There is little character development, and the characters (even Father Tim) are not particularly deep or complicated in their emotional lives.
The rest of the story simply recounts episodes in the life of the small town and its characters. The book tells of three major developments in the priest’s staid life: the arrival of a dog who is disciplined only by scripture, the diagnosis of diabetes, and the arrival of a new and charmingly attractive neighbor. Then we are slowly introduced to his parish–his acerbic secretary Emma the oldest and most generous and wealthiest member Miss Sadie Baxter her lifelong friend Louella Miss Rose and Uncle Billy, the town’s eccentric characters Dooley Barlow, a young man taken in by the rector the mayor Esther Cunningham the local doctor and veterinarian, who are among his friends the owners of local businesses and many more.
It introduced Father Tim Kavanagh, the rector of Lord’s Chapel in Mitford, NC, who had lived into his sixties as a bachelor priest, high on work and low on adventure. The first book, At Home in Mitford, was delightful. They would be nice and sweet, and that would be fine by me. These had come highly recommended by people I trusted. However, this spring in my ministry has been painful and sorrowful enough–a soft, gentle story seemed like a healing idea. I feel a general disdain for the category of “Christian fiction,” because I like my faith to engage the real world, not a softer, gentler version of it. Where do I even start to talk about these books? I have heard them recommended several times over the years, as delightful stories about an Episcopal rector in a small town in North Carolina. These High, Green Hills, Jan Karon, Lion Publishing, 1996, 333 pp.
At Home in Mitford, Jan Karon, Viking Penguin Books, 1994, 413 pp.Ī Light in the Window, Jan Karon, Viking Penguin Books, 1995, 413 pp.
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