Customer Reviews

Big Stone Gap: A Novel

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

The characters were so well drawn in BIG STONE GAP that I felt I knew them. Loved Jack Mac and Iva Lou...and of course Ave Maria...right from the start. Cheered for Pearl and snickered when the baton-twirling beauty moved on to motherhood. I loved this book, but if you're looking for something with a lot of bite--something that's quite shocking and definitely not like anything else you've ever read, try Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens. Just be sure you're sitting down when you get to one of the chapters (as you probably would be anyway.)

Loved this book. Everything rings true, from the quirky names, oddball characters that populate the little town, to the hilarious/sad/bittersweet occurances. It's an easy read and a great story. I just love a well put-together story. And that's the whole sweet-potato right there.

Big Stone Gap is about a small Moutain town in Virginia, and the people who live there. You will meet the most wonderful people in Big Stone Gap. Some of the town members we meet include; Ave Maria the local pharmacist, town spinster, who's about to have a breakdown. Jack Mac, a local coal miner, trying to break though the wall Ave has put around her self. Theodore is our loveable feriner, band/choral director at Powell High School. Pearl Grimes is a local teenager who doesn' t have many friends, she goes on to take a job at Mutual Pharmacy working for Ave. Iva Lou is the bookmobie driver, one of Ave's best friends. I can't forget about wise cracking Fleeta who also works at Mutual for Ave.

Ave just lost her mama and soon finds out that she really doesn't know where she comes from. With the help of her friends she learns how to live life to its fullest. She finds long lost family and at last falls in love. She has everything she always wanted, and learned to be happy

So take a trip down to Big Stone Gap, meet it unique residents. I promise its worth the trip!

My husband and I listened to the sound recording of this book and were engaged by the story line and the great quirky characters. Big Stone Gap is a small town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the southwestern part of Virginia. The story starts quietly with Ave Maria Mulligan telling the story of her life. She's a 35-year old pharmacist who's mourning the death of her mother and dwelling a lot on her past. She thinks of herself as being rather plain and ordinary and also feels that she will probably never marry. Her best friend, Theodore is a handsome and eligible teacher, but romance does not seem to be part of the relationship. The town people see her as a capable woman who can do anything and will always lend a helping hand.

Life is simple in Big Stone Gap and the best part of the week for Ave Maria is when the bookmobile shows up each Friday. In fact, Ave Maria says that everything that's she's learned from life has come from books. Her favorite book teaches the Chinese art of face reading and she practices on everyone's face and the results always seem to ring true. Things change when Ave Maria discovers some family secrets and her entire world is turned upside down. To add even more drama, Jack Mac, another very attractive man begins showing a lot of interest in her which confuses and complicates life even more for Ave Maria.

This is a wonderful story by Adriana Trigiani who is actually from the town of Big Stone Gap. I'm really looking forward to reading BIG CHERRY HOLLER, the sequel to this book.

I was so glad that I stuck with this book because after about 100 pages, I couldn't put it down. Within a few month's our "town spinster's" life changed drastically and we are in for a great story that will continue in the other two books.

I found her writing style a bit difficult at first, but then I couldn't stop! I look forward to reading the other books. I do however agree that it isn't a real thought provoking book, but an enjoyable one even so!

If anyone wants a taste of SW VA then I highly suggest this book. Along with Milk Glass Moon and Big Cherry Holler, Big Stone Gap provides an insightful glimpse into life on the mountain. I went to college down at E&H and have had the pleasure of visiting Big Stone Gap. I enjoyed the way this book was written, and if I have any complaints it is the "simple" style. The reading is fast and not all that thought provoking, a good vacation read.

Ave Maria considers herself the "town spinster" in Big Stone Gap, a tiny town in the mountains of Virginia where she's the town pharmacist and booklover. Her life is peaceful, quiet, and she's seemingly content, until she reads a letter from her recently-deceased mother which changes everything. Ave's life is turned upside-down and she rethinks her personal and family history, what she needs and wants to be happy in life, and her place in the world.

A very nice and pleasing book, I plan to read the sequel. However, my one main complaint was that the characterisation here wasn't actually that impressive, compared to other aspects of the book. The men in this novel aren't discernible from one another at all. The women are written much better, but even some of them seemed more like cut-outs rather than fully-fleshed characters. That being said, Ave Maria, the main character, was written well, and I liked her and want to know her better (although, is this good or bad I wonder?) The plot was, in general, logical and neat. One full extra rating point because for some reason I can't place, I stayed up until 4am reading this book! Must be something!

Ok, I've gotta say, I'm a little disapointed...almost more in myself then this book. After reading all the wonderful reviews this book received, I was extremely excited to read this series, so I bought all 3 books and got to work. Well, I was not overly impressed.

I took me a week to finish this book, I just couldn't get into it, no matter how much I forced myself to sit and read it. It moved verrry slow, and the characters were just so-so. I kinda never really got to like Ave Maria, she irritated me, and Jack Mac didn't have much of a personality at all, but there were some other characters that I thought were ok...Pearl, Iva Lou, and the Italian family. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book, just not great.

Trust me...I'm really bummed about not loving this book. I'll still read the other 2 seeing as how I've already bought them...hopefully the story will pick up a little though.

The book was well written and just chunked full of good characters. Living here in the Ozark Mountains, it was much like reading about many of my neighbors (and must admit, myself).
There is a lot of good humor in the authors writing. I do hope if she write a sequel she introduces us to more characters as this is the strongest part of her writing. All in all a very pleasant read and I highly recommend it. Thank you Ms Trigiani.

It is a very fast read ~~ I read this one in a day and a half ~~ and the pace of this book kept me moving right along ~~ just when I think I should put it down, I turn the page again and start another chapter. The story of Ave Maria keeps me wanting more! What a loveable character ~~ and sometimes she can be so irritating when she can't see the truth right in front of her eyes!

Ave Maria is the local pharmacist who is struggling with her life after her beloved mother died of cancer. Then Ave Maria finds out that the man who she thought is her father isn't ~~ and she begins a search for her true identity. Then all of a sudden, after years of no interest from the male population, she gets two proposals and life begins to change for Ave Maria.

It is a funny and witty insight into small town life ~~ the characters are loveable and everyone is like everyone else that the reader knows. You can't but help fall in love with the Stone Gap residents and you find yourself cheering for them. Ave Maria is a real character ~~ one that you can relate to!

This is a fun read and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the triology.

9-17-03