Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good (Karon)

Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good (Mitford Series, 10)
Jan Karon, 2014
Penguin Group (USA)
528 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780399167447


Summary
After five hectic years of retirement from Lord’s Chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh returns with his wife, Cynthia, from a so-called pleasure trip to the land of his Irish ancestors.

While glad to be at home in Mitford, something is definitely missing: a pulpit. But when he’s offered one, he decides he doesn’t want it. Maybe he’s lost his passion.

His adopted son, Dooley, wrestles with his own passion—for the beautiful and gifted Lace Turner, and his vision to become a successful country vet. Dooley’s brother, Sammy, still enraged by his mother’s abandonment, destroys one of Father Tim’s prized possessions. And Hope Murphy, owner of Happy Endings bookstore, struggles with the potential loss of her unborn child and her hard-won business.

All this as Wanda’s Feel Good Café opens, a romance catches fire through an Internet word game, their former mayor hatches a reelection campaign to throw the bums out, and the weekly Muse poses a probing inquiry: Does Mitford still take care of its own?

Millions of fans will applaud the chance to spend time, once more, in the often comic and utterly human presence of Jan Karon’s characters. Indeed, they have never been more sympathetic, bighearted, and engaging. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1937
• Where—Lenoir, North Carolina, USA
• Education—N/A
• Awards—ABBY Honor Award
• Currently—lives in Blowing Rock, North Carolina


Jan Karon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the Mitford novels, the Father Tim novels, a popular cookbook, and several books for children. She lives near Mr. Jefferson’s Monticello, a World Heritage site in Central Virginia.

Jan Karon, born Janice Meredith Wilson in the foothills of North Carolina, was named after the title of a popular novel, Janice Meredith.

Jan wrote her first novel at the age of ten.

The manuscript was written on Blue Horse notebook paper, and was, for good reason, kept hidden from my sister. When she found it, she discovered the one curse word I had, with pounding heart, included in someone's speech. For Pete's sake, hadn't Rhett Butler used that very same word and gotten away with it? After my grandmother's exceedingly focused reproof, I've written books without cussin' ever since.

A number of years ago, Karon left a successful career in advertising to move to the mountain village of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and write books. "I stepped out on faith to follow my lifelong dream of being an author," she says. "I made real sacrifices and took big risks. But living, it seems to me, is largely about risk."

Enthusiastic booksellers across the country have introduced readers of all ages to Karon's heartwarming books. At Home in Mitford, Karon's first book in the Mitford series, was nominated for an ABBY by the American Booksellers Association in 1996 and again in 1997. Bookstore owner, Shirley Sprinkle, says, "The Mitford Books have been our all-time fiction bestsellers since we went in business twenty-five years ago. We've sold 10,000 of Jan's books and don't see any end to the Mitford phenomenon. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Karon knits Mitford's small-town characters and multiple story lines into a cozy sweater of a book.... Somewhere Safe hits the sweet spot at the intersection of your heart and your funny bone (4/4 stars).
USA Today


The faster and more impersonal the world becomes, the more we need...Mitford.
Cleveland Plain Dealer
 

Terrific…built on the foundation of the first nine Mitford novels, Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good is Karon’s best.
Richmond Times-Dispatch


Welcome home, Mitford fans...to Karon's gift for illuminating the struggles that creep into everyday lives—along with a vividly imagined world.
People


Fans of the Mitford novels, rejoice: Father Tim Kavanagh is back in town...[and] wrestling with the existential challenge of retirement.... It's a wonderful stew of small town characters.... The ending...is too emotionally prepackaged and drags out a long book. Fans should debate whether Father Tim has to cry as much as he does, but like him, they will welcome the return to Mitford.
Publishers Weekly


With the homecoming of much-beloved characters and a few new additions, Karon’s latest provides a return to a setting readers have been clamoring to revisit. Longtime readers will not be disappointed by the author’s latest cozy redemption tale.
Library Journal


Loyal fans of Karon’s Mitford novels and Father Tim will be delighted once again to spend time in this quintessential American village with its leading citizen and his colorful coterie of friends, family, and dependent souls.
Booklist


Father Tim Kavanagh ponders the pastand looks to the future in Mitford, his beloved North Carolina mountain town.... After a long hiatus, Karon has returned with a novel that offers somethingfor those who believe and those who do not. All the beloved quirky charactersare here, the past is neatly summarized and the future, full of hope.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Father Tim and Cynthia return to Mitford after five years of hectic retirement, drawn to the place that means home to them. What does home mean to you?

2. In your opinion, does Mitford still take care of its own? What does that phrase mean to you?

3. Do you think Mitford is a model for living a true and authentic life? Why or why not?

4. How is your local community similar to Mitford? In what ways is it different?

5. How has retirement changed Father Tim? Did Father Tim make the right decision declining the bishop’s offer? How do you think his life would have changed had he returned to his job as pastor?

6. Even though Father Tim no longer has an official pulpit, he’s still the lynchpin of his community. How does he serve the community, and do you think he’s more or less effective in his new role?

7. There are certain points throughout the novel where Father Tim feels “twelve years old again” (53, 143). Do you ever experience something similar, and if so, when?

8. Father Tim and Cynthia exchange love letters. What does this say about their marriage? Why is being “somewhere safe with somebody good” the source of ultimate happiness for Cynthia? Do you agree? If not, what would your source of ultimate happiness be?

9. Though Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good is mostly from Father Tim’s point of view, we’re occasionally treated to glimpses of Mitford life as seen through the eyes of others, such as Coot, Hope, and Esther. What purpose do you think these shifting views serve and how do they contribute to the story?

10. What do you think of Dooley and Lace’s decision? How do you think they will handle the next phase of their journey?

11. Sammy has come a long way since meeting Father Tim, but clearly still has a long way to go. Discuss his journey to becoming a happy, well-adjusted adult. Do you think that is possible for him? Why or why not?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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