The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow by Joyce Magnin

Agnes has been praying to atone for a sin committed when she was a child. How could Agnes allow such evil in their midst? Didn't she know? Well, the prayers of Agnes Sparrow have more to do with Agnes than God. The truth of Agnes's odd motivation comes out when the town reels after the murder of a beloved community member. Griselda's petitions are shot down and the sign plans press forward until a stranger comes to town looking for his miracle from Agnes. The rural residents of Bright's Pond are so enamored with Agnes they plan to have a sign erected on the interstate that reads, 'Welcome to Bright's Pond, Home of Agnes Sparrow.' This is something Agnes doesn't want and sends Griselda to fight city hall. Agnes Sparrow prays and when Agnes prays things happen, including major miracles of the cancer, ulcer-healing variety along with various minor miracles not the least of which is the recovery of lost objects and a prize-winning pumpkin. No longer able or willing to leave her home, where she is cared for by her long-suffering sister Griselda, Agnes has committed her life to the one thing she can do-besides eat. (Sept.The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow is the story of an unusual woman, Agnes Sparrow. 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. 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.

Magnin partly succeeds: she meets the clever quotient, but on the whole the book is uneven. 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. Agnes’s putative power attracts a stranger in need of an unstated miracle, and the plot thickens from there.

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. The titular Agnes forswears leaving home when she tips the scale at 600 pounds, and stays put and prays. Quirk abounds in this tale of two sisters, Agnes and Griselda Sparrow.

The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow by Joyce Magnin