My mom and i had been awaiting the arrival of this book for over a year, after hearing the rumors that Jan Karon had another one in the works. We were not disappointed in the least! As my mom says, "Jan Karon saved all her best work for this book." I tend to agree; however, you cannot fully appreciate her eloquence or humor or beauty if you haven't read all of the other Mitford books. So, this masterpiece is about the two week vacation to Ireland that Father Tim and Cynthia take after many years of putting it off. But, he is officially retired now, she is in between her children's books, and so they go for it. There are many characters involved, from the couple who are the inn-keepers, the other guests (a book/poker club, avid fishermen, an author, to name a few), the relatives of the inn-keepers, and then there are the inhabitants of the old diary that Tim & Cynthia discover in the library. Throughout the book, we get to read with them the story of the doctor and his wife who first settled the land where the inn sits. There is mystery, romance, wavering faith, turmoil and tragedy, long-kept family secrets, renewed hope, healing and love. It is like poetry in novel-form. I am not going to even attempt explaining further, because i simply cannot do Jan Karon justice. So, on to a few excerpts. "He felt the blood beating in his temples; blood removed to America by his ancestors in 1858, and now returned. 'What would you like to have from this trip?' 'Time to enjoy being in my skin. There's something by Thomas a' Kempis: "Everywhere I have sought rest and not found it, except sitting in a corner by myself with a book." I want to sleep in tomorrow--sit in that lovely old chair in the corner and read, and listen to the sounds of this place, and speculate.' He was not keen on her speculations; they led to rearranging rooms, writing and illustrating books, painting kitchens and hallways, having fifteen yards of topsoil hauled in."
"The library was empty. Strangers had come into their sphere, shared a connection, and vanished into the remainder of their own lives. The anglers had been like a wallpaper pattern that took some getting used to, followed by the realization that one had grown fond of it."
"She stood and handed him a stem of iris, the bloom golden in color. 'Thank you for hearing me yesterday; 't is a great gift to be heard. You really listened, and your prayer--I shall always remember it. I felt I was starving unto death, and it fed me.' "
(When Timothy is telling one of the inn-keepers about his experience with his adopted son Dooley...) " 'It's not the sort of thing romantics wish to hear, but I found that in the end, love must be a kind of discipline...Soon after he came to live with me--he was eleven years old at the time--I realized I must learn to love with my will, not my feelings...And so I enjoyed the warm feelings, the stuff of the heart, when it was present between us, as it sometimes was, even in the beginning. And when it wasn't, there was the will to love him, something like a generator kicking in, a backup...Wounded people use a lot of smoke and mirrors, they thrust the bitterness and rage out there like a shield...But I stopped falling for the bitterness and rage. I didn't stop knowing it was there--and there for a very good reason--but I stopped taking the bullet for it. With God's help, I was able to start seeing through the smoke...I started talking to Dooley as if he were bright and industrious and savvy and trustworthy. I believed it was already real, that he was already whole and able to love. And all I can say is--it began to work...for both of us...There's no quick fix, Anna. It's all in increments, the same way our roses grow. Winning someone who's never won anything themselves--it's a long road, and we don't always get it right--not by a long shot.' "
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Published 2010
