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: 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: Wellllll.....
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: WELL WORTH THE READ
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Very witty novel
Review: 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
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Summary: One of my all time favorites, y'all!
Review: I first bought this book because I was moving from Kansas to the Appalachian mountain region very near Big Stone Gap and I thought I might be able to "learn a thing or two." It was a most wonderful delight and surprise to find that this book was really well written and quite fun! I love this book, and eagerly went out and bought the other two. I wish that there were more to look forward to (haven't heard anything on it). I think that Adriana Trigiani is now one of my top three favorite authors, and I look forward to reading more from her. Although this book is fictional, the author did grow up in Big Stone Gap, and it sure seems real to me. I feel like Iva Lou and Fleeta are my friends, and I sure do miss them now that the book is over.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best ever
Review: Although I never lived in Big Stone Gap, I did live in Johnson City, Tennessee for 10 years and can verifiy that this book is the real deal. Ms. Trigiani is one of the best, most detailed, vivid, realistic authors to come along in ages. She truly comes from the Flannery O'Connor school of thought. She knows herself and. therefore, her community. This book has such a voice, a sense of place. The next time I teach freshman composition, I plan to make this a required text. One of the best things about this book is the fact that it doesn't perpetuate the hillbilly stereotype. It is so obvious that Ms. Trigiani is proud of her Appalchian and Italian heritages and makes no apologies. A great read!
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing and witty
Review: It wasn't my type of title. But I tried it anyway. What a pleasant surprise. I am now on the third in the trilogy, Milkglass Moon. I don't want the characters to leave me! What a delightful spin Trigiani puts on everyday and ordinary lives. The things her characters do (and think)...we want to find such friends and we like to believe in the magic and power of the coincidental moment. Trigiani is right up there with Deborah Smith, and Luanne Rice. I am hooked.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, You Can Go Home Again
Review: WARNING!
Do not begin this book while at work or when small children are around who might need your attention!
Get ready to take a trip to the most wonderful town where you can relax and have a laugh a minute. Yes, you'll meet some very quirky and lovable characters here. You'll not want to leave so pull up a chair, get comfortable, and stay a while. You won't need to lock your doors here. You will be safe and you will always be welcome to drop in any time, even if you are a "ferriner". Have lunch at the mutual Pharmacy (best pimento cheese on toast) where you will meet Ave Maria Mulligan. You might want to drive on to Appalachia and sit in the one booth at Bessie's diner (best hot dogs and hamburgers). Ride with Ave Maria as she delivers meds in the hollers. Meet Pearl, Fleeta, Jack Mac, and Theodore. You might even get a little coal dust on you.
You'll laugh and cry with Ave Maria as she finds out family secrets and then makes some very important decisions. She is thirty-five, after all, and her clock is ticking.
I grew up in this nice place and have all my life wished I could share it with the rest of the world. Now, Thanks to Adriana Trigiani, I can.
Rating:
Summary: A slice of small town life
Review: This was neat---not only did it have an "educated, wordly" knowledge of a small town, but it also took place in a snipet of time; and unusual one--1978. That was the year the biggest thing to hit Big Stone Gap occured---Elizabeth Taylor and her then husband, candidate John Warner visited the town. The story sort of uses that aspect as an "off point" of focus. Its really about Ave Maria, (thats Ah-vay to you) an Eye-talian woman who lives in town--in the town of Big Stone Gap. Her misadventures at the age of 35 are followed through the year; but apparently we don't end there, there are two sequels to this story. This was quite enough for me. It was sweet and quaint. Her friends and family woes were very personal and up front. Quite enjoyable. We know that a small town doesn't mean people have small lives, their dreams are just as big as us citified folk. Perhaps even bigger.
There are people in this town without running water or telephone. They live in scary conditions. There are the feriners; there are the overweighters, the teen pregnancies. There are the smokers. This town has it all! Its a very detailed look at a woman who feels her clock is ticking---and needs to take a look at her life and what she wants to do with it. This book was a different line of interest for me. I usually don't read this bestseller, modern stuff. It kept me entertained, thoughtful and sentimental. Recomended.
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