Customer Reviews

Light from Heaven (The Mitford Years, Book 9)

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Well-written, well-bound, and overflowing with dynamic gists; this long-awaited final volume of "Light from Heaven" took almost eternity to be published. But the good news is that its contents truly justified the long wait. Expectedly, the book imbibed some new characters in addition to all the old ones with whom previous readers are familiar.
And whatever your opinion on Father Timothy Kavanagh's intriguing life, one thing is guaranteed: this latest volume did bring out the best from Jan Karon's narratives. This sequel is so captivating that even after devouring its close-to-400 pages, one will be left wondering why the author chose to 'summarize' such an exciting story. Without question, this book's 380 pages could have yielded a dynamic 580 pages with a little effort. Anyone who reads it would testify to this fact.
Meanwhile, in the course of tracing their steps across the domestic minefield they called home, the priesthood of Father Timothy was consummately tested: just as the mystery and the muscle of Cynthia's house-sitting were laid bare.
Despite its late arrival to the market, this book is a well-laid-out sequel, which will earn the interest of any story-lover. Another fine piece from Jan Karon!

Thanks to Jan Karon, Mitford has become a literary heart's home for many. And, thanks to John McDonough, Father Timothy Kavanaugh has become very real, a voice both rugged and kind, only slightly accented, appropriately rich and mature. One can imagine him delivering a homily to a rapt congregation.

In this, the final installment in the highly popular series, we find Father Tim and his wife, Cynthia, doing a favor for friends. They're house sitting on a farm where, as the beloved cleric says, There's naught to do but "read, rest, and walk four dogs." Cynthia asks him to go into town to pick up supplies for their son's visit. While he's happy to do so, he also ruefully acknowledges that he might wish to be called upon to do something a bit more interesting.

His wish is granted when the Bishop assigns him to Holy Trinity, a small church in the mountains that hasn't had a viable congregation in four decades. Father Tim and Cynthia arrive with little hope of finding very much in the way of a structure, but are delighted to find that Holy Trinity has been well maintained by loving congregants.

Light From Heaven is the story of how Father Tim and Cynthia become acquainted with the people who live in the mountains and try to build a congregation. Throughout, listeners are treated to visits from characters met in previous installments, and enchanted by the Kavanaugh's new friends.

Once again, Jan Karon has penned an entertaining, heartwarming story carrying a message of hope.

- Gail Cooke

Saliently Ms. Karon summarizes the series and this final installment in the Mitford series: the Father gathers the family; then moves on.

Weaving with her demonstrated skill at keeping multiple storylines going and keeping the reader's interest perked (or not all it seems from some of the reviewers with this finale) she marvelously weaves her magic through tales of ordinary folks on a mountain wrapped with Mitford folks we've come to know and love over the series.

From runaway kids of dysfunctional homes to lead poisoning to hidden money to a chicken thief. Notably, however, this offering has more Scripture, more witness to the faith than the others. Thus, easily this reviewer's esteem and enjoyment following the reopened spiritual outpost. The interspersing of hymns and prayers and emails show that faith of old still functioning even in age of technology. What marvelous seaming together of the wonder of it all!

Especially touching is ASL signing with Clarence and small congregation's learning to communicate with this neglected language group.

What begins in the spring seems so encouraging to a book introduced as chill of fall turns to winter approaches, renewing one's longing for it. Ending as it does with a June scene and paths yet untrod ahead for our Father Timothy and Cynthia, seems the perfect jumpoff for what is to come from our beloved wordsmith Karon.

Can't wait for Fr.T series, but now relishing this wonderful finale read!

I have been a reader and re-reader of the Mitford Books. But I am very disappointed in this book. The first four books were outstanding, the fifth one (Whitecap) pretty entertaining, but In This Mountain began a slide and Light From Heaven sinks hard to the bottom.

The "resolved" story lines are done only minimally. (I can't say too much lest I spoil this for someone.)

There are hints of what's to come for past characters -- Hope's sister apparently taking a shine to George Gaynor -- but we will never know what happens since the series is ending. This was probably not the book in which to introduce new plots.

Only very minimal attention is paid to Mitford characters who made the past books so much fun -- Esther and Ray, Andrew Gregory, and others -- and the Turkey Club visits are no longer very satisfying (read the book to find out what happened to lunchtime). Minister Tipton was introduced late and significantly in the book immediately prior, but has no part in this one. There is very little about Buck and Pauline. Edith Mallory's return to Mitford is just silly, given how much everyone hated her. There is one great scene with Tony Nocelli, one of the few times we ever really see what he's like, but it does not lead anywhere.

