Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between

Heartwarming story that makes you feel good.

A mysterious letter summons Father Tim back to the town where he grew up. This novel is mostly childhood reminiscences, and the big present-day mystery feels rehashed from earlier in the series. I read it when it first came out, but this is my first reread since then. I find my lukewarm opinion of it has not changed.

This book captured the role that previous painful experiences play on the present and future. If it had been approached from a different angle I doubt it would have had the same impact. 
   I despised one individual in particular, and later that changed as I saw what he went through and how that influenced how he related to and treated those around him. The author gradually brought the reader to an understanding of this man, and not with a "quick-fix" mentality, but with much pain and misunderstanding involved. 
That said, I was not a fan of all the curse words, both referenced and written out, spread liberally throughout the book, including one that is part of an animal's name and repeated as part of that name perhaps a dozen times. Given this, and other content, including a rape scene that could have been less detailed, I was unable to give this book a higher rating, though the writing was very well done.

this was a goooood book. we got to know the REAL father tim. we got to see the imperfections behind the man. him without his wife and friends. very interesting and page turning.

The Mitford novels is one of my favorite series, so of course I needed to catch up with Fr. Tim in this. (Although I'm a bit confused as to why it's called a different series, what with the same characters and same story lines carried forward.) Here we get to find out a bit about Fr. Tim's childhood and his family of origin when he goes back home in response to a cryptic note. Many of the old places and people are still there, and we discover both light and dark in his past. I enjoyed reading it for (a) the insight into a favorite character and (b) it has its own interesting story that can carry a book itself. As always, the colorful characters surrounding Fr. Tim light up the novel. I will admit, though, that Cynthia is beginning to irritate me; even in the eyes of her beloved, no one can be that perfect.

Father Tim, beloved American Episcopalian priest of the nine-volume Mitford series, is now 70. In this book he returns to visit the small town where he grew up, after an absence of 40 years. He goes because of a cryptic note he received in the mail, and hopes he might manage to catch up with some old friends and perhaps even exorcise a few demons of the past.

I found it a bit slow-going at first, made all the more difficult by a lot of dialogue in an accent that isn't familiar to me. The story changes frequently from present to past and back again, filling in some of the details of Tim's childhood and teenage years, and helping us make sense of the people he meets or hears about. I found this worked well, on the whole, although it was hard to keep track of some of the characters.

However, by about half way through the pace picked up, and I found myself becoming more and more interested. I suppose the plot has slightly too many coincidences.. but it was well enough written that none of them seemed unbelievable. The main dramatic revelation, when it came, was something I had been expecting for a chapter or two so it didn't seem unrealistic.

People who haven't read the Mitford series probably wouldn't find this at all interesting, and those who like Mitford only for the small-town niceness might find this one a bit psychologically complex and murky. But for anyone who would like to know more about this delightful priest and his background, I'd definitely recommend it.

I read this for a book discussion at work. I have never read Jan Karon before. I think my group will like it. The subject was interesting enough and maybe I was just not into the book and missed some things. I thought it was confusing and it switched from the present to the past, suddenly. Once he found Peggy I really enjoyed the book, just too much leading up to it.

Philosophy of death made accessible but maybe dumbed down too much.

This is book 1 of the Father Tim series. Father Tim goes home again and finds many connections he didn’t even know he sought. He also makes peace with the memory of his father, and discovers the truth behind many boyhood mysteries. Audio book narrator Scott Sowers “young” voice isn’t quite right for Father Tim and others of his generation, but he does an okay job of other characters. 3* story / 2* narration.

Fans of Karon's Mitford books who were sad to see them end will be pleased to find that there will be more of Father Tim and Cynthia, Dooley and Barnabas the dog. In this first of the "Father Tim" books, Tim receives a mysterious summons to Holly Springs, MS, his birthplace. As we know from the Mitford books, Tim had a somewhat dysfunctional background, and this book explains and adds to that. Numerous flashbacks illustrate his growing up in a segregated South. As always, there is new spiritual ground for Father Tim to break. There's almost too much coincidence and melodrama, but it's charming and well-done for all that.

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.

Loved all of the books in the Mitford series. I'm In the middle of Home to Holly Springs with In the Company of Others waiting on my nightstand. A charming series

Summery: For the first time in decades, Father Tim returns to his birthplace, Holly Springs, Mississippi, in response to a mysterious, unsigned note saying simply: “Come home.” A story of long-buried secrets, forgiveness, and the wonder of discovering new people, places, and depth of feeling, Home to Holly Springs will enthrall new readers and longtime fans alike.I love the Jan Karon Mitford series more than I can say. I've reread them so many times and each time is as moving and enthralling to me as the first. There's one point in the series that always makes me cry so much my husband will say "Oh, _____ must have happened, if you're crying this much." (I don't want to give anything away if you haven't read them)So, when I got Home from Holly Springs a couple Christmas' back I was so excited. I, like many Karon fans, was sorry to see the Mitford series end but delighted to know Father Tim carried on. But then something happened. I never got around to reading the book. I wasn't sure why, but every time I finished a book and my husband would ask if I was going to read Father Tim I would say not yet. I never knew why and suddenly two years had past. Really, two years. What was I waiting for? At first I blamed it on wanting to go back and read the Mitford series from the beginning and that would take some time and I had new books I wanted to read. Then I would think of other excuses and not read it. I finally figured out I was worried it wouldn't have the same charm as the others and thus I would be disappointed and maybe even lose some love for the originals.When I think of the pressure authors must feel when they have written a successful series of books and then try to branch out to something new I can't help but feel amazed any of them do it. How crummy of me to not go into this new series with only the knowledge that Karon is a wondrful author and these are a whole new set of stories to enjoy.Well, I finally got around to reading Home from Holly Springs and I could kick myself for not having read it sooner. It had all the elements I loved in the Mitford series. I'll admit it took me a chapter or two to get into it since some of my favorite characters were gone. But I quickly was swept into the story of Father Tim's childhood. I wanted to know how he would deal with the heartaches, secrets, and lessons from his past.I will say there is an upside though for having waiting. The new Father Tim book has just come out so I won't have to wait now to catch up with him. You can bet I won't wait another two years to read this one.

