Big Stone Gap

What A Huge Disappointment! I Ordered What I Thought Was Morally Decent Book. I Am Throwing It Away Because It Is Not Worth Reselling Or Donating!!

Quite often, opening lines of a book may beckon to a reader and hold onto them for the duration of the book. As an avid reader I couldn't help but feel this way when I read the following opening lines from Big Stone Gap by Adiana Trigiani, "This weekend will be a good weekend for reading." And I felt my fingers skipping to turn the pages and begin reading more of this book. Now that I've finished the novel by Ms. Trigiani , I too must add my kudos along with the many other readers who have also recommended and enjoyed this title. Like the authors Fannie Flagg and Rebecca Wells, Ms. Trigiani has assembled a cast of Southern characters who are homespun, fun loving and just quirky enough to appeal to reading audiences everywhere.Ave Marie Mulligan at 35 is an unmarried pharmacist in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. The product of an Italian mother and Scotch Irish father, who died some years before has come to accept her father's cruelty when she was younger. She also has come to accept that her life most likely will never change either. Running the local pharmacy, which she inherited, making deliveries to the hollers, working with the ambulance squad and directing the Outdoor Drama musical every summer fill her days and years. But when Ava reads a letter from her recently deceased mother, she is left with some revelations and unsettling questions. Now Ava must find out the answers and we as readers fully realize that Ava's life will never be the same again.Ms. Trigiani offers her readers a delightful book which will surely be read and reread by her many fans. And the best part is that once you finished reading Big Stone Gap you can return to the area and people once again by reading the second book in this trilogy, Big Cherry Holler, and the recently published third and last book, Milk Glass Moon. Take it from me, spending time with Ave Marie Mulligan with her friends in Big Stone Gap is a perfect way to spend any weekend.

If Jan Karon, Billie Letts and Fannie Flagg could be made into one person, they would create Adriana Trigiani. All the essentials are present: Jan Karon's quaint community charm, Billie Letts's honest and triumphant storylines, and Fannie Flagg's quirky and one-of-a-kind characters. A lively mix, to say the least....According to the Chinese art of face-reading, something extraordinary is supposed to happen in the 35th year of Ava Maria Mulligan's life. Well, it's been 35 years -- and Ava Maria is getting impatient! Being the town spinster, town pharmacist, and all-around good gal just isn't good enough anymore. Even though Ava Maria tries to convince herself that she likes being alone and predictable, fate has another scenario in mind. With the discovery of a very big family secret, the entire world and life as Ava Maria has come to know and depend on is turned upside down. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing...Plenty of surprising things and supressed feelings come to the surface during the course of Ava Maria's 35th year, which makes it one that will never be forgotten. Readers will fall in love with the town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia and all it's wonderful residents: Sexy bookmobile driver and jewelry peddler Iva Lou Wade, who has sampled many of the town's male appetizers; Theodore Tipton, director of the high school band and Ava Maria's very best friend; Jack MacChesney, the big, burly coal-miner who lives with his momma out in the holler; and Pearl Grimes, a 15-year-old mediocre mountain girl with potential that's just starting to crack the surface. Readers will see themselves in one or many of these characters, which makes this novel so appealing. A must read for Southern fiction fans and those who enjoy down-home humor and characters with heart.

I loved this book--the characters became your friends and neighbors. Ms Trigiani has created a wonderful character in Ave Maria Mulligan--one that I hope will reappear in subsequent novels. Ave Maria may be an oddity in the little town of Big Stone Gap but she shares the hopes and disappointments of all women. She comes from a warm and loving mother and a father who could not show emotion though later in the story we find out that Fred Mulligan was a very good man--he left his business and his home to Ave's mom thus insuring that they would be passed on to her. Surprises and twists abound and true love wins the day in this great "chick" book. Ms Triagiani can create characters and give them such life you take them home with you--I shall miss Jack Mac Theodore Iva Lou and Pearl. Rita Mae Brown has a definite rival for best Virginia storyteller.