Particularly annoying, given the scant attention paid to already-loved and developed characters, is the introduction of so many new ones in this book. Karon could have told her story without a lot of those. Even in Whitecap there were not so many new people to keep track of.

I will read the Father Tim Novels (assume they are about his pre-Mitford life?) but I really wanted more as a closer to this series.

We waited a long time for Light From Heaven, but now that it's here, we know it was worth the wait. A fun and feel-good novel, Karon has given us just what we asked for.

As we reaquaint ourselves with the residents of the North Carolina town of Mitford, we find that Father Tim is called away to bring life to a tiny in size (but big in spirit) mountain church. Even though this is the end of a series, we are introduced to just a few more interesting and entertaining folks--the parishioners of Holy Trinity church. Like every Mitford novel, Light From Heaven is not overbearingly religious, but it does always pay respect and paint a beautiful picture of the special feeling that is Faith. By ministering this new group of churh-goers--unlike any the pastor has seen before--Father Tim inevitably finds himself closer to nature (and heaven) because of the people he meets, and the events that occur at this small and simply vibrant vocation. It should also be mentioned that, like the rest of the series, scrumptuous southern cooking plays a big role in the interaction of the characters. (I was interested to learn that Karon also recently published a cookbook.)

So, as we say goodbye, we are pleased to find that Light From Heaven does an excellent job at answering many of the questions we had after reading the previous eight books. It also acts as a transition book for Father Tim and his wife, as "The Father Tim Novels" are set to be published in 2007. Newcomers to the series should consider picking up the Mitford Series boxset, as it wouldn't be fair to start at the ending, and the whole series really is exceptional. Fans might also enjoy the Left Behind Series by Lehaye and Jenkins. It has many similar morality themes and religious references. A book titled Calling in the Night by Michele Geraldi fits right into this style, too, as it is eloquent and respectful to faith and beauty. (I believe it is the first in a series, so it is fun to be at the beginning of something new.) Goodbye, Mitford. It's been wonderful.

Father Timothy is rapidly approaching his 70th birthday, and time hangs heavy for him in retirement. But then his bishop, also about to retire, gives him the perfect assignment--reviving an old mountain church that has been abandoned for forty years. Of course, it's right up Father Timothy's alley, and he is soon busy making his rounds, visiting, cajoling, philosophizing and praying with his new parish. And his old parish. And his family. That's the plot.

The Mitford novels were never really novels in the usual sense, more like extended stays in a wonderful, utopian community. They were filled with quirky characters, dogs, reprobates and unknown saints, jokers and complainers, and wonderful mountain accents. Unfortunately, this book, last of the series, doesn't live up to the standard of the previous books. There are too many new characters, too many old characters, too much wise philosophy, too much preaching, and too much all around goodness to make an interesting read. There is very little conflict, no problem that cannot be solved by Father Tim and Cynthia, no incorrigible sinner who cannot be turned around by a well said prayer from Father Tim--well, you get the picture.

Author Jan Karon is brilliant with characterization, with dialogue, and with mountain dialect, but in this book her writing has slipped considerably. The dialogue often sounds too much like preaching. Sometimes she gets careless. At times her point of view shifts within a single sentence, as though she was just pressed for time. If you loved the other Mitford books you will probably like this one, but you may be a little disappointed. The series should have ended sooner. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.

I just completed both Light from Heaven, and the one selling with it. If you like Christian-fiction, Karon's books are must reads. Once again, Jan took me away from my world, to a place full of adventures, love, laughter, and tears. If you have not read anything from her before, I would suggest you start from the beginning of the series, and read them all. I don't think you'll be disappointed. In another realm (non-fiction), Passenger's Side was just wonderful. This is the kind of book that will surely be changing lives. It has given me help in some areas of my life where I needed it, and some renewed hope. I would also call it a must read.

It's the final encore for the characters of Mitford, "the little town with the big heart," as the curtain rings down on the long-running series. Fans who have devotedly read each of the Mitford Years novels will be delighted that this long-awaited conclusion is everything that might be hoped for, and a little bit more.

