Status
Available
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Series
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Publication
Abingdon Press (2009), Paperback, 398 pages
Description
Agnes Sparrow is an unusual woman. No longer able or willing to leave her home, Agnes commits her life to prayer. And when she prays, miracles seem to happen. The townspeople are enamored of her talent, but Agnes wants to return to the true source of the miracles--God.
User reviews
LibraryThing member debs4jc
Agnes Sparrow is a character you won't soon forget. What is remarkable is that the presence of her character carries just as much weight as her physical description--which is that of a 600 pound, homebound spinster. Even though Agnes never leaves her house, the people Bright's Pond feel like their
This was such a different read in that it had quite a quirky element with some of the unusual characters roaming around town, yet there was also a dark element that builds gradually and then suddenly rears it's ugly head. It is not a book that is easily forgotten and it shows just how messy trying to follow God can get. I'd definitely recommend it, especially to those who like thought provoking books that deal with faith matters.
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town would not be the same without her and her prayers. Since praying for the people of the town is Agnes' mission, when people start to experience miracles--from healings to a prizewinning pumpkin--they attribute them to Agnes. Agnes and her sister Griselda are unsure about all of the attention they start to receive. To further complicate matters a homeless man shows up on their doorstep....hoping for a miracle. What will it take for the quirky residents of this town to seek God first, not miracles?This was such a different read in that it had quite a quirky element with some of the unusual characters roaming around town, yet there was also a dark element that builds gradually and then suddenly rears it's ugly head. It is not a book that is easily forgotten and it shows just how messy trying to follow God can get. I'd definitely recommend it, especially to those who like thought provoking books that deal with faith matters.
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LibraryThing member SoulFlower1981
Joyce Magnin's Bright's Pond series, which "The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow" is the first book of this particular series, interweaves faith, death, and love all within the pages of its cover. This particular book is told from the viewpoint of Griselda Sparrow, Agnes's sister. The majority of the story
My main gripe with this book is the sheer shock that happens during on particular part of this book. There was no real indication that this was going to happen in the book, but sometimes this is how life is. I don't feel that Magnin wrote any redeemable characters in the series for the most part, each of them are flawed. Here the flawed nature of the characters feels a bit undercooked because in many spots it feels like someone should be saying something to these characters that simply is not being said for some reason. "Why didn't someone ever truly speak up until near the end of the book?" is what the reader is left wondering. It doesn't leave a refreshing taste in the mouth.
This book had a lot of potential to be the first christian fiction book that I have actually enjoyed, but because of many of the holes contained within the story I simply didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped based on almost the first 3/4ths of the book. The tail end of the book just came out of almost no where for me and because of this this book lacks a lot of what should have been there. The lesson of faith and trusting who we are. It is also about letting go of our past and moving on from sin, but these elements are overshadowed by the sheer hatred that some of these characters spew at the ending of this book.
Even though there were parts I didn't like in this particular book I do intend to read the next book in the series called "Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise". It sounds like it will be interesting in a way that this book was unable to live up to.
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deals with the fact that Agnes is seen as a miracle worker whose prayers often go answered by God. This story takes you on a journey through what it means to have actual faith.My main gripe with this book is the sheer shock that happens during on particular part of this book. There was no real indication that this was going to happen in the book, but sometimes this is how life is. I don't feel that Magnin wrote any redeemable characters in the series for the most part, each of them are flawed. Here the flawed nature of the characters feels a bit undercooked because in many spots it feels like someone should be saying something to these characters that simply is not being said for some reason. "Why didn't someone ever truly speak up until near the end of the book?" is what the reader is left wondering. It doesn't leave a refreshing taste in the mouth.
This book had a lot of potential to be the first christian fiction book that I have actually enjoyed, but because of many of the holes contained within the story I simply didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped based on almost the first 3/4ths of the book. The tail end of the book just came out of almost no where for me and because of this this book lacks a lot of what should have been there. The lesson of faith and trusting who we are. It is also about letting go of our past and moving on from sin, but these elements are overshadowed by the sheer hatred that some of these characters spew at the ending of this book.
Even though there were parts I didn't like in this particular book I do intend to read the next book in the series called "Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise". It sounds like it will be interesting in a way that this book was unable to live up to.
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LibraryThing member StephLaymon
A heartwarming story of purpose, struggle, addiction, enabling, love and miracles. I loved the flawed characters who each had their individual struggles. A lesson well learned in the end.
Awards
Language
Original publication date
2009-08-01
Physical description
398 p.; 8.4 inches
ISBN
1426701640 / 9781426701641
Local notes
Quirk abounds in this tale of two sisters, Agnes and Griselda Sparrow. The titular Agnes forswears leaving home when she tips the scale at 600 pounds, and stays put and prays. When what seem to be miracles—healings from serious illnesses—occur, the residents of the small Pennsylvania town of Bright's Pond naturally attribute them to Agnes. Agnes's putative power attracts a stranger in need of an unstated miracle, and the plot thickens from there. To pull off such a quirky novel, the characters need to be vividly etched, the writing consistently clever and the plotting persuasive on its own terms. Magnin partly succeeds: she meets the clever quotient, but on the whole the book is uneven. Some of the explanations that account for characters' decisions aren't persuasive; some dark plot twists threaten to overwhelm the quirkiness; and the pacing of the first half of the book is slow. Still, Magnin will please those who like their faith fiction with a twist, even if not everything served at the town's Full Moon Cafe can be swallowed.