Review written for ClubReading.com by Sally
You will come to admire Father Tim as he walks through the ordeals of daily life with the people of Mitford–normal things like you and I face. He is genuine, likes people, doesn’t claim to have all the answers, and acts like a real person. I have worked for an international religious organization for 30 years. Trust me, a preacher who really likes people is way up there in my book-exceptional.
Father Tim’s own peaceful (even though quite busy) existence is turned upside down when he meets-in this order-a dog the size of a sofa, house help his parish insists he needs, a boy, an attractive new neighbor, a dying woman, a jewel thief, and many others.
You will recognize people you know in the characters of this engaging story . . . maybe even yourself. You may even be encouraged to . . . really listen without criticizing, bake a pie and take it to someone, etc., etc.
Allow me to whet your appetite with a few passages:
He left the coffee-scented warmth of the Main Street Grill and stood for a moment under the green awning. The honest cold of an early mountain spring stung him sharply.
He often noted the minor miracle of passing through a door into a completely different world, with different smells and attractions. It helped to be aware of the little things in life, he told himself, and he often exhorted his congregation to do the same.
As he headed toward the church office two blocks away, he was delighted to discover that he wasn’t walking, at all. He was ambling.
It was a pleasure he seldom allowed himself. After all, it might appear that he had nothing else to do, when in truth he always had something to do.
He decided to surrender himself to the stolen joy of it, as some might eat half a box of chocolates at one sitting, without remorse.
“He’ll be good for you, Tim. A man needs someone to talk to, someone to entertain his complaints and approve his foolishness. As far as background goes, I like what E. B. White said: “A really companionable and indispensable dog is an accident of nature. You can’t get it by breeding for it and you can’t buy it with money. It just happens along.'”