Father Tim Kavanaugh and his wife Cynthia are farm-sitting for their friends, just 20 minutes from Mitford. It's the setting for a number of developments. Dooley is a college student studying to be a veterinarian, and about to find out he has a huge inheritance that will smooth his future career path. He's also about to make his relationship as "son" to Father Tim and Cynthia official. Those who remember the abused little boy Dooley, showing up on the then-bachelor Father Tim's doorstep in the inaugural novel AT HOME IN MITFORD, may shed a tear or two, as readers see what the love of a good man can mean to a boy starved for attention, affection and discipline. It's unabashedly poignant. Not that Father Tim's parenting work is done --- Dooley's little brother Sammy is now part of the Kavanaugh family, rough around the edges and harboring a penchant for shooting pool and planting gardens. And Kenny, Dooley's missing sibling, still must be found and returned to the fold.

Cynthia, who had planned to tackle nothing more difficult than learning how to make good home fries, read, and learn needlepoint while on the farm, ends up hard at work on a series of watercolors for a calendar featuring Violet, the cat, in the country. With Cynthia so busy, Father Tim finds that he wants something concrete to do. He's delighted when he's asked to be the vicar of a small church, Holy Trinity, that has been empty for almost 40 years. But Father Tim discovers that while the church has been empty, it's not been neglected, and a new beginning awaits him. Kudos to Jan Karon, who shows beautifully through both Father Tim and Cynthia that getting older does not mean "retiring" from life. Some of the best work we do might come after 60!

Karon issues an altar call for all the characters readers have grown to love. The irascible Emma, Father Tim's former assistant, shoots him hilarious emails full of her fears about her upcoming trip to England. Puny has given birth to a second set of twins, this time boys, and the unlikable Edith Mallory, who suffered a serious head injury seven months before the story opens, speaks a single word: "God." Many others are woven throughout the story. Some of the beloved Mitford characters are dead or dying: Russell Jacks (who made "livermush" famous for Karon's readers), Absalom Greer, Miss Sadie, and Uncle Billy. Dying is on Father Tim's mind more these days as he nears the ripe age of 70: "He wasn't however, afraid of dying; he knew where he was going, what he feared, instead, was leaving some crucial work undone..."

The plot turns easily on simple things: the restoring of the abandoned Holy Trinity church and recovery of its congregation, a search for Miss Sadie's cache of money hidden in an old Plymouth automobile, the dilemmas of Cynthia's work as an artist in the midst of farm life, and the challenges of taking neglected children in hand.

More surprisingly, perhaps (and a hint of the promised Father Tim Novels series to come?), a new cast of characters parades across the pages: Agnes Merton, one of the last faithful members of Holy Trinity and a newfound friend to Father Tim; Robert, who served time for murder in prison; Rooter, whose antics will make you smile; and Clarence, a deaf and talented carpenter. There's also the cranky, reclusive Jubal Adderholt whose cabin walls are furred with squirrel tails, and the McKinney sisters, Mary and Martha (one fat, one thin). Father Tim takes on another attention-starved child "project" in precocious five-year-old Sissie, the daughter of Dovey Gleason, who is chronically bed-ridden with a mysterious illness.

As you'd expect, there's some ruminations about the past, some wrapping up of old plotlines, and a few surprises. This is a tender tale, spiced with plenty of prayers, old hymns, homilies, good food, and country jokes that would make Uncle Billy Watson proud. Mitford lovers will turn the final pages of LIGHT FROM HEAVEN with the feeling that comes after finishing a big, delicious meal: full, satisfied, and content.
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Like everyone else, I am very disappointed with the last book...Way too many characters, poorly developed plot lines, what happens to Ms. Rose? What happens to Esther Bolick? Kenny just shows up on the doorstep miraculously??? What a cop out of a novel, I'm sorry! Fthr. Tim and Cynthia could not be any more nauseating, I loved them so much more when they had a fight or two! One thing I need to say, is that Karon did write a very fabulous series with very lovable characters. I wonder if she was on a deadline and was forced to send it in to the publishers? I just can't understand what happened.

I'm afraid I must join the chorus of disappointed reviewers who found the "Miford Series" final book a less-than hoped for ending to this charming series. It left me wishing that Ms. Karon had chosen to wrap up the loose ends of this highly entertaining and spiritual life of Father Tim in a more effective way. There were just too many new characters introduced, and I found myself skipping through those pages hoping to get to a part where updates on other beloved characters such as Esther, Miss Rose, Hope, and Dooley were rendered in greater detail. Alas....Ms. Karon really never provides such details. I found myself finishing this book feeling "hungry" for deeper relevations about the many characters who had been part of the Mitford Series since the beginning. I feel a bit "cheated" that I will not be able to continue to follow the lives of these rich characters, but I suppose that all good things must come to an end....I just wish this ending had been a bit more satisfying.