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Customer Reviews for Penguin Putnam Inc. Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Penguin Putnam Inc. Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Wonderful news, Mitford fans! Father Tim, the beloved retired Episcopal priest, is back---and in response to a mysterious summons, he's taking a trip down "memory lane" to his hometown of Holly Springs, Mississippi. His journey is filled with colorful characters, heartfelt insights, and plenty of laughs---but will the destination yield surprising secrets, too? 368 pages, softcover from Penguin.
Average Customer Rating:
(44 Reviews) 44
Rating Snapshot (44 reviews)
5 stars
30
4 stars
8
3 stars
2
2 stars
3
1 star
1
9 out of 9100%customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Review 1 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
good story that could have been told much better
Date:March 19, 2012
Seventy-year-old Timothy Kavanaugh, the now retired Episcopalian minister of Jan Karon’s beloved Mitford series, who lives in Mitford, NC, with his wife, the former Cynthia Coppersmith, and their adopted son Dooley, receives a mysterious, unsigned letter postmarked Holly Springs, MS, which simply tells him to “Come home.” Cynthia has broken her ankle and Dooley is in college, so Tim hops in the car with his huge dog Barnabas and drives alone to Holly Springs, where he was born and raised but hasn’t been back in forty years. There he looks for long-lost friends, confronts the ghosts of the past, and wrestles with the demons of his upbringing. But will he ever find who wrote the note and what it is all about? And if he does, what will he do about it?
I read and enjoyed At Home in Mitford, the first of Karon’s Mitford series, but have not read any of the others which follow. However, when my wife bought this book, the first in Karon’s new Father Tim series, I decided to read it. While set in time subsequent to the last Mitford novel, it covers the early days of Tim and his family in Holly Springs via numerous flashbacks and reminiscences. USA Today says, “This is Karon’s most emotionally complex novel.” One could take “emotionally complex” as a synonym for “morally ambiguous.” At Home in Mitford, and I am told the other Mitford novels, have a certain light-hearted charm. Most reader-reviewers of Home to Holly Springs liked it, but a significant number of people who loved Mitford did not like this book because of its psychological nature, uneven narrative, lack of charm, tedious detail, and especially the stories of teenage sex, unwed pregnancy, attempted rape, and adultery. My wife was among those who did not care for it as well as the Mitford books.
Jan Karon is a good writer, and I found that the book has an interesting plot line, although it does drag a little at times. There are many positive aspects to it. However, one’s final decision about the book might hinge on how one views Tim’s reaction to learning about his father’s adultery. Does he feel that it’s something in the past that can’t be changed and he simply goes on from there without necessarily condoning what happened? Or does he come to believe that maybe the fact that his father found someone with whom he could show the love that he never gave Tim’s mother is just one of those facets of life and he shouldn’t be judgmental? I would like to think that it’s the former, but my wife concluded that it might have been the latter. Aside from this, there are a few instances of drinking whiskey. As to language, in addition to some common euphemisms and childish slang terms for body parts and functions, several references to the “s” word that was written on the water tower are found, although the word itself is never used, the words God and Lord are uttered a couple of times as interjections, and the “d” word modifies “Yankees” once and is part of the name of a mule owned by Tim’s childhood friend mentioned a number of times. The worst for me is that someone is said to be “white a**,” or to “kick a**,” or to be “bad a**,” or to be “hard a**,” or to be a “pain in the a**,” or to be a “rat’s a**,” or to say “my a**.” Karon may have chosen such language because she thinks that it makes her characters sound “authentic.” I think that it just makes them sound annoying. I like the fact that Tim is always acknowledging God and His grace, and the story does have a happy ending, but I think that it could have been told in a much better way.
