Big Stone Gap

Amazon.com
In the town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, not much happens. The highlight of 35-year-old Ave Maria Mulligan's week comes on Friday, with the arrival of the Bookmobile, the sight of which sends her into raptures. Her favorite book concerns the ancient Chinese art of reading faces. Through her face-readings, we come to understand the hostilities simmering within her family: her father whose small eyes are the clear "sign of a deceptive nature." Her aunt who "has a small head and thin lips. (That's a terrible combination.)" Adriana Trigiani's first novel concerns the family scandals that befall Ave Maria in this seemingly uneventful town. Greed, lust, envy--all the ancient emotional elements--manifest themselves even in this hamlet of "ordinary folk." Fans of Fannie Flagg or Rebecca Wells will enjoy this down-home tale, full of small, everyday details and colloquial revelations. The writing is often awkward, but so too are the characters who inhabit this place: the Bookmobile lady who thinks of herself as the sexiest woman alive; the amateur actors in the local Outdoor Drama who bristle with ambition when they hear that Elizabeth Taylor is coming to visit. In Big Stone Gap, her visit is so anticipated, it's like she's an angel sent from heaven. --Ellen Williams


From Publishers Weekly
A wholesome Cinderella story with a winning blend of '70s nostalgia and Appalachian local color, Trigiani's debut introduces a likable heroine who's smart but obtuse, needy but rejecting, and generous with affection but afraid of love. Ave Maria Mulligan is the daughter of the late pharmacist of Bit Stone Gap, Va., and an immigrant Italian seamstress. She inherited the pharmacy when her father died, but it's only her mother's recent death that made Ave realize that, at 35, she's the town spinster. Not that she lacks for attention. Handsome Theodore Tipton, the high school band and choral director, is her best friend, and sexy bombshell Iva Lou Wade, who drives the book mobile that Ave eagerly awaits, is around to offer romantic advice. Plainspoken, direct and humorous, Ave has an amusing foible: having discovered a book on the Chinese art of face reading, she describes everyone in terms of the personality traits their facial features ostensibly demonstrate. In her self-deprecating assessment, Ave has "a mountain girl's body, strong legs, and a flat behind." So when Theodore proposes, and then takes it back, and mountain-man Jack MacChesney then also offers matrimony--out of pity, Ave assumes, so she rejects him--she's near despair. Moreover, a letter left by her mother informs Ave that her real father is a man who lives in Italy. Ave's emotional turmoil takes place against a colorfully detailed tour of Big Stone Gap's history and attractions, including its summer drama festival and its designation as the home of Appalachian bluegrass. Even the actual 1978 visit of senatorial candidate John Warner and his wife, Elizabeth Taylor, plays a part in the story. In the tradition of romantic heroines, Ave is unable to recognize true love until it's almost too late, and meanwhile, there are some fairy tale touches, such as the arrival of her entire newly discovered Italian family. What saves the narrative from sentimentality and invests it with charm is Trigiani's witty voice, her tart-tongued but appealing heroine and her ability to recall the cultural details that immerse the reader in the atmosphere of her little mining town. Agent, Suzanne Gluck at ICM. 150,000 first printing; 9-city author tour; rights sold in the U.K, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Spain. (Apr.) writer for the Bill Cosby show and other TV series, and a documentary filmmaker. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Ave Maria's life in Big Stone Gap, VA, is essentially the same as it's been for all 35 years of her life, but after her mother's will reveals that the man Ave thought was her father isn't, she begins to lose hold of her routine. Before long, she's had two surprise marriage proposals, the clerk at her pharmacy has decided to quit, and her embittered aunt has decided to sue her. In between panic attacks and shouting matches, Ave tries to figure out what all these changes mean in her life. Trigiani's reading of her novel is superb, capturing not only Ave Maria's voice but the voices of the varied and eccentric residents of Big Stone Gap. The abridgment is not as smooth as it might be, leaving listeners with the occasional notion that they have missed something, and, in spite of a weak and somewhat lengthy ending, this isn't the type of book one wants to skim. Alas, no unabridged edition currently exists. Recommended for popular fiction collections.DAdrienne Furness, Maplewood Community Lib., Rochester, NY Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Beliefnet
Ave Maria is having a premature midlife crisis, brought on by her continued spinsterdom, the death of her mother, and a revelation about the circumstances surrounding her birth: the man Ave Maria always thought was her dad is not, in fact, her father. Amid two marriage proposals, a mine accident, a visit by Elizabeth Taylor to the town, town gossips, mean elderly relatives, and cruel cheerleaders' tricks, Ave Maria handles the trauma with surprising grace.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It's 1978, and Ave Maria Mulligan is the thirty-five-year-old self-proclaimed spinster of Big Stone Gap, a sleepy hamlet in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She's also the local pharmacist, the co-captain of the Rescue Squad, and the director of The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, the town's long-running Outdoor Drama. Ave Maria is content with her life of doing errands and negotiating small details-until she discovers a skeleton in her family's formerly tidy closet that completely unravels her quiet, conventional life. Suddenly, she finds herself juggling two marriage proposals, conducting a no-holds-barred family feud, planning a life-changing journey to the Old Country, and helping her best friend, the high-school band director, design a halftime show to dazzle Elizabeth Taylor, the violet-eyed Hollywood movie star who's coming through town on a campaign stump with her husband, senatorial candidate John Warner.

