title: The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow: A Novel of Bright's Pond
author:  Joyce Magnin 
description: 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 miracleshealings from serious illnessesoccur, 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. <i>(Sept.)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  ![Cover for Deacon King Kong](../images/9780735216747_cover.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # ALSO BY JAMES MCBRIDE
  
  
  
  
  
  The Color of Water
  
  
  Miracle at St. Anna
  
  
  Song Yet Sung
  
  
  The Good Lord Bird
  
  
  Kill ’Em and Leave
  
  
  Five-Carat Soul
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![Book title, Deacon King Kong, Subtitle, A Novel, author, James McBride,
  imprint, Riverhead Books](../images/9780735216747_title_page.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/NEW_RiverheadLOGO_25_.jpg)
  
  
  RIVERHEAD BOOKS
  
  
  An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
  
  
  [penguinrandomhouse.com](http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com)
  
  
  ![](../images/Penguin_Logo.jpg)
  
  
  Copyright © 2020 by James McBride
  
  
  Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse
  voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for
  buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright
  laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form
  without permission. You are supportin