Rating: 
Summary: Nice, satisfying, comforting sort of read
Review: 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!
Rating: 
Summary: Warms the heart
Review: Ave Maria Mulligan leads a carefully ordered life in the little town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Surrounded by the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Ave Maria seems oblivious as she performs her duties as pharmacist, member of the Rescue Squad, and director of the local historical pageant. Her beloved mother has just died and has left her a letter telling her some family secrets which shake up her well-ordered world. Without her mother to ground her, she begins looking for new meaning in her life and decides that she needs to travel to Italy to meet the relatives she's never known. There are two men who are interested in her, but she decides that she needs to keep one as a best friend and ignore the attentions of the other one. This is the story of a woman who comes of age at thirty-five and who finds what she has really been searching for all of her life. The small-town characters are reminiscent of Fannie Flagg's characters and are delightful. This is recommended reading!
Rating:
Summary: Loved this book!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: Back to the Old Home Town for a good laugh
Review: Business is slack in Big Stone Gap, a tiny mining town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, near the foothills of Tennessee. So, Fleeta in the local greasy spoon rewrites her recipe-card box of five years standing. Here is one entry. With it, Trigiani sets the scene for her delightful visit and memories of her own home town. 'Skin your possum. Place in a large pot and boil 'til tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make gravy with broth and add 4 tablespoons flour and a cup of milk. Cook until thick. Save a foot to sop gravy. Reading this, Trigiani's protagonist Ave Maris Mulligan ponders what to do with the other three feet. She is a witty thirty-five year-old, not yet 'murried'. She owns the local drug store taht apparently has a net value of one dollar. Being pharmacist creates access to the town's secrets. Not that anyone gossips in Big Stone. We first meet her taking advantage of the Wise County Bookmobile's weekly visit, as it lumbers down the mountain road. She learns from a book how to read faces and starts observing and analyzing the populace. Then Elizabeth Tayor and her politician husband decend on Big Stone Gap. Elizabeth books the deluxe suite at the Trail Motel. 'Boy is she in for a surprise,' says Ave Maria. Based on an actual happening in 1978, the visit is hilarious. A bizarre football game precedes a dinner that boasts a program printed on lavender paper 'compliments of the Dollar General Store.' Liz ends up in Hospital, the culprit: Fried Chicken. Although author Adriana Trigiani grew up in this drab location, she now lives in New York, a successful producer and playeright. This novel revisits choice hometown characters, and her experiences there directing local plays that led her to a wider horizon of opportunity.
Rating:
Summary: Daughter of Big Stone Gap native loved it
Review: I got this book - actually it was a gift from my cousin, but I was planning on reading it anyway - since my father grew up in Big Stone Gap. I loved the book - the characters were enticing and I would have enjoyed it even without the ancestral setting. I liked the fact that the mountain folk weren't all made out to be dumb hillbillies. My dad, who also read the book, says the regional references are pretty accurate, but now I want to ask him more about those places and revisit them! The story is about Ave Maria Mulligan, 35 year old pharmacist, who is at a turning point in her life. She considers herself the town "spinster" and through some events that happen after her mother's death, she decides her life needs some changes. She feels she doesn't fit in to the natives of Big Stone Gap, even though she was born there, mostly because her mother was an Italian immigrant and she's Catholic. The changes don't exactly turn out to be the ones she plans, but oh what a fun ride along the way!
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Summary: Big Stone Gap is Something You Need to Curl Up With!
Review: I just loved this book and look forward to Big Cherry Holler, the sequel, after reading this book! Ave Maria, who is the main character of the story has had a lot to go through in her lifetime. She lives in Big Stone Gap Virginia in the lovely mountains where it feels like 'down home.' Ave Maria's mom has passed away, and she has had a hard time getting on with her life, but she does gradually, and things go on from there. She is the town spinster at 35 years of age, and has a hard time of finding love. She has two wonderul male friends though, and will she find love with one of them? You must read this to find out! Other events happen as well, after her mother's death occurs. Her mom was hiding something from Ave Maria for many years and it is not until her death that Ave finds out what this is. Her mom has written her a letter telling her something inside of her will. To find out what this is all about, you REALLY will have to read the book once again. Ave Maria also owns a pharmacy in Big Stone Gap and knows many people in the whole town. Early on in the book though, a high school girl comes into Ave's life that really needs someone to look up to. Her name is Pearl, and she and Ave instantly form a friendship that is long-lasting. Ave makes her a deal later in the story that she just can't refuse. With all the scandals, heartaches, troubles, and life-changing decisions that occur in Ave's life, this is a wonderful read! I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely enchanting!
Review: I was absolutely enchanted with this book. Adriana Trigiani has put together a wonderful story that will be remembered for a very long time. Big Stone Gap is a well-crafted novel that was written for the sentimental and romantic at heart. This is the story of a 35-year-old woman of Italian descent whose family secrets are revealed. Like a puzzle, Ave Maria's life reconstructs piece by piece. Ave Maria is a wonderful heroine. She tells the story with a great deal of heart and soul. Her voice literary comes out of every page! She is so real! I could relate to her a bit. After all, she, too, gets grief for being single and independent. But is that what she really wants? The other characters in the novel are great too, especially Iva Lou, Jack Mac, Pearl and Theodore. Also, I love the backdrop of the small town of Big Stone Gap in Virginia. I could smell the clean air of the mountains through the writing. Her descriptions are quite vivid. This is a beautiful and charming novel that should be read more than once. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly surprised!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: True Life in the Gap
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Small Town Charm
Review: It only took me reading the first page of Adriana Trigiani's Big Stone Gap to fall in love with this story. Set in Big Stone Gap Virginia, you will meet a cast of locals who are lovable and quirky. The novel centers around Ave Maria Mulligan, who in her 30's is a strong and independent woman. Running the pharmacy left behind by her father, the Mutual Pharmacy fills the voids of Ave's lacking love life. As we meet the community of Big Stone Gap, characters like Fleeta, Pearl, Jack Mac and Theodore will start to feel like your own friends. You will feel Ave's joys and pitfalls as she stumbles through some uncomfortable paths on her journey to find her true love. Trigiani is immensely insightful as she touches on so many universal truths about the human spirit and life. Big Stone Gap has certainly captured my heart, and made it onto my list of all time favorites. The fact that there are 2 more in this trilogy, Big Cherry Holler and Milk Glass Moon, is just icing on the cake~
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