I read and enjoyed At Home in Mitford, the first of Karon’s Mitford series, but have not read any of the others which follow. However, when my wife bought this book, the first in Karon’s new Father Tim series, I decided to read it. While set in time subsequent to the last Mitford novel, it covers the early days of Tim and his family in Holly Springs via numerous flashbacks and reminiscences. USA Today says, “This is Karon’s most emotionally complex novel.” One could take “emotionally complex” as a synonym for “morally ambiguous.” At Home in Mitford, and I am told the other Mitford novels, have a certain light-hearted charm. Most reader-reviewers of Home to Holly Springs liked it, but a significant number of people who loved Mitford did not like this book because of its psychological nature, uneven narrative, lack of charm, tedious detail, and especially the stories of teenage sex, unwed pregnancy, attempted rape, and adultery. My wife was among those who did not care for it as well as the Mitford books.
Jan Karon is a good writer, and I found that the book has an interesting plot line, although it does drag a little at times. There are many positive aspects to it. However, one’s final decision about the book might hinge on how one views Tim’s reaction to learning about his father’s adultery. Does he feel that it’s something in the past that can’t be changed and he simply goes on from there without necessarily condoning what happened? Or does he come to believe that maybe the fact that his father found someone with whom he could show the love that he never gave Tim’s mother is just one of those facets of life and he shouldn’t be judgmental? I would like to think that it’s the former, but my wife concluded that it might have been the latter. Aside from this, there are a few instances of drinking whiskey. As to language, in addition to some common euphemisms and childish slang terms for body parts and functions, several references to the “s” word that was written on the water tower are found, although the word itself is never used, the words God and Lord are uttered a couple of times as interjections, and the “d” word modifies “Yankees” once and is part of the name of a mule owned by Tim’s childhood friend mentioned a number of times. The worst for me is that someone is said to be “white a**,” or to “kick a**,” or to be “bad a**,” or to be “hard a**,” or to be a “pain in the a**,” or to be a “rat’s a**,” or to say “my a**.” Karon may have chosen such language because she thinks that it makes her characters sound “authentic.” I think that it just makes them sound annoying. I like the fact that Tim is always acknowledging God and His grace, and the story does have a happy ending, but I think that it could have been told in a much better way.
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Review 2 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:February 3, 2012
hopefulone
Age:55-65
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I've read and enjoyed all of the books in the Mitford series and found this one to be a bit different, though very enjoyable. I have a tough time letting go of Father Tim and am eager for more.
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Review 3 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Father Tim novels are uplifting!
Date:February 2, 2012
Janice
Location:Flower Mound, TX
Age:55-65
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
If you enjoyed the Mitford Series, you will also love Home to Holly Springs with Father Tim and his friends. He is a such a good priest, and the books are so encouraging yet deal with life's good side and bad side.
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Review 4 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Traveling with Father Tim
Date:November 13, 2011
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
Father Timothy Kavanagh has been asked by someone to come home. He is traveling from his retirement home in NC, leaving behind his beloved wife Cynthia. He has received a cryptic message "Come Home!" Along the way to finding who sent the message he meets several of his childhood friends, and meets some new ones.
He is looking for his blood brother Tommy, and wonders what has happened to a few others, including his Peggy.
He travels in his Mustang with his faithful companion Barnabus, his big dog! Love the reactions to this darling dog! God puts Tim where he needs to be, and forges doors to open to help his learning about why things happened when he was a child.
God is not done with him, and many questions are on their way to being answered. I loved this book, and recommend it for a wonderful read.
This book was provided by my local Library!
He is looking for his blood brother Tommy, and wonders what has happened to a few others, including his Peggy.
He travels in his Mustang with his faithful companion Barnabus, his big dog! Love the reactions to this darling dog! God puts Tim where he needs to be, and forges doors to open to help his learning about why things happened when he was a child.
God is not done with him, and many questions are on their way to being answered. I loved this book, and recommend it for a wonderful read.
This book was provided by my local Library!
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Review 5 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Loved the continuing story of Father Tim!
Date:April 7, 2011
Boots
Location:Brampton,On
Age:Over 65
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I enjoyed this book and love all the stories relating to Father Tim's childhood. Also love it when the old characters are still brought into keep us up to date on their lives. Glad to see Father Tim had some healing in his memories of the relationship with his father.
