. The coastal environment also conjures up visions of the sea and all its many faces, from blue and tranquil to gray and menacing as storms roll in that challenge anyone's faith or fears. The most abiding feature of any of the Mitford books, and this one in particular, is the easy spirituality that permeates the stories. As an Episcopal priest, Father Tim exudes his belief in a loving god who is accessible to all, and in his daily life and works, he challenges and influences all whose lives he touches. The quotations from the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Episcopal Hymnal are inspiring and beautiful to the spirit. Overall, Father Tim's love and wisdom are a wealth to the readers whose lives also become filled to overflowing.Book Review: Another inspirational novel in the Mitford series
Summary: 5 Stars
I think this is Karon's best, so far. She introduces her protagonist, Father Timothy Kavanagh--a newly retired Episcopalian priest--to a new island parish, to fill in until they find a new permanent priest. He and his wife, Cynthia, leave their home in Mitford for the small North Carolina offshore island of Whitecap, where they confront the problems of several of the parishioners there, in addition to the burglary of their home in Mitford, the problems of their foster son, Dooley, with the law, hurricane force storms, and the anger of a talented but anti-social neighbor who is holed up in his mansion, refusing to face the world.
Karon skillfully weaves the stories together in this narrative, which kept me reading avidly until I had finished all 400 pages. She draws her characters from among people I--and you--have known all of our lives. They live and breathe. Father Tim is no plastic hero; he is a flesh and blood man with fears and weaknesses. He is afflicted with diabetes, for example, and gets seasick. Nobody but one who has been dreadfully seasick at some time in their life could possibly have written of it as sympathetically as does Jan Karon.
This is a skilled writer who does not depend upon cliché violence, explicit sex or filthy language to grab your attention. She does it instead with convincing stories about normal, good, everyday people whose problems and solutions get and hold your attention. Strong religious themes are a large part of her work, but the affect is not saccharin.
Joseph H. Pierre,
author of "The Road to Damascus: Our Journey Through Eternity"
Book Review: Best Book Since Her First One
Summary: 4 Stars
My wife and I have read each of Karon's Mitford books aloud to each other over the past few years. I enjoyed this book more than I had the previous two in the series. I think that the new locale and the fresh characters really breathed new life into the series. I know from book blurbs that the next installments of the series will be returning to Mitford. I almost wish the author would spend another book in Whitecap, the setting of this book.Mitford is not abandoned; some storylines continue, including those of Buck Leeper and Dooley Barlowe. But Whitecap Island and its residents have a distinctness that whetted my appetite for more. There was a pleasing authenticity to the descriptions of the island community, and I enjoyed discovering it alongside Father Tim. From `Ernie's Books Bait, & Tackle' to St. John's in the Grove, this is a fascinating place to visit. In St. John's, Father Tim is introduced to church politics of quite a different sort from his experience with the Mitford church. And the conversations in Ernie's shop are some of the best dialogue Karon has written.
If there is one disappointment for me with this book, it is that Karon couldn't resist the temptation to resolve a neat ending for the Jeffrey Tolson character. Sometimes it's better to let the readers speculate about the fate of secondary characters, and I think this was a perfect case for just that sort of a vague or unstated ending.
If anyone wondered whether the author had enough creativity to go beyond Mitford, I think this book provides an affirmative answer. In my opinion this is the best book since her first one (_At Home in Mitford_)