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: # Table of Contents
  
  
  [Planted By The
  Water](part0001_split_000.html#UGI0-8eec153c2128451ab014ba9a41a1b7af)
  
  
  [My Book
  List:](part0002_split_000.html#1T140-8eec153c2128451ab014ba9a41a1b7af)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Planted by the Water
  
  
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  ![image](../images/00001.gif)
  
  
  CHAPTER 1
  
  
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  ![image](../images/00001.gif)
  
  
  THE SMALL PARADE MADE its way along the river path. The old woman walking at
  the head raised her arms in praise towards the sky. Her white shawl raised
  with her arms and appeared to be the wings of a light-filled bird or an angel.
  Five young charges filed behind her, like ducklings behind mother duck. They
  followed in trusting obedience and expectation of what lay ahead. For with
  Mother Aggie, the expectation was good things and they trusted in the trail of
  her goodness as they followed her on the river path.
  
  
  The children, ranging in age from 8 to 18 years, walked gaily behind the old
  woman. The first was Mary. Mary was the youngest of the orphan children who
  came under th