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Review 6 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Jan Karon is the best! She puts you right there.
Date:February 9, 2011
Katleen Mehrten
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I look forward eagerly to each new Jan Karon book. She is a very good writer who puts you right in the middle of the small town life she writes about.
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Review 7 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:November 5, 2010
oneofseven
Location:kingsland ga
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I have enjoyed reading all of the father tim series
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Review 8 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
This book is wonderful
Date:October 5, 2010
Pam Thibodeaux
Age:45-54
Gender:female
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
5
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
5
out of
5
I have enjoyed every one of Jan Karon's books and this one is no exception. I can't wait for the new book to come out!
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Review 9 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:November 1, 2010
Quality:
5
out of
5
Value:
4
out of
5
Meets Expectations:
4
out of
5
Home to Holly Springs is a quaint little book where all turns out nice and cozy-like most of her other books. Having said this, it is a sweet read and I will continue to read books by Jan Karon because she is positive and uplifting in her message as well as entertaining. Home to Holly Springs is about a return to Father Tim's childhood hometown and people that were of importance in his memories. He encounters a few unexpected visitors and happenings that fill the book with its charm and character. Overall, Home to Holly Springs is an easy read with good characters and sweet story line. Happy readings!-this book was not a free book for the purpose of writing a review.
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Review 10 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:October 14, 2009
Jeanne Statham
I enjoyed this book very much. I identified with Tim in his struggles to come to grips with childhood family difficulties. I look forward to the rest of the series. I will say, I missed hearing about all the Mitford characters I have grown to love!
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Review 11 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:September 8, 2009
Peggy
I loved the continuing story of Father Tim. I was just so disappointed by the use of a word over and over again. I definitely couldn't put this in our church library. Books can be written without the use of certain words and still retain the depth, feel, suspense, or whatever it is we as readers want to feel. I was listening to the audio version of the book, and I was so surprised because I didn't notice that in the other books I have read by Jan Karon.
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Review 12 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:August 3, 2009
Karen Pilley
Excellent book! My new favorite author! Great service as usual. Thank you CBD! God bless you all!
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Review 13 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:May 21, 2009
Karen Lieser
Thank you for the 'awesome' Father Tim Series! I'm excited to read the #2 book. Jan Karon's writing makes me feel like I'm right there. Every book has been so good and has had a wonderful message. I'm hoping that this series will have many books, too. Bless you!
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Review 14 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:April 20, 2009
Ingrid Creager
This book makes you want to read more! I can picture some of the sights. She is a wonderful writer!
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Review 15 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:February 27, 2009
New Heights Christian
I purchased the Mitford Series for my mother in law. She absolutely loved them and was so sad when she completed the last one. Imagine her delight when I got her "Home to Holly Springs." She is 84 years old and can't wait to go to bed each night so she can spend time with her favorite person, Father Tim. Thanks, Jan Karon, keep them coming!!
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Review 16 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:February 16, 2009
hazel
We have some of Jan Karon's books in our church library. But found words in the book Home To Holly Hills unacceptable for a church library.
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Review 17 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:March 23, 2009
Diana Drawbaugh
I have just finished "re-reading" Home to Holly Springs by listening to it on CD. I love this book because it shows Fr Tim as a real person with a real history, just like all of us. I love that Ms. Karon lets him be real - warts and all! Can't wait for #2!!!
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Review 18 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:December 30, 2008
Martha Hall
Excellent, couldn't put it down!! Are you going to write any more? Hope so. Looking forward to it. Have read Mitford series 3 times already. Love the characters.
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Review 19 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:December 4, 2008
Every pages gives me a new smile and warms my heart.
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Review 20 for Home to Holly Springs, Father Tim Series #1
Overall Rating:
Date:August 22, 2008
Ronda K Richards
I was so thrilled to continue reading about Father Tim and Cynthia. I feel like I am a part of their lives. This story kept me excited and thrilled to the end. Waiting for the sequel!!!
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