Mix one part All Creatures Great and Small with two parts Lake Wobegon, sprinkle a little Anne of Green Gables and get: Mitford, the pinnacle of provincial life, where homespun wisdom, guarded tradition, and principled faith are the precepts of good living. Jan Karon, purveyor of so-called "gentle fiction," continues the series that began with At Home in Mitford, in Out to Canaan. The patriarch of the tightly bound community of Mitford, North Carolina, is Father Timothy Kavanaugh, a.k.a. legal counsel, psychologist, foster parent, headhunter, husband, political analyst, and rector of his congregation. He is always there to lend a helping hand, a kind word or bit of advice, which believe it or not, makes for an incredibly busy schedule in this quiet, country town.

Longtime mayor Esther Cunningham, revered for preserving the traditions of the town, finds a formidable foe in Mack Stroupe, a free-spending industrialist who stands for the two most reviled words in Mitford: change and development. If that isn't enough, a suspicious company called "Miami Development" wants to buy Sadie Baxter's home--a Mitford landmark--and turn it into a hoity-toity spa. Father Tim has his hands full again with Dooley, his foster child who is back from prep school for the summer. The good rector continues to doctor Dooley's troubled past by locating his siblings, Poohbaw and Jessie, and finding their alcoholic mother, Pauline, work. The plethora of intricately woven, cozy vignettes makes Out to Canaan a potpie of warm, country reading. --Rebekah Warren


From Library Journal
Ah, Mitford. The mere name inspires serenity among Karon's many fans. They will not be disappointed by this latest outing (LJ 5/1/97), but neither will they be made serene. Narrator John McDonough imbues Father Tim with a surprisingly contemporary gentleness that defines both his profession and personality. Unfortunately for the parish, Father Tim is retiring in 18 months. Also, a vitriolic battle for mayor is pitting neighbor against neighbor. With all the spleen being vented around town and Tim often caught in the middle, retirement is looking awfully attractive. McDonough's voices capture the spirit of community, rich with its inhabitants' foibles. McDonough holds teenagers Dooley and Lace true to themselves, full of spirit, idealism, and a touch of realism. Recommended for all fiction collections.?Jodi Israel, Norwood, Mass.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Here is another visit to the little mountain village of Mitford (population 1,000) and Father Tim Kavanaugh, rector of Lord's Chapel. A year or so has passed since the events in Karon's previous book, These High, Green Hills. Dooley Barlowe, Father Tim's unofficially adopted son, comes home from prep school for the summer. Father Tim continues piecing together Dooley's scattered family, who come from the impoverished Creek community. He drives to Florida to find little Jessie, reunites her with Dooley's brother, Poohbaw, and his mother, Pauline, and helps Pauline find a job managing the dining room at Hope House, the retirement home built by Mitford's wealthiest citizen, Sadie Baxter. What with Dooley being home, and Father Tim and Cynthia taking in the ailing Harvey Welch, another Creek refugee, and 13-year-old Lace Turner coming by to help nurse Harley, who's been like a father to her, Father Tim's rectory is anything but peaceful. A mysterious group called Miami Development wants to buy Fernbank, Sadie Baxter's old home, and turn it into a luxury spa. And the bishop comes to town and announces Father Tim's retirement, now just a year and a half away. Although Mitford and its close-knit community seem quaint and idyllic, Karon's portrayal is never sentimentalized. Out to Canaan can stand alone, but pleasure will be heightened by reading the whole series, a feast of small riches. Mary Ellen Quinn


From Kirkus Reviews
More literary comfort food, as Karon agreeably records another year in Mitford, the small town where every problem has a human face and where Father Tim, the Episcopalian rector, is always there to help. Again, like its three predecessors (These High, Green Hills, 1996, etc.), Karon's latest continues the stories of now-familiar Mitford citizens. And again, always at the heart of the action is 60-something Father Tim Kavanagh, who, with wife Cynthia, an author and illustrator, is now ``getting ready to. . . go out to Canaan''- -to retire. Kavanagh is one of those rare literary creations--a credible good man whose goodness comes from faith, humility, and a zest for life. He is a loving pastor who's ever ready to respond to his flock's needs. And needs they have. When Lace, the young girl he rescued from a violent father, is unable to help the ailing Harley, who once took care of her, Tim gives him a home in the rectory; he also helps recovering alcoholic Pauline find work, as well as the baby daughter she gave away; and he advises Winnie, owner of the local bakery, on how to thwart a crooked realtor. Meanwhile, there's a mayoral election to contend with, as Esther Cunningham is challenged by the suspiciously free-spending Mack Stroupe. And a Florida company wants to turn Fernbank, a Mitford landmark, into a spa. While Tim responds to crises, major and minor, he is poignantly aware that his days as a rector are numbered. But as he drives around on Christmas Eve, there's still much to celebrate (``if there were a poll-tax on joy this night of nights, he'd be dead broke''). A heart-warmer that diverts the spirit as it uncloyingly celebrates life in all its quirkiness in a small town. (First printing of 100,000; $150,000 ad/promo; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Book Description
Thousands of readers have come home to Mitford, the little town with the big heart, whose endearing and eccentric residents have become like family members. But now change is coming to the hamlet. Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his wife Cynthia are pondering retirement; a brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development; a suspicious realtor with plans for a health spa is eyeing the beloved house on the hill; and, worst of all, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing. Meanwhile, ordinary people are leading the extraordinary lives that hundreds of thousands of readers have found so inviting and inspiring. Peopled with the lovable cast of characters familiar to so many, and peppered with plenty of new and colorful personalities, Out to Canaan is filled to the brim with the mysteries and miracles that make everyday life worth living, and that make Mitford one of the most memorable small towns in recent literature.

