At Home In Mitford by: Jan Karon

Week3

I thought for this week, since we are now at the end of the book, it would be fun to discuss some of the Reader’s Guide discussion questions. I found these in the back of my book, but you can also find them on Jan Karon’s website.

What role does Barnabas play in Father Tim’s life? What other characters seem to invade Father Tim’s already busy life, only later to prove enriching elements? Are there any that are a permanent drag on his spirits? How does Father Tim come to terms with them?

Dooley appears on the scene untamed and uninvited. What is it that finally makes Father Tim and Dooley aware that they need each other? How does Dooley contribute to Father Tim’s life? Have you had “Dooleys” in your own life?

Choose two of your group members to read the dialogue between Dooley and Puny in the middle of Chapter Seven — the scene where they first meet. How does the dialect differ in your part of the country? Try reading a brief part of a Dooley speech in the dialect of your own region.

Which characters did you dislike at first, only to later come to appreciate or at least understand them? What characters in the book react that way to someone new?

Compare Miss Sadie and Miss Rose. They are very different characters, but both make a powerful contribution to the books. What makes them such vivid characters? What would Mitford be like without them? What unique contributions do they make?

Priests seldom have people they can confide in. Who are Father Tim’s confidants? What secrets does he entrust to them? What role does prayer play in giving Father Tim a chance to truly vent his feelings?

“Mitford takes care of its own,” says Mayor Cunningham. How does this happen in the book? Is this limited only to small towns? What other types of communities can it take place in?

Here are just a few brief thoughts of mine. I’m not going to go into each question as I’d love to be able to discuss some of these more in depth through the comments.

For #1, I felt that Barnabas was such a driving force behind Father Tim’s transformation from an unsure and unfulfilled pastor. Even though at first he was unsure of Barnabas, once Father Tim welcomed Barnabas into his home, he seemed to start viewing life differently. Not being a dog person myself, I had a bit of a hard time relating to this at first. But once I began to look at the situation from Father Tim’s point of view, I grew just as attached to Barnabas as he did.

As to #7, I loved the saying “Mitford takes care of its own” almost as much as I loved seeing that played out throughout the book. I don’t think this compassion and general care of neighbors is limited to only small towns, although sadly, is does seem to be dying out in our society. I think you can choose to create a community like this wherever you live. It only takes one person to reach out to someone else and start a positive momentum.

For that matter, if we look at the niches in the blog community, I think it’s safe to say that the “blogosphere takes care of its own.” I have been so blessed to see all the wonderful ways bloggers reach out to each other and help each other. I definitely see strong similarities between our little niche of blogs and the village of Mitford. Does anyone else agree with me on this?

Please share your thoughts about these questions, or anything else from the book, with us in the comments. We’d love to discuss all of these things with anyone who has read the Mitford books.

As for the next book we will be reading, Toni, Joy and myself are still deciding if we are going to continue the 3 Moms Book Nook. We may move on to different topics for our Sunday posts. We’ll let you know as soon as we decide. If we do continue this series, our next book will be The 5 Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell.

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