More literary comfort food, as Karon agreeably records another year in Mitford, the small town where every problem has a human face and where Father Tim, the Episcopalian rector, is always there to help. Again, like its three predecessors (These High, Green Hills, 1996, etc.), Karon's latest continues the stories of now-familiar Mitford citizens. And again, always at the heart of the action is 60-something Father Tim Kavanagh, who, with wife Cynthia, an author and illustrator, is now ``getting ready to. . . go out to Canaan''- -to retire. Kavanagh is one of those rare literary creations—a credible good man whose goodness comes from faith, humility, and a zest for life. He is a loving pastor who's ever ready to respond to his flock's needs. And needs they have. When Lace, the young girl he rescued from a violent father, is unable to help the ailing Harley, who once took care of her, Tim gives him a home in the rectory; he also helps recovering alcoholic Pauline find work, as well as the baby daughter she gave away; and he advises Winnie, owner of the local bakery, on how to thwart a crooked realtor. Meanwhile, there's a mayoral election to contend with, as Esther Cunningham is challenged by the suspiciously free-spending Mack Stroupe. And a Florida company wants to turn Fernbank, a Mitford landmark, into a spa. While Tim responds to crises, major and minor, he is poignantly aware that his days as a rector are numbered. But as he drives around on Christmas Eve, there's still much to celebrate (``if there were a poll-tax on joy this night of nights, he'd be dead broke''). A heart-warmer that diverts the spirit as it uncloyingly celebrates life in all its quirkiness in a small town. (First printing of 100,000; $150,000 ad/promo; author tour)
Pub Date: May 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-670-87485-X
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
This first novel, ostensibly about the friendship between two boys, Reuven and Danny, from the time when they are fourteen on opposing yeshiva ball clubs, is actually a gently didactic differentiation between two aspects of the Jewish faith, the Hasidic and the Orthodox. Primarily the Hasidic, the little known mystics with their beards, earlocks and stringently reclusive way of life. According to Reuven's father who is a Zionist, an activist, they are fanatics; according to Danny's, other Jews are apostates and Zionists "goyim." The schisms here are reflected through discussions, between fathers and sons, and through the separation imposed on the two boys for two years which still does not affect their lasting friendship or enduring hopes: Danny goes on to become a psychiatrist refusing his inherited position of "tzaddik"; Reuven a rabbi.... The explanation, in fact exegesis, of Jewish culture and learning, of the special dedication of the Hasidic with its emphasis on mind and soul, is done in sufficiently facile form to engage one's interest and sentiment. The publishers however see a much wider audience for The Chosen. If they "rub their tzitzis for good luck,"—perhaps—although we doubt it.
Pub Date: April 28, 1967
ISBN: 0449911543
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1967
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