The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow is one of the most unique books I have read in a very long time. It's the story of sisters Griselda and Agnes Sparrow. Older sister Agnes weighs 700 pounds and is the miracle worker of the town of Bright's Pond, whose every prayer for the town's residents is answered. Griselda is Agnes's caregiver. Their unique relationship and the zany residents of this small town in the Pennsylvania mountains make for a read that is humorous as well as touching. The writing was sprinkled with just the right amount of details -- not so much as to be overwhelming but enough to make me feel as though I had been to this town and I had met these wonderfully, zany characters over a piece of Full Moon pie at the Full Moon Cafe. The book does fall into the Christian fiction category, and while there is an obvious message in the story it is not at all "preachy. I would recommend this book to anyone who lives or has lived the small town life and wants to read a story about a town probably not much different from their own. A wonderful read and I look forward to reading the rest of the Bright's Pond series. This is the story of Agnes Sparrow and her caregiver sister, Griselda. Agnes has grown to 700+ lbs and announces to her sister one day that she has decided to never leave the house again because it has become too difficult and embarassing. Griselda has taken care of her sister since they were children. As children she often would stand up to other children who would bully Agnes because of her weight.Because Agnes is confined to home she develops a prayer ministry for the people in town. Townspeople in Bright's Pond come to her with their innermost secrets. Agnes prays for them and frequently miracles happen. This results in her acquiring a reputation as a miracle worker. Trouble starts when people in Bright's Pond want to create a new sign for the town announcing it as the home of Agnes Sparrow-miracle worker. Agnes wants no part of this and would prefer a sign that says "To God only be the Glory" in Latin. She and her sister are out-voted.A stranger wanders into town looking for Agnes. He has heard of her praying abilities and wants a miracle for his life. The problem is that he expects Agnes to figure out what the problem is and does not share his secrets with her. He becomes frustrated when he does not get his own private miracle.Startling developments occur in the town that leads to turmoil. It causes people to doubt Agnes' ability to pray for them any longer and they stop coming to her. In fact they blame her for their trouble and say she should have been able to see it coming since she has God's ear. The end result is Agnes confronting what has caused her to imprison her self in her body and her home.
This is a good book, I especially liked Griselda's character. It was hard to put down.
—Tay
Interesting and weird. I liked it.
—micky
Free Kindle book
—TimeLordCrono
