Home to Holly Springs (Father Tim Series #1)

Father Tim's next challenge

I opened "Home to Holly Springs" with such anticipation! I finally had Jan Karon's new book, it was a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon, I was in heaven. As I read, turning each page eagerly, I kept saying to myself, "Something exciting will happen soon, the next chapter will be more exciting." I was expecting this book to be like the Mitford books, but those familiar characters were not appearing. The new characters were not as likeable, and I didn't care too much about them. I tried to like them, but I found them a bit tiring. Two major characters with the same name! Who was who? Jan Karon, why? I struggled with the book, determined to finish it. Finally, Cynthia showed up and things began moving along! I was not surprised with the final "secret"; nor was I surprised with Father Tim's decision. Of course, he would! I do look forward to more Father Tim books. I just hope they will be more fun to read!

5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Reconciling ones past with the present

This is a wonderful addition to the Father Tim stories! We get to see the events that made Father Tim the man he is. We also have the opportunity to see that negative events in our lives can lead to good instead of being used as excuses for failure and lack of ambition.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Jan Karon's books are always a good read

I loved getting to know Tim and his background. It was a very enjoyable book and I look forward to the next installment.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Just not the same ...

I was very disappointed in this book after having loved all of her previous books. I could not wait to read the next. In this book, she seems to have changed. In previous books, she wrote more about her characters and their interaction. It almost seems as if someone told Ms. Karon to change her style and that she was becoming too formulaic. I think not but it seems she has gone out of her way to change . I couldn't follow the dialogue and couldn't figure out some of the insinuations. I must go back and read it again to figure out some of the characters. I do hope she gets back on track in the future.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

superb

This was just a wonderful book. Father Tim goes back to Holly Springs at age 70, and his boyhood suddenly comes alive in flashbacks to the deep south. A wonderful escape to another time and place, beautiful love story, wonderful surprise ending. Loved it, highly recommend.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

audio book "reader"

I love the audio books of the Mitford series and couldn't wait to listen to the next round of Father Tim. But I was very disappointed that a new reader was doing the book. The series really needs the other guy to do this series (and any other books on disc that he can, he is WONDERFUL)

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The best book since To Kill a Mockingbird!

Hands down, the best book since To Kill a Mockingbird!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

If you loved Mitford, you'll love this book!

I felt bereft when I finished the last novel in the Mitford series. So I was elated to discover that Jan Karon has continued Father Tim Kavanagh's adventures in a new series. If you read the Mitford novels, you know that Father Tim at times referred to an uneasy relationship with his own father. In this novel, Father Tim goes home to Holly Springs and confronts some demons from his past. This journey has mystery, humor, and characters that come to life on the page. I'm looking forward to reading more books in this series...

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Home to Holly Springs fits this book to a T. Going home for Father Tim is also like going home for the reader.

I have read all of the Mitford series and all the Christmas books; plus the cookbook. But, Home to Holly Springs takes us back to the beginning of Father Tim and his roots. In the process of this journey, the reader is also reminded of their own history. When Father Tim is reaquainted with an old flame and the memories involved with it, the reader has their own old memories. It is such a warm,fuzzy book. Thank you, Jan Karon.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best of the series.

My favorite of all the Mitford books.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Pleased with another Jan Karon book

I always enjoy Jan Karon's books and this one was no exception.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Seventy-year-old Timothy Kavanaugh, the now retired Episcopalia

Seventy-year-old Timothy Kavanaugh, the now retired Episcopalian minister of Jan Karon’s beloved Mitford series, who lives in Mitford, NC, with his wife, the former Cynthia Coppersmith, and their adopted son Dooley, receives a mysterious, unsigned letter postmarked Holly Springs, MS, which simply tells him to “Come home.” Cynthia has broken her ankle and Dooley is in college, so Tim hops in the car with his huge dog Barnabas and drives alone to Holly Springs, where he was born and raised but hasn’t been back in forty years. There he looks for long-lost friends, confronts the ghosts of the past, and wrestles with the demons of his upbringing. But will he ever find who wrote the note and what it is all about? And if he does, what will he do about it?
I read and enjoyed At Home in Mitford, the first of Karon’s Mitford series, but have not read any of the others which follow. However, when my wife bought this book, the first in Karon’s new Father Tim series, I decided to read it. While set in time subsequent to the last Mitford novel, it covers the early days of Tim and his family in Holly Springs via numerous flashbacks and reminiscences. My wife was among those who did not care for it as well as the Mitford books.
Jan Karon is a good writer, and I found that the book has an interesting plot line, although it does drag a little at times. There are many positive aspects to it. However, one’s final decision about the book might hinge on how one views Tim’s reaction to learning about his father’s adultery. Does he feel that it’s something in the past that can’t be changed and he simply goes on from there without necessarily condoning what happened? Or does he come to believe that maybe the fact that his father found someone with whom he could show the love that he never gave Tim’s mother is just one of those facets of life and he shouldn’t be judgmental? I would like to think that it’s the former, but my wife concluded that it might have been the latter. Aside from this, there are a few instances of drinking whiskey. As to language, in addition to some common euphemisms and childish slang terms for body parts and functions, several references to the “s” word that was written on the water tower are found, although the word itself is never used, the words God and Lord are uttered a couple of times as interjections, and the “d” word modifies “Yankees” once and is part of the name of a mule owned by Tim’s childhood friend mentioned a number of times. The worst for me is that someone is said to be “white a**,” or to “kick a**,” or to be “bad a**,” or to be “hard a**,” or to be a “pain in the a**,” or to be a “rat’s a**,” or to say “my a**.” Karon may have chosen such language because she thinks that it makes her characters sound “authentic.” I think that it just makes them sound annoying. I like the fact that Tim is always acknowledging God and His grace, and the story does have a happy ending, but I think that it could have been told in a much better way.

This is a very good book and it is so nicely written.

I enjoyed the story of Father Tim's life as a child and all that went on with him. It really seems almost like he is a real live person.

Disappointing

I'm only half way through and can't make myself finish. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's Mitford series, but this is nothing like it. I find it to be slow, and the transitions from the present and past are sometimes hard to follow. The tone of the book is melancholic and rather depressing. Maybe the second half will redeem it but I'm not wasting my time to find out. Sorry.

Great book!

A mysterious two word note sends Father Tim back to his home town after many years. He finds old friends and solves a mystery from his past, and learns more about himself. This is a great addition to Jan Karon's world!

Very Disappointing

After such a great series -- I read and enjoyed them all -- this book was a huge disappointment. Jan Karon should have left Father Tim in Mitford!!!

Nice, entertaining book.

A very easy read and quite an interesting story. Language was decent
and not embarrassed to be seen reading this. Had actually ordered
"In the Company of Others" after seeing a review in a magazine and
when I realized it was #2 of a series I got this to be sure it was
read first. Then read the second and am now looking forward to
others. Usually read bios and history so these are a light
relief in between heavier subjects.

*yawn*

This was the first Jan Karon book I have read. I had heard that her books were a bit more captivating. Everything was predictable and it made for a long read.

Didn't Enjoy

I liked the Mitford books much better. This book kept switching around and was difficult to figure out who was talking and what was going on. Two of the characters even had the same name. It was just too confusing. It just didn't hold my interest. I finally gave up on it.

If you liked the Mitford series you'll like this too!

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