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Prayers Of Agnes Sparrow By Magnin Joyce (Author) Our Price $ 12.31   Retail Value $ 13.99   You Save $ 1.68  (12%)   Item Number 548519   Buy New Item Quantity: 1              2              3 ABOUT TRUST ONLINE

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	Expectations and Agnes  Feb 22, 2010
Did you ever anticipate something so much that you feared it would disappoint you? I wondered if I had done that as I turned the first pages of this book. I knew the author had a distinctive voice. I knew it was a "village" story in the tradition of Miss Read's Fairacre or Jan Karon's Mitford novels. I knew it had at least some relationship to prayer. And I knew it had received high praise. All this meant I was more pleased than surprised to find the book among the New Books at our local library. After all, Library Journal named it one of the top five Christian titles of 2009. Half-excited, half-fearful, I snatched it from the shelf. The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow failed to meet my expectations. It surpassed them in ways I'm not sure I can articulate. How could I have anticipated a novel whose heroine, resident of a former funeral home, weighs more than 600 pounds? How could I have expected one small story that combines codependent relationships, lingering childhood wounds, and the obsessive hungers of love and hate in such an intriguing way? I don't know quite how she did it, but Magnin drew me into the world of Bright's Pond--and kept me there. The relationship between sisters Griselda and Agnes Sparrow perplexed and enthralled me. The complexity of all her characters, in fact, moved them off the page and into my heart. When trust broke and an idol fell, I mourned. But I also celebrated Magnin's skill as an artist and skillful teller of truth. The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow mixes the power of prayer and the frailty of human relationships in a readable, believable, humorous, and horrifying way. Magnin's amazing debut novel caused me to examine what I believe. It also caused me to consider the impact of my own woundedness, seen and unseen. Visit Bright's Pond soon, but don't carry your expectations with you. This book, like the town's celebrated Full Moon Café, carries a full menu of original, delightful treats. Take the time to read--and to savor--each one.
	The Ending Was Too Long in Arriving  Feb 20, 2010
If you're wanting to learn something, this isn't the book for you. It's purely for entertainment. Looking for well-developed characters? Agnes is very well-developed. Some character names: Studebaker. Vidalia. "Shrapnel" is Eugene's last name. Filby Pruett. Hezekiah. Dabs Lemon. There's also Tohilda and Personal Best. I'm reminded of Phil Gulley's Harmony books with Fern Hampton, Dale Hinshaw where the characters are real and not some Barbie doll fake. (This one has big hair. This one has yellow teeth. A woman whose face resembles an axe head.) Almost all the folks in the small town want to have a sign made and installed, honoring Agnes who prays for the towns people. Her sister Griselda is adamantly against it. The townspeople think Agnes doesn't want the sign because she's just being humble. The story centers around Agnes. People make fun of her. Funny! I like that about the double-wide toilet called The Big Flo. - a real knee-slapper! I wouldn't be kowtowing to Agnes! Have her get her own meals instead of ordering around Griselda. Better yet. She can make them for Griselda since she's home all day and Griselda works. There were some funny parts but at about halfway through the book, I was hoping it was almost finished.
	Good Christian Folk  Feb 8, 2010
The first 2/3 of the book about put me to sleep but I just kept reading. If you like the Mitford series by Jan Karon or the Miss Read series, the first part of this book will appeal to you from a very slow paced, nothing happening but a pleasant little town leads its pleasant little life. Throw in a bit of Flannery O'Connor and the last third of the book shakes you up a bit and there you have Prayers of Agnes Sparrow. The characters are more complex that I originally thought and for that Joyce Magnin kept my attention. Agnes is a selfish, self absorbed character who comes across as very 'nice' and Christian, and very devoted to praying for the town and for individuals. She, to me, is a real study in the passive aggressive sort of character. Her sister, Griselda, is a martyr in a bad way and all the while she thinks she's being a good Christian. I would recommend this book for its surprising character sketches, but a lot of the book is tediously plodding.
	good but not great  Jan 22, 2010
I wish the town would have supported agnes more. I also wish Hezeikial would have gotten his prayer answered in a diffrent way. It was a good book maybe a little slow at time but over all worth reading
	From Red Adept's Kindle Book Review Blog  Jan 17, 2010
Plot/Storyline: 3 1/4 Stars Knowing this was a Christian novel, the religious aspect was well expected when I started this book. However, even though the central theme is a woman whose prayers are apparently answered, there was minimal to no epreachingf in this novel. The only messages sent were ones that forwarded the storyline directly. The storyline, unfortunately, suffered at a meandering pace. By the middle of the book, I was still waiting for something to happen. The entire first half is a build-up for one shocking event. The event ws definitely surprising, but not quite enough to make it worth the long, drawn-out preparation to get there. I was especially disappointed in the fact that nothing was explained. I am not giving out spoilers by stating that after reading this novel, you will still never know why God would choose to answer Agnesf prayers directly, over other peoplefs well-meaning prayers. While she is an object of pity, and many hint that God gave her the egiftf to make up for her obesity, that line of reasoning does not compute. She was an obese child and had no gift at that point. The underlying event from the past that supposedly caused her stay obese and become a recluse was actually caused by her obesity in the first place. The plot does not seem to be very well thought out as to cause and effect. Character Development: 4 Stars The main character, Agnesf sister Griselda, was very well-developed. She was a far more empathetic character than Agnes herself and elicited plenty of pity from this reader. Viewed from a distance, you might wonder why she let herself stay in the position she was in, but when you walked in her shoes, you could see that she was actually the more deserving of a blessing between the two of them. Agnes was well-developed in some aspects. The reader was shown very easily and deftfully, one might even say etactfully,f how Agnes received and maintained her bulk. The only problem I had with her character were the cause and effect issues I discussed above. The other townspeople were decently developed for their part in the storyline. I would have preferred to get more depth from Hezekiah, but his character was still sufficient for the purpose. Writing Style: 4 Stars One thing I did not enjoy in this novel was the abundance of odd, old-fashioned names. Yes, I realize that eback in the dayf (as my son would put it), people gave their children names like Vidalia occassionally. However, in this novel, the average name is rare. There is not a Mary or a Jane to be found. The names were a distraction rather than the quaintness the author seemed to have wanted to achieve. The descriptions were good, and the sentence structure was excellent. I found the dialogue to be interesting and appropriate for the time period. Formatting/Editing: 5 STars Both were of professional quality. Rating: PG-14 for Violence

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