A Common Life [Paperback]

Jan Karon (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Penguin (March 25, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0786558091
• ISBN-13: 978-0786558094
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (263 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,934,247 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jan Karon is the author of the bestselling series of nine Mitford novels featuring Father Timothy Kavanagh, an Episcopal priest, and the fictional village of Mitford. Set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Karon's Mitford books include At Home in Mitford; A Light in the Window; These High, Green Hills; Out to Canaan; A New Song; A Common Life: The Wedding Story; In This Mountain; Shepherd's Abiding; and Light from Heaven. The Father Tim Novels include "Home to Holly Springs" and last fall's release of "In the Company of Others," set in County Sligo, Ireland. There are over 40 million Mitford and Father Tim novels, childrens books, and CDs in print.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short and sweet, September 4, 2002

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Common Life: The Wedding Story (The Mitford Years #6) (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this sixth Mitford installment after completing the second one, which is where it really belongs, and I have to say that Jan Karon continues to please me. While A Common Life is not as long or as in depth as her other Mitford novels, it still maintained that downhome sweetness and comfortable, cozy feeling that I've come to expect and love in these books.

A Common Life tells the story of Father Tim's acceptance of the importance and neccessity of Cynthia in his life. After proposing, the couple encounters the typical problems, jitters and joys that most engaged couples do. And as expected, the whole town of Mitford is getting into the celebration: Hessie Mayhew is in charge of the flowers, Esther Bollick is waiting for her invitation to bake the cake, and Uncle Joe is busily searching for the best joke to tell at the reception. And of course the wedding couldn't come off without at least a small hitch -- at 10 minutes after starting time, Cynthia is nowhere to be found...

Jan Karon has written another pleasing and endearing story. It is written in the same beautiful, classy way as the others, and any Mitford fan will consider this novel to be a wonderful addition to the series. Having said that, I can see where some readers could be disappointed if they were reading the books in order since A Common Life (#6) does not continue with the story where #5 stopped but instead goes back in time to between #2 and #3. However, despite which order you read it (and I recommend #6 after #2), I believe A Common Life is a treasure and perfect as a gift for any engaged or newly married couple as it celebrates a wonderful and simple romance. Looking forward to continuing on with the third book in the series. I know I won't be disappointed.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite for what it is, April 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Common Life (The Mitford Years, Book 6) (Hardcover)

No,it isn't long enough - hence 4 stars, not 5 - but it is a sheer joy for what it is. As a Mitford-addicted reader and tape listener I approached with trepidation hearing the tape read by anyone but Jan. Dana Ivy is superb and captures Cynthia especially with new shades of color cast on this fascinating character. The complexity and challenge of what it means to make a marriage commitment is genuinely explored through Father Tim; we learn more about the Mitfordites through vigniettes connected to their own marriages or love stories; Miss Sadie is ALIVE again; Dooley's singing, so eloquently done by Dana on the tape - all are joys. The simple reiteration of the Gospel and how to find spiritual wholeness - for me,the heart of all Mitford books- is there in power.

A COMMON LIFE is a lorgniette-view of characters about whom we have come to care during the single event about which we would most like to know every detail. The book delivers - but we'll never stop wanting more, because Jan's storytelling gift has made room for itself permanently for so many.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect "fix" while we wait for the next in the series., April 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Common Life (The Mitford Years, Book 6) (Hardcover)

I think the bad reviews on this site are based on disappointment -- and a misunderstanding of what this book is. This is not a continuation of the Mitford series, but rather a novella (that means it's short!) about the engagement and marriage of Father Tim and Cynthia. I thought the story was lovely -- I especially appreciated seeing a more vulnerable side to Cynthia... we learn things about her that we didn't know before.

I'm sure that Jan Karon is under great pressure from her publisher to write MORE, MORE, MORE Mitford books, and they would like to have one a year from her. Well, she won't do that; she can't do that. So we wait longer between books and receive stories of astonishing depth and quality. This novella reminds us how desperate we are for the next in the series.

I have to admit that I think the publisher's price and the packaging are a bit deceiving -- the double-spacing and wide margins feel like an attempt to pull the wool over our eyes. But don't blame Jan Karon -- she is like her character, Cynthia Coppersmith... she agonizes over her deadlines and worries that her work isn't up to her readers' expectations.