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Summary: I'm impressed
Review: I was shocked and suprised at the genuine nature of the voice of Adriana.She exibited an unusual flair for seeing the intricacies of human emotion and relationships, and being able to translate them to the page, and our imaginations. A stirring book, certainly one that makes you understand a little more of the dynamics of adult marriages, family and community.
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Summary: Fabulous author
Review: This book was just as good as Big Stone Gap if not better. I loved both of these books and hope that Trigiani keeps writing more. I always rate my books 1 to 10. Very few receive 10's, but this one did.
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Summary: Pride and Proud
Review: This is an excellent book, and excellent follow-up to her first book, Big Stone Gap. I live approximately 3 1/2 hours south in Knoxville. (Where UT Pride of Southland Band is directed by Theodore) I love the area about which she writes. I have spent considerable time in Southern Virginia. I love it almost as much as East Tennessee. The areas are quite similar It makes me feel both pride and proud to read good and true books about such a misunderstood area. Compunded with the area of the country, is the fact she is Catholic and Italian. (Not everybody is Baptist in Smoky Moutain/Blue Ridge Area) What a wonderful twist. I understood and empathized with this character, and all the other coloful characters. I know quite a few of these people in others. This book will be enjoyed by people of the area, but those who want an honest portrayal of the area I love.
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Summary: YO! Adriana!
Review: This author delivers in a big way. What a treat it was to see her interviewed on the Today Show and realize there was a sequel to Big Stone Gap. Her characters are multi-dimensional...real, endearing, flawed, fun, exasperating folks. The author employs a engaging practice of setting each of these books after a life-altering event, so the big event itself exists as if a silent but essential player in the unfolding of the story. This is a book one is anxious to speed through, but sorry to see end. This reader believes it is best to read Big Stone Gap first or some developments in Big Cherry Holler could be confusing. It's fun to see what has happened, not only to Ave Maria and Jack Mac, but to Pearl, Iva Lou, Fleeta, Spec, and Aunt Alice. (What great names!) Both books are immensely funny and achingly sad, this reader's favorite combination in a novel. I can't wait to find out what happens next.
Rating:
Summary: More sad than funny
Review: I loved the first book, very funny, etcetc. This book, also very good, but has a different "tone". More melancholic in dealing with marital issues, loss of a child. Rather sad, and reading about marriage woes can hit too close to home for an entertaining read.
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Summary: Big Cherry Holler - - More extraordinary than the latter
Review: In Big Cherry Holler, Adriana Trigiani bursts with a rare and exotic ability. The ability to tell a story of romance with the shocking truth: It isn't a fairy tale; things go wrong. With eight years of marriage to Jack Mac under Av-uh Maria's belt, having gone through the death of a son, and attempting to break her town-spinster ways, both she and Jack realize things are turning in their marriage. That there are problems. Join Ave Maria as she tries to make sense of what happened to her marriage, and herself.
Rating:
Summary: About as good as it gets
Review: In this sequel to the excellent and haunting "Big Stone Gap", we catch up with Ave Maria MacChesney (nee Mulligan) 8 years after her marriage to Jack Mac. Her close-knit circle of friends are still around, including the irrepressible Iva Lou. Ave Maria's life, however, continues to be an ever-changing tableau replete with loss, love, yearning, and hope. Ave Maria has become a mother, and only when she takes her young daughter to Italy for the summer does she face the reality of the walls which have arisen between her and Jack. Both she and Jack are facing change and their lives are moving in different directions at a rapid clip. Both have some tough decisions to make. Will either of them succumb to temptation? Can their marriage survive the changes necessary to sustain everyday life which have a huge impact on their diverse personalities? The answers to these questions and more are delivered with wit, humor, angst, joy, and the earthy wisdom of a master storyteller. This second volume of a trilogy packs a wallop and I can't wait for the third book.
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Summary: Another Treat from Adriana Trigiani...
Review: I eagerly awaited the revisit to the town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia by way of Adriana Trigiani. I came to think of the characters as extended family, and the thought of seeing them again warmed my heart. And Adriana can make me laugh like no other! In *Big Cherry Holler*, Ave Maria and Jack Mac have been married for eight years and are still living up on the mountain. Their daughter Etta is a lively third grader, and their son, Joe, died of leukemia a few years prior. Because Ave and Jack are having a difficult time of getting it back together following their loss, the possibility of infidelity arises. Of course, the town gossips, gets involved and the adventure begins. Once again, Adriana has given us all something to cherish and enjoy! I can't wait for another novel by Adriana!!
Rating:
Summary: funny and insightful
Review: I loved Big Cherry Holler. It was interesting to see how the characters from Big Stone Gap had grown and changed. It was also astonishing how much Adriana has grown as a writer. I felt like I was part of the conversations. The author compassionately handles death of a child and infidelity. I thought the book was theraputic in dealing with these subjects. I laughed and I cried. Good story about everyday life and its ups and downs. I can't wait for the next book.
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Summary: It just gets better!
Review: BIG CHERRY HOLLER is a sequel that delivers! I loved it! Ave Maria is truly everywoman -- she juggles a job, her child, and her marriage. The humor, love and community of the first book are still there, and while the first book had Ave coming to terms with herself, BIG CHERRY HOLLER has her coming to terms with her marriage. And what a story! The twists and turns (not to mention a trip to Italy) kept me hooked from the beginning. But there are tender moments and poignant moments as Ave deals with the loss of her son. Adriana Trigiani captures the ups and downs of marriage, the juggling act all mothers face and the love that keeps it all together. Even if it is tested once in awhile.
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