Rating: 
Summary: This will be hugely unpopular, but...
Review: I've read all the reviews posted here and can see I'm in a tiny minority of folks who've read this, but I can't for the life of me see what this book is about. Nothing ever happens, just talk, talk, talk, and a lot of feel-goodism. The word "leisurely" has been used a lot, and that's putting it kindly. Books should be stimulating, not stultifying. Sorry to all the Mitford Fans, but I just can't like these books.
Rating: 
Summary: good, but a bit too leisurely
Review: Reading "A Light in the Window" is a bit like catching up on gossip from your hometown. The going is slow, and you get lots of tidbits about people you don't ever think about between visits. While the overall effect is still a warm glow and you're happy to hear the latest about the people you really care about, you still wish your maiden Aunt Isabel would get to the point a bit faster and not get mired in minutia.
Also, Father Tim can be a lot like a dithering Hamlet in priestly garments, and he can be such a doormat! He undergoes some needless discomfortures because he either doesn't think it through or he doesn't know his own mind.
"A Light in the Window," like its predecessor, is a sentimentalized account of life in a North Carolina mountain town. People are kinder and race relations better than anywhere in the real South. However, if you can get past that -- and the overly leisurely pace -- you'll enjoy Karon's second installment in the much-adored Mitford series.
It's a bit slow for me to say that the books are great, but all three of my sisters-in-law love them and can't wait for the next one. It's a good enough read, but I wish Jan Karon would pick up the pace a bit and not drag every episode out. Less can be more.
Rating: 
Summary: A Light In The Window (The Mitford Years)
Review: I must confess that I had seen the Mitford series of books in the stores and never even picked one up. So it wasn't until I received the first book in the series as a gift that I discovered what a treasure this series of books are! After reading the first one, I could hardly wait to read the second....third...etc, and I wasn't disappointed. If you're looking for the action and high drama of something like the Left Behind series or a John Grisham novel, this may not be to your taste. But it has a sweet, gentle and wonderful quality to it that makes you not only like the characters, but to love them as well. There *is* action and drama, but it has a gentleness and "next-door neighborly-ness" that makes it so easy to relate to. My only disappointment is that I have read all of the books in the series, and given them to others to enjoy so I can't go "visit" the characters in them again!
Rating: 
Summary: Returning to small-town heaven
Review: Jan Karon's second tale of Mitford is not quite as good as her first. Her characters don't display as many of those little quirks in their personalities and as much of that homespun philosophy that made me fall in love with the town in her first book ("At Home in Mitford"). And frankly, this entry in the series shows definite signs of belonging on the same shelf as your basic Harlequin romance.But there was enough of the original charm from the first book to allow me to recommend this one. The spiritual and emotional center of the town is still the local Episcopalian minister, Father Tim Kavanagh (whose last name we finally learn at the end of this book!). His relationship with his next-door neighbor, Cynthia Coppersmith, is still going down the same road as in the first book - although there are a lot of bumps and potholes along the way - and his bond with the boy Dooley is only getting stronger. Aside from Father Tim's pursuit of Cynthia (and vice-versa), it would be impossible to describe all the little episodes that make up this book. But there are some that stand out. The town's latest widow, Edith Mallory, shows a definite mercenary streak - she's in shameless pursuit of Father Tim and also wants to close down the local diner and replace it with a dress shop that's willing to pay double the current rent. Miss Sadie, the town millionaire, is literally pouring her millions into repairing her home, just so she can give her newfound niece the wedding of her (and Miss Sadie's) dreams. And a redhead comes to Father Tim's door claiming to be his cousin Meg from Sligo, Ireland. I do wish Ms. Karon had gone more deeply into the "Cousin Meg" sequence, but I can live with what she gave me. Overall this is a worthy sequel to a fascinating tale of small-town life.
Rating:
Summary: Another great trip to Mitford
Review: It had been over a year since I read the first Mitford book, so I figured it was time to take another visit. I will admit I wasn't too excited about reading Mitford #2 because I knew there wouldn't be much action in the story. However, after about 50 pages or so in A Light in the Window, I realized what I was missing. I was finally home once again... This second installment is chock-full of happenings. We have recent widower, Edith Mallory, setting her eyes (and hands) on Father Tim; a mysterious Irish cousin who comes to stay in the rectory for questionable reasons; and we meet a new character, Buck Leeper, the hardened, unpleasant building supervisor hired to build Mitford's new nursing home. But the most important part of this book is Father Tim's growing feelings toward his neighbor, Cynthia, and his struggle to accept them, be happy, and let nature take its course. And naturally, Cynthia has a word or two to say about that! I enjoyed A Light in the Window much better than the first one. I found myself reading this novel until the wee hours of the morning because I couldn't get enough of the characters or heartwarming storylines. No action, no plot twists, no shocking endings -- but I simply didn't care. Jan Karon has a way of telling a story that makes all those other page-turning qualities seem unimportant. Mitford is a home away from home, a fictitious account of REAL life, and a place where I will look forward to visiting in the books to come.
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