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
Rating: 
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.
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!
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