Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for January 2012

Only the beginning: A review of The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow by Joyce Magnin

They don’t call Joyce Magnin the queen of quirk for nothing.

Before I ever read a word she wrote, I heard her speak twice to our writer’s group, and let me tell you this: She’s as funny in person as she is on the page. I was eager to read her series of novels set in the fictional Pennsylvania town of Bright’s Pond, so while home in Illinois for Christmas, I took the plunge and began reading The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow.

The first of the series focuses on two sisters, Griselda, the town librarian, and Agnes, the controversial patron saint of Bright’s Pond. Because of Agnes’ prayers, several Bright’s Pond residents have experienced miracles, and they want the world (or at least everyone traveling on the Turnpike) to know about Agnes Sparrow.

What ensues is comical and heart-wrenching. When things take a turn for the worse in Bright’s Pond, the sisters face some tough decisions. Magnin handles these issues and her characters with wit and grace, and it’s not hard to find pieces of yourself in their actions.

This book was a feast for my brain — like mental chocolate. I couldn’t get enough. I’m only sorry I waited so long to start the series. Magnin’s recently release the fourth book in this series, so I have some catching up to do. Check out Magnin’s books and stories at her website.

FAVORITES: The character names of everyone in Bright’s Pond are original, funny and sometimes a little strange, but they’re fitting. I appreciate the care Magnin took in creating unique names for her characters. That makes them more memorable to me.

FAULTS: I read a digital edition of this book and found some typos, as well as some inconsistency of the name of the chapel in Bright’s Pond. Little that bother the editor in me but don’t detract from the overall story.

IN A WORD: Entertaining. I had so much fun reading this book.

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Bonus content: I didn’t wait long to read Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise. While it doesn’t feature many of the characters as the first book, it takes place in the same region as Bright’s Pond. It’s a delightful story about a recent widow who moves to a trailer park, makes friends, starts a softball team and well, unintentionally, takes over. Hers is an inspiring story of what can happen when you free yourself to follow your dreams and instincts.

FAVORITES: Memorable characters. And not just their names, as was the case in Agnes Sparrow, but Magnin creates a community of people I want to meet and hang out with. We learn about their struggles and care about what happens to them. I’m convinced that Magnin either knows some really wacky people she’s written into her novels or her imagination is out of this world. Maybe a little of both?

FAULTS: The ending felt a little rushed to me — like a steep downhill slide after the long trek to the climax. The story  was over almost before I realized it, and I was sad to say good-bye so quickly to Charlotte Figg.

IN A WORD: Uplifting. Charlotte Figg grieves the loss of her husband but she doesn’t stay mired in it. She decides to get on with and do something with her life. She has struggles, but she presses on, with help from her newfound friends and a renewing faith in God.

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Double bonus material: Earlier this week, both of these books were still free  — yes, free! — for the Kindle on Amazon, so if you have a Kindle, you have NO good reason not to check these books out.

On becoming an aunt

Daughter. Granddaughter. Sister. Niece. Cousin. Wife. Mother.

I’ve been all these things in my 30-plus years, but one thing I’ve never been is an aunt.

Until this little guy entered the world on Wednesday.

I have to admit: I’m a little bit nervous about the role. I’m not exactly sure what an aunt is “supposed” to do. Being an aunt is not a clearly defined role, in my mind. At least, not like those other roles. I’ve had moments where I haven’t been sure what to do as a wife or mother or daughter, but for some reason, those roles and titles are more comfortable to me.

“Aunt,” on the other hand, well, that’s a whole new ball game. The word conjures up images of everything from cooky old ladies who give sloppy smooches and wear too much lipstick to hip, young girls whose older siblings have kids and are more like cousins.

Neither of those is my experience, by the way.

If I want to know how to be an aunt, and a good aunt at that, I don’t have to look very far.

When I think of a great aunt (not a great-aunt, though she is that now to my kids), my aunt Dina comes to mind. She has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I don’t mean she showed up to family functions and I vaguely knew who she was. Aunt Dina and her husband, my uncle Lewie, have invested in my life in ways I can never pay back. They spent time with me, let me sleep over at their house, supported me, challenged me and loved me. Honestly, it’s just who they are. I don’t know if they intended to play such an important role in my life, but their involvement and care drew me to the God they loved and served. They are a major reason I miss our home church. My husband and I have served with them in youth ministry, which has been an awesome blessing. Aunt Dina is the kind of aunt who always gives hugs and who is open to talking about anything (especially the stuff you never wanted to ask your mom about … no offense to moms). And she’s fun. Contagious fun. She tells my daughter that purple is God’s favorite color. I smile just thinking about her. If I could be half the aunt to my nephew that Dina has been to me, I’ll be doing good.

Then there’s this lady.

I totally sniped this picture of her. She probably would have posed and smiled if I’d have asked, but I didn’t. Aunt Nancy entered my life later when she married my Uncle Kent. I think I was in high school. She is a positive, encouraging and caring person who expressed her love for our family from the start. For an insecure, self-conscious, occasionally depressed teenager, her love — spoken and otherwise expressed — was a HUGE boost to my confidence. She countered my negative image of myself with positives. When I had a bad break-up in college, she encouraged me that it was his loss. She, too, spoke of God and faith in ways that made me curious and hopeful. She is the life of a party, a great listener and quick-witted. At our recent family Christmas gathering, when my brother was going on and on about how ideal my parents’ house will be when the zombie apocalypse happens, she listened patiently and then interjected dreamily, “And it’s so beautiful when it snows.” We all cracked up. Except my brother. Aunt Nancy is another great example for me to follow in the aunt department.

And my aunts don’t end there! Aunt Vicky, I remember, had the most interesting Barbie collection. I couldn’t play with any of them, but I loved to look. She made a wall hanging of my name that I kept on display until college, I think. Maybe after. I still have it. She hasn’t let up now that she, too, is a great-aunt, making aprons for my daughter. I think some of this craftiness rubbed off. The day my sister-in-law was in labor, I made a card with the kids and then had the urge to get back into cross-stitch to make things for baby Kaiden’s room. Do all aunts do this? Probably not.

Aunt Bev and Aunt Shelly, I’ll admit, I don’t know well, even though they’ve been in my life for as long as I can remember. This, I know, though: I think of them fondly and always enjoyed family get-together they were a part of. Even now, we keep in limited contact through Facebook. (The wonders of technology!)

I share one thing in common with all of my aunts: they all married in to the family. I have no aunts related to me by blood. That is my position with baby Kaiden: aunt by marriage, not by blood. But if I’ve learned anything from these great women in my life, it’s that it doesn’t matter how I came to be a part of my nephew’s life just as long as I am a part of his life.

Living 700 miles away from our first nephew right now stings a little bit. It might be six months before we see him, but the aunts and uncles in our kids’ lives have proved that it’s possible to be involved, to shower love from afar and to invest in the life of a niece and nephew.

Becoming an aunt has given me a lot to think about.

That’s my cup of tea today.

If you’ve got a great aunt or you are one, let’s talk!

What makes someone a great aunt? How have your aunts made a difference in your life?