beaconchurches

In This Mountain

by Jan Karon

c. 2002

Father Tim is definitely retired and feeling it in this Jan Karon Mitford offering. He’s desperately trying to write a volume of essays and do some mission work with children in Tennessee. But in the meantime, he is considerably grumpy and snappish. Cynthia complains that he’s not acting like himself and he’s not our Father Tim either but then it doesn’t take a diabetic or the friend or relative of a diabetic to see the sugar spike coming his way.

While Father Tim deals with his latest life crisis, the rest of Mitford has some of their own. Hessie Mayhew is driving on bald tires and wishing for retirement. George Gaynor, known to At Home in Mitford readers and Mitford as “The Man in the Attic,” comes back to town. We learn new secrets about Lew Boyd and Harley. Uncle Billy struggles with the jokes. Hope and Helene learn some new things. Coot is still trying to find those Yankee graves on Edith Mallory’s property. Edith Mallory is back in town much to Father Tim’s chagrin. Esther and Gene are learning to deal with his illness. Joe Ivey now shares a building with Fancy Skinner and that stirs up some stuff. Someone in Holding may look like Dooley. And Emma is desperately looking to get Father Tim online.

All this plus several trips for various folks, some hair-raising driving (and none of it Harley’s), one new car, two new dogs, a couple of large donations, some new illnesses, and even some babies. Oh, and there’s a new collar in town as well.

I suppose the book can be read out of order but it would be best understood if it was read after A New Song which, of course, should be read after Out to Canaan, which should come after These High Green Hills…..In other words, the books are best read in order. The only exception I would make would be to read A Common Life after Father Tim proposes and not later.

Mitford and Father Tim are keepers. The more you read the books, the more you want to move there and take up residence. About halfway through this book, I even had to have some gizzards but you’ll have to read the book to find out why.