I had read all of the books in the Mitford series by the time this title was published. I felt like I already knew all that I needed to know about Father Tim, the Episcopal priest in the small town of Mitford. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I loved this book. It's two years since I ready it and I can't wait for the next title in the series to come out.

Although it has been my experience that the Mitford books placed by the author in a setting other than Mitford have been less successful, Home to Holly Springs is a certain exception. For those of us who have loved the series, this book gives a very satisfying understanding of the background of Father Tim. It explains to us as well as to Father Tim the reasons behind so many of his quirks and fears which had only been hinted at in this nine book series. We meet new characters whose language, wit, and personalities match the best of the Mitford characters. Perhaps all the puzzle pieces come together too neatly during Father Tim's journey to his childhood home, but maybe that's the reason we leave our own broken worlds and return again and again to the warmth and happy endings found in these books.

I really enjoyed the Mitford series, so I picked up this audiobook expecting more of the same. While this book revisits many loved characters and introduces many more equally memorable ones, the story of Father Tim's boyhood in Holly Springs is very different from quaint and comfortable Mitford. Father Tim goes to Holly Springs in response to a cryptic, unsigned note left at his home. The narrative moves between this present day story of what occurs when he revisits his boyhood home and his memories of growing up in Holly Springs. His memories are not always pleasant, yet themes of love and family are as present in this story as in the earlier series. And, as is extra-important in audiobooks, the narrator was excellent, with a clearly unique voice for each character (though I sometimes questioned his choices as I, for one, imagined Cynthia's voice quite different...).Overall, I thought this a good, comfortable sort of book. I liked the story itself, but felt that some plot points were overly contrived.

Balm for the soul. Father Tim goes on a journey (with Barnabas) to his childhood home after 38 years when he receives a note which simply says "Come home". Intrigued and with some trepidation, he returns to make some incredible discoveries which will change his life forever.

Nobody does heartwarming better than Jan Karon. In this installment Father Tim goes back to his hometown of Holly Springs after getting a mysterious unsigned note that says simpley "come home". He meets several colorful characters there, gets to stay in his childhood home, and as he encounters people from his past (sometimes in too convenient ways) the story of his troubled past is revealed--as well as several anwers to questions that have haunted him for years. For an uplifting heartfelt story filled with faith you can't do better.

This is an excellent companion to the Mitford series and a good look at the childhood experiences and relationships that made Father Tim who he is. It's a well-written and insightful look at what it means to go home and the role that our past plays in shaping our present, as well as the overarching power and love of God for each of us.

I had completed the Mitford series last year and fell in love with these gentle but believable people. I would never have thought that I would so like this particular genre, but they were just the ticket when I was ill. So when this newest one came out, Santa made sure it was under the tree. I am really looking forward to this being the start of a new series. Written as a prequel to the original series, this book takes the reader back to Fr. Tim's childhood hometown with all the attendant memories the visit unlocks.

This is the book many of us have been waiting for. Father Tim is finally going to make peace with his past, or at least confront it. He receives a mysterious note in the mail and feels led to travel back to the town of his birth. What he will find there is anybodies guess.I will be the first to say that these books are an ideal. Everything works out the way it should, the way we want it to. Realistic? No. Restful? Yes. I simply feel good reading them, basking in the faith and love of the characters.

After more than thiry -eight years, Father Tim Kavanagh returns to his childhood home of Holly Springs, Mississippi, on a profoundly personal journey.

It's been a number of years since I've read a Jan Karon book and thought I'd give her new series a try. It was nice to learn more about Father Tim and have a different setting and new characters. I really started to enjoying it about 3/4 of the way through, once things started coming together and wrapping up. Looking forward to Book 2 in the series!

While billed as a "new series," if you're not a devotee to Mitford, don't bother. References to all the old characters are here. The Mitford series was very pleasant; this is a rehash.

Whether you've read the Mitford series or not, Home to Holly Springs is a great look into the past of a character that shapes the man he became. Father Kavanaugh finds out many answers to the questions of his past as well as new friends in his hometown. Beautifully written -- peaceful to read.

I enjoyed Karon's latest book although it's written differently than her Mitford series. I really was surprised that even though she'd never visited Holly Springs until she began writing the book that she did a pretty good job of capturing the town as I remember it roughly 38 years ago (and even present-day).

This first installment in the Father Tim series was very difficult to get into. Constant flashbacks are at times disorienting. However, the final half of the book was terrific. The pace picked up, and the flashbacks were fewer and further between. Overall, it was a satisfying read, if you can trudge through the first two hundred pages.

I always underestimate Jan Karon, and expect too little of her as a storyteller, and she always surprises me with her quality. Take this story... it is the story of Father Tim's childhood in Holly Springs, Mississippi, which was a time of severe racial oppression in that place. I had misgivings that she would downplay the oppression, and indeed the ugliness of it isn't as deeply felt as in some works. Yet Karon explores the complexity of racial relations through complex and well-portrayed family relationships. Recommended.

Father Tim leaves Mitford, NC and returns to the town where he grew up, Holly Springs, MS. This book has a slow start but provides a lot of background on Tim's youth and family. The pace picks up in the last half. This is not as good as the Mitford series, but provides a lot of background for future stories.