* More than 2 million copies in print of the Mitford Years series titles
* All of the Mitford books are available on audiocassette from Penguin Audiobooks.


Download Description
Thousands of readers have come home to Mitford, the little town with the big heart, whose endearing and eccentric residents have become like family members. But now change is coming to the hamlet. Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his wife Cynthia are pondering retirement; a brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development; a suspicious realtor with plans for a health spa is eyeing the beloved house on the hill; and, worst of all, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing. Meanwhile, ordinary people are leading the extraordinary lives that hundreds of thousands of readers have found so inviting and inspiring. Peopled with the lovable cast of characters familiar to so many, and peppered with plenty of new and colorful personalities, Out to Canaan is filled to the brim with the mysteries and miracles that make everyday life worth living, and that make Mitford one of the most memorable small towns in recent literature.


About the Author
Jan Karon was born in Lenoir, North Carolina, in 1937 ("A great year for the Packard automobile," she says). Her creative skills first came alive when her family moved to a farm. "On the farm there is time to muse and dream," she says. "I am endlessly grateful I was reared in the country. As a young girl I couldn't wait to get off that farm, to go to Hollywood or New York. But living in those confined, bucolic circumstances was one of the best things that ever happened to me."

Jan knew that she wanted to be a writer, and even wrote a novel at the age of ten. Her first real opportunity as a writer came at age eighteen when she took a job as a receptionist at an ad agency. She kept leaving her writing on her boss's desk until he noticed her ability. Soon she was launched on a forty-year career in advertising. She won assignments in New York and San Francisco, numerous awards, and finally an executive position with a national agency.

Recently she left advertising to write books, and moved to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, a tiny town of 1,800 perched at 5,000 feet in the Blue Ridge mountains. "I immediately responded to the culture of village life," says Jan. "And I must say the people welcomed me. I have never felt so at home."

Blowing Rock is the model for Mitford, and the similarities are strong. "None of the people in Mitford are actually based upon anyone in Blowing Rock," says Jan. "Yet, the spirit of my characters is found throughout this real-life village. You can walk into Sonny's Grill in Blowing Rock and find the same kind of guys who hang around Mitford's Main Street Grill."

Jan is quick to assert that there are Mitfords all over the country, those hundreds of towns where readers of Jan's books cherish their own cast of eccentric and beloved characters. Currently, one of Jan's chief delights is getting to meet those readers. "Some people finish writing and open a bottle of scotch or a box of chocolates," she says. "My reward is meeting my readers face-to-face. I think an author is something like a glorified bartender. My readers tell me all kinds of things about their lives, and I get these long, long letters. I answer every one, of course."

