In the Company of Others: A Father Tim Novel [Hardcover]

Jan Karon (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 19, 2010

A stirring page-turner from the bestselling author of the Mitford Series.

Jan Karon's new series, launched with her New York Times bestselling Home to Holly Springs, thrilled legions of Mitford devotees, and also attracted a whole new set of readers. "Lovely," said USA Today. "Rejoice!" said The Washington Post.

In this second novel, Father Tim and Cynthia arrive in the west of Ireland, intent on researching his Kavanagh ancestry from the comfort of a charming fishing lodge. The charm, however, is broken entirely when Cynthia startles a burglar and sprains her already-injured ankle. Then a cherished and valuable painting is stolen from the lodge owners, and Cynthia's pain pales in comparison to the wound at the center of this bitterly estranged Irish family.

In the Company of Others is a moving testament to the desperate struggle to hide the truth at any cost and the powerful need to confess. Of all her winning novels, Jan Karon says this "dark-haired child" is her favorite-a sentiment readers everywhere are certain to share.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Karon's latest, Fr. Timothy Kavanagh, the moral center of the beloved Mitford series, hops the Atlantic for a long anticipated vacation in the Irish countryside. He and his wife settle in at Broughadoon, a B&B run by Liam and Anna Conor in County Sligo, and Father Tim is happy to be reacquainted with his ancestral homeland. He's particularly taken with Catharmore, a sprawling 19th-century estate that was Liam's childhood home. When their stay is extended because of an injury, the Kavanaghs pass the time reading up on Catharmore's history, helping out around the grounds, and getting to know the area's many colorful characters. Father Tim assumes the role of confidant and adviser to the Conors and their extended family, investigating a burglary, helping unburden Liam and Anna of long-held secrets, and aiding Liam's alcoholic mother to recover her lost faith. Karon's prose trundles along at a languid pace, but her heartfelt dialogue and rich characterizations keep the story engaging. Though it's not the ideal entry point to the expansive world of Father Tim, fans will relish this new chapter in his life.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The second in Karon’s new Father Tim series finds the beloved retired Episcopal priest and his wife, Cynthia, starting off on a long-overdue vacation in Ireland Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:Table Normal; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}––all set to combine sightseeing with some genealogical research. Instead, the couple find themselves at the center of a rash of burglaries bedeviling the B&B where they’re lodging. Startling the thief in the act of ransacking their room, Cynthia sustains injuries that will confine her to quarters. Perhaps it was divine intervention, for she and Tim quickly become involved in the ongoing family dramas enveloping innkeepers Anna and Liam and their extended kin. The discovery of a journal written by Liam’s nineteenth-century ancestor not only helps the Kavanaghs provide insightful counseling to all concerned, it also leads them to the robber’s hidden lair. Eagerly anticipated by her faithful fans, Karon’s latest installment will be equally attractive to new readers, especially those whose who enjoy Irish fiction, for she does an exemplary job conveying its rich history and robust people. --Carol Haggas --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (October 19, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670022128
• ISBN-13: 978-0670022120
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (317 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,043 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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

266 of 274 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Long Wait is Over October 19, 2010

By Deborah VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

It's been three LONG years since Jan Karon's last book and it's been a LONG wait. I fell in love with the Mitford series a few years ago and have been eagerly awaiting the release of this book. The first book in the Father Tim series introduced us to another side of everyone's favorite reverend as he discovers another side of his family he didn't know had existed. This book takes him and his wife to Ireland, the land of his ancestors, where Father Tim plans on trying to have a relaxing vacations but other circumstances arise changing his plans.

I was really glad to see Cynthia reappear in this book. She was sadly missed in the previous volume and it was wonderful to see her again. I love her relationship with Father Tim as they have one of the most loving marriages I've seen written in literature. They love each other and get along but also have spats which make them realistic. I hope that when I'm in my golden age, my marriage will be like theirs. They have great chemistry together and I love reading about them. The story is rich in detail about Ireland, its culture and its people. I loved how the Irish people are shown speaking in dialect as it added cultural flavor to the story. The story is not filled with Irish stereotypes or cliches but instead added an international flavor to the story.

While I did enjoy the story, there were parts of this book that just were not to my liking. One is while the presence of Cynthia is much appreciated, I really missed Mitford and its citizens. While Father Tim is core to the story, the personalities of the townsfolk really add to the story with their zany antics and interesting backgrounds. I was excited to read emails from Dooley and Emma but it it just wasn't enough. I miss all of them! I also got a bit annoyed that Tim and Cynthia kept missing out on hanging out with Walter and Katherine. It was rotten luck but I always feel like we never get to spend time with Walter and Katherine and would have loved for the the two couples to team up. My final qualm was that even though the diary sections were crucial to the story, I found them to be very boring. I don't know if it was the way they were written or if I just felt that they were less exciting than the main story, but every time I got to the entries, I really wanted to skip over them.

Overall, except for these qualms, I did enjoy the book. I loved traveling to Ireland with the Kavanaghs and really felt as if I was there with them on vacation. The characters in the story, while not as enjoyable as the Mitford clan, were unique and interesting in their own way and gave the story a wonderful feel of Irish culture. I would love to visit Ireland one day (my husband's family is of Irish descent) and this book made me yearn for it even more. I hope that the wait won't be TOO long for the next book in this series. I enjoyed my stay with Father Tim and Cynthia and look forward to spending more time with them in the future.

159 of 166 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Missing Mitford October 20, 2010

By Gordie

Format:Hardcover

I certainly agree with Deborah's review. I miss Mitford, too. I had so looked forward to this newest Father Tim book and pre-ordered it so I could have it immediately upon publication. Like Deborah, I found the long journal passages boring. I never did figure out who the live people were, much less the dead ones. There were just too many characters introduced over too short a period of time in this book. Their relationships with each other were complicated and difficult to follow. In the beloved Mitford series, the characters were quite believable and flowed more naturally. They weren't thrown into the story in bunches at a time. The Irish-accented English was difficult to follow throughout the book, as well. Though it was authentic to the characters, it made for slow reading. Too much excitement/bad luck/criminal activity/drama was introduced too quickly and dragged on too long. I had hoped Father Tim and Cynthia could have enjoyed a relaxing vacation and made some pleasant connections in the family homeland. However, this was not to be. I was glad to find out what was happening in Dooley's life back home in the U.S., but I didn't relate to these new, strange people in Ireland.

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Long awaited...and a disappointment November 9, 2010

By Susan

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Although Jan Karon has stated in interviews that she is done with the Mitford series, I nonetheless preordered this book with the hope that I would find something of the old Father Tim there. Written in a faux-Irish accent, and interspersed with long passages from a journal that he and Cynthia discover at the lodge, also in an equally quaint Irish, the book soon moved from den to bedroom - a before-sleep read. While I was happy that Father Tim has finally learned to say "no" at age 70, why in heaven's name would he become so intimately involved in the problems of this family when this was to be Cynthia's birthday vacation, as well as his? Without giving away the plot for those who still wish to read it, it is simply implausible, the characters dull - must Liam broadcast the emotion of the moment on his face and need to "have a word" with Fr. Tim every day? And it seems that the phrase "into the bargain" is also used by the Irish villagers, which along with Uncle Billy's "don't you know," soon becomes annoying to me when I read her work. At nearly $30 a pop, I'll be certain to thumb through any future books by Ms. Karon before making a purchase. My advice would be that she hop into the Vauxhall, hie herself to the airport, and get back to Mitford, a town that has characters that have something to say, "please God." I have every single book written by this author, but am willing to donate this one to the local book sale. Can you go home again? You can if you love Mitford!