A New Song (The Mitford Years, Book 5) (Paperback)

by Jan Karon (Author) "Dappled by its movement among the branches of a Japanese cherry, the afternoon light entered the study unhindered by draperies or shades..." (more)
Key Phrases: pew bulletin, red leash, fighting chair, Morris Love, Miss Sadie, Dove Cottage (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
As if being a priest in this day and age isn't difficult enough, try shepherding two parishes, located hundreds of miles apart, at the same time. A predicament of biblical proportions indeed, but one the indomitable Father Tim Kavanaugh and his cheerful wife, Cynthia, can handle, with a little help from the Lord--not to mention their friends--in Jan Karon's A New Song, the fifth installment in her much-loved Mitford series. When asked to act as interim minister for a tiny island parish in North Carolina's Outer Banks, the recently retired Father heeds the call, all the while trusting in a divine master plan: "He had prayed that God would send him wherever He pleased, and when his bishop presented the idea of Whitecap, he knew it wasn't his bishop's bright idea at all, but God's."

From the more routine duties of settling into a new church to dealing with a number of deeper domestic issues--including a single mother's spiral into depression and a reclusive next door neighbor in need of kindness--Father Tim's new parish presents a welcome challenge. All the while, of course, the folks back home keep him informed of goings-on in Mitford--the biggest being the recent arrest of Dooley Barlowe, a mountain boy whom Father Tim had taken into his home and heart five years earlier. As in past Mitford episodes, things have a way of working themselves out, but not before Father Tim and his accompanying cast learn a few more valuable lessons about life. Full of the homey atmosphere and heartwarming truths--not to mention the endearingly quirky characters--that are Karon's trademark, A New Song is a delightful celebration of the communal ties that bind. --Stefanie Hargreaves --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Karon reads the fifth installment of her popular Mitford series with gentle authority, nimble in her Southern enunciation and the depiction of colorful local characters (the four previous titles are available on tape, with the author at the microphone). She is very good at establishing mood, eliciting the nuances of time and place in the life of Father Tim Kavanagh, the recently retired Episcopal minister of this postcard-perfect North Carolina small town. He and Cynthia, his devoted wife, are moving to the coastal island of Whitecap for a year, where he is to preside as interim minister at a small church. Kavanagh is acutely sensitive to the "upheaval" of the "tearing up and nailing down" required by the temporary move. He feels homesick and is nagged with fear, especially as he learns that his adopted teenage son, Dooley, has landed in jail back home. And that's just the beginning of his troubles. Because Kavanagh's life unfolds episodicallyAand always in unexpected waysAit translates especially keenly as audio drama. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover. (Apr.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Group, Inc; 1st Printing: 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 edition (April 3, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140270590
• ISBN-13: 978-0140270594
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (169 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,943 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Mitford Years Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent story by Karon, June 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A New Song (The Mitford Years, Book 5) (Hardcover)

The Mitford books, and now a Whitecap book, have been a surprising and wonderful stroll through a different layer of life than most people experience -- or at least take note of. A New Song continues a great tradition. Everybody knew from the beginning who took the bronze statue, but it was a very moving chapter when it was resolved, even if one is a little dumbfounded that Fr. Tim didn't figure out who took it. My questions: So is it in bk 6 or 7 that Lace and Dooley make it to the altar? Will Dooley's birth father be there? Will Buck punch him out? Will Morris be the organist? Will Fr. Tim be there, or will he (or Cynthia) have gone home (could we stand the poignancy)? Thanks for the great and fresh spiritual writing, Jan Karon. And thanks even more to my own mother, for sharing this series with me.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Homesick for Mitford, January 10, 2000

By	Debra J. Berggren (Grand Island, Nebraska, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A New Song (The Mitford Years, Book 5) (Hardcover)

Having always been a homebody, I identified right away with Father Tim & Cynthia when they left their precious Mitford to go to Whitecap. What an adventure they had. I enjoyed every sentence of this book. Are there really people like Father Tim and Cynthia in this world? How I wish I could be their friend and neighbor. I gleaned scriptural knowledge and human knowledge from all of Jan's Mitford books. The ending of"A New Song" has me baffled indeed. Who is the man in the pearly white shirt? Could it be an angel perhaps? I will sit and sleep restlessly waiting for Jan's next book.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars White Cap Island here I come, February 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: A New Song (The Mitford Years, Book 5) (Hardcover)

This book was recommended by a friend and from the first page I was hooked. I moved right along with the rector and his wife and loved their new parish and missed their old one even though I hadn't met the folks in Mitford. I felt like I had been a part of their lives since the beginning. Ms. Karon draws you into the goings on and by the books end you want to know more about your friends.