Book Review: Shepherds Abiding

It would seem ridiculous to say that the timing wasn't right for listening to this audio book.  It is, after all, Christmas, so what better time to listen to a Mitford Christmas story?  Alas, I just felt too distracted to really enjoy this offering.  Perhaps, if I were a die-hard Mitford fan (i.e., had read loads of other Mitford books and felt more connected to the characters involved), I would have relished it more.

Father Tim, an aging Episcopal minister, finds a battered nativity scene in an antique shop and determines to restore it and present it to his wife for Christmas.  Along the way, several other Mitford characters weave in and out of the story, each receiving their own Christmas blessing.  Their various labors of love are warmly received and reap a wondrous reward of good feeling.

The narrator was wonderful.  I really enjoyed the times when he burst into song with Christmas carols nestled amid the story.  I was a bit frustrated with the audio, because there were numerous places where it skipped.  At one point, there is a character named "Pooh," in the story and the audio repeated the name over and over. I thought my boys would have died laughing if they had been in the car with me during that misplay.

For whatever reason, I just didn't connect enough with the story line or the characters.  It was a pleasant enough story and probably a decent tale for the Christmas season.  It just didn't move me.