Mommy Brain

I finished listening to Home to Holly Springs on audiobook yesterday, and it was the perfect book to listen to during Lent, and especially to complete on Easter.

Jan Karon revisits the character of Father Tim, but this time the story is set outside of Mitford. Father Tim receives a two-word note in the mail, post-marked from his hometown of Holly Springs, Mississippi. The note reads, “Come home.” He travels to Holly Springs, and comes home in so many different ways. As he travels the places of his childhood, we travel the memories of his childhood, and come to a greater understanding of who he is and the people who have helped shape his life.

I thought I would miss the quirky characters of Mitford, but it turns out Holly Springs has a few oddballs of its own. I have always enjoyed – and envied – the way Father Tim makes friends with people, bypassing the small talk and getting to the depth of relationship. During his time in his hometown, Timothy sees resolution and reconciliation in so many areas of his past.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the Mitford series is watching how God answers prayers in Father Tim and Cynthia’s lives. It often takes time, and doesn’t happen in an expected way. Sometimes the answer never comes. I agree with Carol, who said when she blogged about Home to Holly Springs, “Life is complex; things don’t always happen in the clean and tidy way of our dreams. Which leads me to my last critique. Karon cleaned up all of Father Tim’s loose ends in a way I found facile and unbelievable. I wish she had left some dangling threads. It’s too neat ending felt formulaic.” It was wonderful to see all of Tim’s prayers and hopes answered when he traveled home, but it did seem to be too good to be true – especially considering the way I experience God’s answers in my own life.

That said, though, I am very glad that the Father Tim story didn’t end with the Mitford series, and I still highly recommend this book. (4 out of 5 stars)

A note on the audio: I have read all of the Mitford books at least twice, and I have listened to all of them on audiobook. The reader of the Mitford series was John McDonough, and he became the voice of Father Tim in my mind. When I started the audio of Home to Holly Springs I was very surprised and disappointed to hear a different narrator. I almost gave up, because it was so different. I am so glad I didn’t. Scott Sowers is one of the best audiobook narrators in my experience – and I’ve listened to a lot of audiobooks. He gave each character their own voice, and helped me to “hear” Mississippi. I was sad when the book ended, both because it was a good book, and because I wouldn’t be listening to Mr. Sowers read any more.

For my next audiobook, I have chosen Blasphemy by Douglas Preston. My dad is a huge Preston fan; his books could be considered supernatural thrillers, I believe. Dad’s raved enough about Preston that I decided to give him a try, and when the “new purchases” list on the library web site included Blasphemy, I snatched it up. I was pleasantly surprised when I started disc one and heard, “Blasphemy by Douglas Preston, narrated by Scott Sowers.” Yep, same guy.