Rating:

“Love shall be our token”

Author: Jan Karon

In book 14 of the Mitford Series, To Be Where You Are, Father Tim has made peace with his retirement only to randomly find himself with a 9-to-5, the Barlow family moves just a bit closer to redemption, Lace and Dooley face financial travesty only to miraculously escape the negativities of life, and a lot of random stuff happens to a lot of people. Meanwhile, everything has become quite twee.

Now, The Mitford series has always been one that embraces the vibes of cozy, showing how a relationship with God provides sanctuary even in the roughest of life’s storms. But let’s be honest, those downpours have transitioned to faint drizzles and life is so utterly cute (and without any kind of consequences) that it’s just downright boring. The series was never gritty or anything of that nature, and it always embraced the beauty of the simple life, which was all along the attraction – but now everything is too utterly, rose-tinted perfect. Nothing bad will ever happen to anyone, and if it does, all they need to do is say one prayer or find a friend in Mitford – or both. It’s a saccharine lake of utter sap, and it’s too much even for the homey, cozy loving homebody in me that sought out this series. Also, did I mention that one of the most exciting things that happens is Father Tim deciding to sell sausage at Avis’ grocery store? Yep, that’s right, 400+ pages of mundanity painted as coziness.

First, let’s hop to Lace and Dooley. In Come Rain or Come Shine, I loved them both, despite admitting that their lives are utterly ridiculous. Their relationship happened mostly off screen and came with the unearned bow to fan-service that everyone demanded. It wasn’t earned, but we forgave it and enjoyed the build-up to the country wedding. But then everything went too perfectly and before the proverbial wedding bells have chimed, Lace and Dooley have a ready-made family, having adopted one of the most mawkish toddlers to enter the realms of sentimental country-flavored fiction. Really, Jack is not an actual child, but a Precious Figures figurine come to life. It’s eye rolling.

And now, the picture-perfect family who never, ever encounters anything, even as bad as a frown, is just encumbered with more miracles. Lace is suddenly this big painter with this big opportunity, but she won’t go to the Big Apple to earn her gajillions, because she has her priorities set right. But there is no stress, because the mega-Hollywood star who wants her artwork is super fine if it’s just made at home and shipped. Because of course she is.

And so, Lace is an overnight sensation. Because of course she is a popular, groundbreaking artist and the perfect wife and just the cutest little mother. But there is some grief in her life . . . but don’t worry, because that will totally be solved with a miracle too, instead of exploring the poignant opportunity that it would have allowed.

Oh, and the clinic gets flooded, but don’t worry, someone will gift them an X-ray machine and everything will work out and a character we don’t know and don’t care about will show up and have a second-chance romance and it will all just be so cloyingly sweet.

Finally, when we move aside from Little House On the Sappy Farm, we’re back with Father Tim, who is now in the grocery business and unnecessarily interested in it. He’s helping Avis, who will also have his second chance life miracle. Meanwhile, Father Tim has to do something sweet and adventurous for Cynthia, while also taking a mystery phone call and coming close to converting a bitter woman (obviously fodder for the next book).

In between these two major plot points, we have everyone else and their mamma and a bunch of side stories that don’t matter or fit. Karon is using her usual giant chapters broken into teeny tiny sections that bounce around. It’s nearly impossible to tell who is talking and what’s going on, but here we go, vignette hoping again.

I wanted to love this so badly. I wanted to then move on to the current final book in the series, but after the slog that was To Be Where You Are, I decided that it was time for a break. I think this series has stuttered to an ending. I’ll still come back, but I need a break. One reader can only take so much mushy sentimentality and unrealistic miracles in one go. Sigh. Not recommended unless you’re a fan, in which case you’ll ignore me and read this anyway, just like I would. 2/5 stars rounded up, because I just can’t quite bring myself to give a Father Tim book one star, even though it deserves it.

 

– Frances Carden

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Frances Carden
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