Rating: 
Summary: You can almost smell the coal smoke
Review: How can I ever forgive Trigiani? I picked this book up only because a friend recommended it. I expected it to be filled with the usual wise but eccentric southerners that seemt to grace so many "southern" novels these days. But Trigiani manages to cross those lines and to create these wonderfully original and quite believable characters. Having grown up near this area of Virginia, I was floored by the on-the-nose descriptions of the mines, the towns, the hollers, the locals, and the environment. I never intended to like this book, but I was in for a surprise!
Although Ave (not Ava like the movie star) Maria Mulligan was born in Big Stone, she's still considered a "ferriner" because her mother came to America from Italy. Ave is in her 30s--spinster age by local standards--and even though she's not looking, she suddenly finds out many things about her heritage and about herself. With her world turned on end, Ave navigates the local courting scene with her best friend Theodore while constantly stumbling over the quiet Jack Mac who always seems to be right in front of her. Ave soon finds herself traveling to places--both literally and emotionally--that she never dreamed of going. Throughout all this, Trigiani weaves in descriptions of the land and the mountains along with tales of hope and resignation of the townspeople.
With Big Stone Gap, Trigiani gives us romance without the bodice ripping, drama without over-the-top antics, inner turmoil without pop psychology, and humor without cynical sarcasm. I really found myself in the world of these characters, and I was shocked to find that I had finished the book without once looking at the clock. This is such an enjoyable read, and I can't wait to pass along my own copy to yet another unsuspecting friend.
Rating: 
Summary: What Jan Karon is to North Carolina....
Review: As I started reading this book I thought this was nothing more than a Mitford wannabe. I was quickly disabused of that notion.It does seem as though the basic idea is the same, but "Big Stone Gap" is nothing at all like Jan Karon's tales of Mitford NC. Trigiani's characters are more down-to-earth, more representative of small-town America. They don't have as many of the oddities that the natives of Mitford have. Nevertheless there are some interesting characters in the town of Big Stone Gap. There's Iva Lou, the town librarian, who seems to go after anything in pants. There's Pearl Grimes, the newest employee of the town pharmacy and an apparent Cinderella in the making. And, of course, there's the main character of this book - Ave Maria Mulligan, the town pharmacist and self-appointed town spinster. It's her story we're reading here, and an interesting story it is. The story really gets started when Ave Maria's mother dies and the town lawyer calls her into his office to show Ave Maria some documents entrusted to him, and (to use an old corny phrase) which were only to be opened in the event of her death. What is in those documents changes Ave Maria's life completely, and I won't spoil anything by saying what was in them. Suffice it to say that by the end of the book you won't believe that the same woman is narrating this story. There's at least one sequel to this book and I hope it's as good a story as this is.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging characters, delightful story!
Review: While Ave Maria Mulligan was growing up in the tight-knit Appalachian mining town of Big Stone Gap, she considered herself a "ferriner", because her mother came from Italy. When we meet Ave Maria in this first book of Adriana Trigiani's trilogy, she has just celebrated her 35th birthday. She owns the Mutual Pharmacy in Big Stone Gap and is the town's pharmacist. Ave Maria is the town's "Old Maid", but as the book opens, we find out that she is expecting something exciting to happen to her soon. One of Ave Maria's hobbies is the art of Chinese face reading, and Ave Maria knows from studying her facial features that changes will be coming her way soon. This novel is a wonderful story of what happens when she learns of a big secret shortly after her mother dies. Ave Maria must re-evaluate her whole life and decide what's really important to her. As she examines her own life, she learns about love as she is the recipient of two marriage proposals in the course of just a few weeks. The story really kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next! I enjoyed all the other characters that Trigiani included in the story. Iva Lou, the Bookmobile lady, was particularly well-described and was never at a loss for advice when dealing with men. As much as I enjoyed the book, I am only giving it four stars, because I thought some of the plot twists were a little too "convenient". I am eagerly anticipating reading "Big Cherry Holler", though, to find out what happens to Ave Maria next. Trigiani does a great job of building a wonderful female protaganist that I really cared about. Claire E.
Rating: 
Summary: Feel Good, Small Town Romance
Review: A moving story set in a small town in Virginia. The main character is a single, sucessful town pharmacist. She is considered an outcast of sorts since she does not fit the town mold. She learns more about her past, her family, and her own self worth through the novel. In the end she finally confronts her ability to love. The characters in the book are very likable and real. The only complaint I had was the love story seemed a bit unrealistic, but I will read the sequel and see how it all turns out!
Rating: 
Summary: Like Listening to Someone Rambling On and On
Review: The main character is telling the story and she rambles on and on, jumping from topic to topic. You start getting interested in a particular situation and almost mid-sentence, she switches thoughts and starts telling about another character. It seemed as if the author had a bunch of thoughts scrambled in her brain and she put the words to paper without unscrambling.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable & Funny!
Review: I've never read anything like this! It's a love story, a comedy & a real life story rolled into one! After I read this, I couldn't wait to read Big Cherry Holler. I'm on-line now to buy Milk Glass Moon! Lose yourself in these stories...I did!
Rating:
Summary: Ordinary plot and characters in above average setting
Review: If many novels are coming of age stories Big Stone Gap is a coming into yourself story. However, that is not immediately apparent at first. The novel follows Ave Marie Mulligan through a year of his life right after her mother's death. The spinster pharmacist in a western Virginia mining town, Ave learns of a family secret in the first chapter and spends the rest of the book dealing with its reprocusions. Along the way she faces two men who wish to marry her, the demons left by her father, and her sense of being foriegn in her own home. While not exactly standard the plot isn't a font of originality The first half of the book doesn't seem quite sure where it is going, much like the main character. The book's second half is much better focused and once it finds its voice the plot is tied up in a satisfactory, but not overly insightful or compeling manner. The main character has passed the Woolf/LeGuin test of "do you remember the protagonist's name after you've finished". The good met good ends and the bad don't, but there is enough bittersweetness to give a sense of real life. That sense of real life is where this book truly excells. While Ave and some of the other leads aren't especially strong characters the supporting cast and setting is. Ms. Trigiani adds plenty of personality so that while the story itself may not be unique the novel is because it is so tied to its time and place. From an elderly snake handling minister to a 40ish bookmobile driver on the prowl the town of Big Stone Gap and the surrounding hollars comes alive as the book's highlight. The use of just the right amount of local language and color make sure we know we're in rural Appalacia and not rural New England or out West. Ms. Trigiani's books have been compared to Fanny Flagg's in terms of conveying a sense of the rural South and the comparision rings true.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: My first Adriana Trigiani book and I'm on-line to buy the next one! What a great story and storyteller.
Rating:
Summary: Big Stone Gap
Review: A delightful read, I could not put this book down. The characters are fun, charming, and real. My friends and I passed this book around and we all feel in love with the little town of Big Stone Gap
Rating:
Summary: BIG love!
Review: As a life long resident of Virginia, though not southwestern VA, I really enjoyed the fact that this book was written by someone who was a Virginian, and wrote it about a small town in my state. The main character Ave Maria keeps you interested in her life. She tells a great story and made it so I could hardly put the book down. A single women in her 30's, Ave Maria is going through life wondering what true happiness means. When she finds out a secret about her past her whole vision of life changes. She is determined to find out the truth. Along the way to the truth she learns many lessons about herself, her town, and happiness. Great story! Great writing! I loved the book and cannot wait until the movie comes out in a few years. I'm still waiting to see when they'll finally film it!
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