Jan has a daughter, Candace Freeland, who is a photojournalist and musician.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Father Tim, the Episcopal rector, and his talented and vivacious wife, Cynthia, are pondering the murky uncertainties of retirement. They're also trying to locate the scattered siblings of Dooley Barlowe, the mountain boy they love as their own. A brash new mayoral candidate is calling for aggressive development, and a tough survivor must hunker down for the fight of her life. Worse, the Sweet Stuff Bakery may be closing, and a suspicious real estate agent is trying to turn the beloved house on the hill into a spa. Can change be coming to Mitford? The buzz on Main Street says yes. Change is certainly coming to the tenderest regions of several townspeople's lives. A woman struggles every day to stay on course after years of hard living. A man tries to forgive himself for a tragic mistake. And the town's most eligible bachelor leaves Mitford -- and returns with a stunning surprise.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In this fourth book of the Mitford Years Series (following At Home with Mitford, A Light in the Window and These High, Green Hills), Karon continues to develop her Heartland of America town. The plot deals with the mayoral race between long-time incumbent Esther Cunningham and newcomer Mack Stroupe. As the two race neck-and-neck for the finish line, the microcosmic Mitford world teems with the small triumphs and crises of Southern rural life. Father Timothy Kavanagh, rector of the Chapel of Our Lord and Savior, his wife, Cynthia, and their young charge, Dooley Barlowe, balance a family life that includes his impending retirement, her Primrose Tea and Dooley's budding interest in the opposite sex. In this church-going community, these and similar concerns share equal billing in civic gossip, centering on Stroupe's plans for development and the ads the locals take out in the town paper in support of Cunningham. But greater than the political reality in Mitford is the Canaan referred to in the titleThe Promised Land. With a belief in God's Providence and a sly sense of humor (one character notes that now Abraham's 600-mile trip to Canaan would require four visas), Mitford navigates by a sort of pre-Enlightenment historical compass. Significantly, from the novel's introductory chit-chat about flowers frozen in a cold snap to the announcement of the mayoral tie at the end, old Miss Rose Watson mishears everything that's saidbut, in Mitford, does the temporal world really matter? Using an off-handed solution that would shock serious devotees of American politics, the Mitfordites break the electoral stalemate, then turn with relief to their alternate reality of such effortless natural cohesion that, in retrospect, politics seems a mere afterthought, grist for the insatiable rumor mill. Though she makes no attempt to suggest the full scope of the human condition, Karon's devoted readers will undoubtedly adore another upbeat visit to her idealized and endearing corner of America.

Library Journal

Though facing retirement, Father Tim Kavanagh hasn't slowed down one bit since his appearance in These High, Green Hills (Viking, 1996). Racing from one good deed to another, Father Timothy takes in stray sick folk, finds an abandoned child, and helps his favorite baker write a winning jingle. A mayoral race pitting the long-time mayor Esther Cunningham against the possibly corrupt Mack Stroupe makes for some colorful sparring. Father Timothy applies his own unique, time-honored method of intuition, prayer, or dietary indulgence to a multitude of problems big and small. His late-in-life marriage to Cynthia continues to be a blessing readers will feel privileged to share. Distinguished by their rare tone of kindness, Karon's Mitford novels create instant warmth and coziness. Out to Canaan continues in this spirit, offering comedy and consolation to all. For most fiction collections.

--Keddy Ann Outlaw

Library Journal

Though facing retirement, Father Tim Kavanagh hasn't slowed down one bit since his appearance in These High, Green Hills (Viking, 1996). Racing from one good deed to another, Father Timothy takes in stray sick folk, finds an abandoned child, and helps his favorite baker write a winning jingle. A mayoral race pitting the long-time mayor Esther Cunningham against the possibly corrupt Mack Stroupe makes for some colorful sparring. Father Timothy applies his own unique, time-honored method of intuition, prayer, or dietary indulgence to a multitude of problems big and small. His late-in-life marriage to Cynthia continues to be a blessing readers will feel privileged to share. Distinguished by their rare tone of kindness, Karon's Mitford novels create instant warmth and coziness. Out to Canaan continues in this spirit, offering comedy and consolation to all. For most fiction collections.

--Keddy Ann Outlaw

Chicago Tribune

"After you've spent time in Mitford, You'll want to come back."

Kirkus Reviews

More literary comfort food, as Karon agreeably records another year in Mitford, the small town where every problem has a human face and where Father Tim, the Episcopalian rector, is always there to help. Again, like its three predecessors (These High, Green Hills, 1996, etc.), Karon's latest continues the stories of now-familiar Mitford citizens. And again, always at the heart of the action is 60-something Father Tim Kavanagh, who, with wife Cynthia, an author and illustrator, is now "getting ready to. . . go out to Canaan"—to retire. Kavanagh is one of those rare literary creations—a credible good man whose goodness comes from faith, humility, and a zest for life. He is a loving pastor who's ever ready to respond to his flock's needs. And needs they have. When Lace, the young girl he rescued from a violent father, is unable to help the ailing Harley, who once took care of her, Tim gives him a home in the rectory; he also helps recovering alcoholic Pauline find work, as well as the baby daughter she gave away; and he advises Winnie, owner of the local bakery, on how to thwart a crooked realtor. Meanwhile, there's a mayoral election to contend with, as Esther Cunningham is challenged by the suspiciously free-spending Mack Stroupe. And a Florida company wants to turn Fernbank, a Mitford landmark, into a spa. While Tim responds to crises, major and minor, he is poignantly aware that his days as a rector are numbered. But as he drives around on Christmas Eve, there's still much to celebrate ("if there were a poll-tax on joy this night of nights, he'd be dead broke"). A heart-warmer that diverts the spirit as it uncloyingly celebrates life in all its quirkiness in a smalltown.