These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon

These High, Green Hills is the third book in Jan Karon’s The Mitford Years series, and I have to admit that I really enjoy these books. I haven’t written about this series before, so rather than review this third book, I will simply say that each of the first three books have the same charm, humor, and uplifting themes. The stories center around Father Tim, pastor of a small Episcopal parish in the fictional village of Mitford, North Carolina. Father Tim is a good man and a good pastor, a model of spiritual leadership. His weaknesses make him endearing to the reader, and his strengths make him a blessing to the town. He is surrounded by a cast of characters that are every bit as interesting as he is, despite living ordinary lives. In fact, Jan Karon has a gift for bringing out the interesting in the ordinary.

As Father Tim reads in These High, Green Hills,

“We look for visions of heaven,” Oswald Chambers had written, “and we never dream that all the time God is in the commonplace things and people around us.”

Jan Karon knows how to reveal God in the commonplace, and after you read any of the Mitford books you are better able to see God in your own commonplace life. For me personally, reading the Mitford books makes me want to be a better person.

You can’t get much more heartwarming than these stories, but I never felt that they lapsed into sugary sentimentality. I read the first book, At Home in Mitford, in 2014 when it was one of my top ten favorites. Here is what I had to say about it at that time:

I absolutely loved reading this book. It was funny, uplifting, and mellow. But most of all, it had the one thing I appreciate most in fiction: characters that I want to get to know. I plan on reading more in the series this year, and if the rest are as good as At Home in Mitford then I may have another favorite series to enjoy for many years to come.

Since reading the next two books my feelings haven’t changed. I have thoroughly enjoyed my three visits to Mitford, and I look forward to visiting again in the near future.