Filled with big-time eccentrics and small-town shenanigans, Big Stone Gap is a jewel box of original characters, including sexpot Bookmobile librarian Iva Lou Wade; Fleeta Mullins, the chain-smoking pharmacy cashier with a penchant for professional wrestling; the dashing visionary Theodore Tipton; Elmo Gaspar, the snake-handling preacher; Jack MacChesney, a coal-mining bachelor looking for true love; and Pearl Grimes, a shy mountain girl on the verge of a miraculous transformation.

Comic and compassionate, Big Stone Gap is is the story of a woman who thinks life has passed her by, only to learn that the best is yet to come.

About the Author:

Adriana Trigiani grew up in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, in the 1970s. She has honed her storytelling abilities over a decade of writing and producing some of television's top-rated shows, including the groundbreaking Cosby Show. Trigiani is also an award-winning playwright and documentary filmmaker. She lives in New York City with her husband.

SYNOPSIS

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, the tiny town of Big Stone Gap is home to some of the most charming eccentrics in the state. Ave Maria Mulligan is the town's self-proclaimed spinster, a thirty-five year old pharmacist with a "mountain girl's body and a flat behind.

FROM THE CRITICS

USA Today

BIG STONE GAP is as comforting as a patchwork quilt, as charming as a country cottage. Readers would do well to fall into the nearest easy chair, cup of tea in hand, and savor the story of Ave Maria Mulligan. BIG STONE GAP's strength lies in its characters, and Trigiani's debut novel holds no pretense. It's a story of simple people with complex emotions — and no one is more complex than Ave Maria. BIG STONE GAP is as mouthwatering as fried chicken and biscuits!

USA Today

Big Stone Gap is as comforting as a patchwork quilt, as charming as a country cottage. Readers would do well to fall into the nearest easy chair, cup of tea in hand, and savor the story of Ave Maria Mulligan. Big Stone Gap's strength lies in its characters, and Trigiani's debut novel holds no pretense. It's a story of simple people with complex emotions -- and no one is more complex than Ave Maria. Big Stone Gap is as mouthwatering as fried chicken and biscuits!

Publishers Weekly

Trigiani's story of a middle-aged spinster finding love and a sense of self in a small Virginia coal town is a lot like a cold soda on a hot summer day: light and refreshing, if just a little too sweet. Trigiani, a playwright, filmmaker and former writer for The Cosby Show, has a Southern voice that perfectly embodies her main character, the embattled Ave Maria Mulligan. Ave Maria, who's satisfied if not exactly happy in her role as the town pharmacist, begins questioning her quiet, country life after a posthumous letter from her mother reveals a jarring secret. Ave Maria soon faces a crisis of identity, the advances of a surprising suitor and the threat of her acerbic, money-grubbing Aunt Alice. From the suitor, who points out his brand-new pickup truck during a marriage proposal, to the town temptress, who dispenses romantic advice from her bookmobile, Trigiani brings the story alive with her flexible vocal inventions. Fans of true love stories and happy endings certainly won't be disappointed. Based on the Random hardcover (Forecasts, Jan. 31). (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

Ave Maria's life in Big Stone Gap, VA, is essentially the same as it's been for all 35 years of her life, but after her mother's will reveals that the man Ave thought was her father isn't, she begins to lose hold of her routine. Before long, she's had two surprise marriage proposals, the clerk at her pharmacy has decided to quit, and her embittered aunt has decided to sue her. In between panic attacks and shouting matches, Ave tries to figure out what all these changes mean in her life. Trigiani's reading of her novel is superb, capturing not only Ave Maria's voice but the voices of the varied and eccentric residents of Big Stone Gap. The abridgment is not as smooth as it might be, leaving listeners with the occasional notion that they have missed something, and, in spite of a weak and somewhat lengthy ending, this isn't the type of book one wants to skim. Alas, no unabridged edition currently exists. Recommended for popular fiction collections.--Adrienne Furness, Maplewood Community Lib., Rochester, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

AudioFile

In Big Stone Gap, a hamlet in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, pharmacist Ave Maria Mulligan, a student of ancient Chinese face-reading, learns that at the age of 35 something significant will change her life. Grace Bennett's earthy and rich narration takes the listener on Ave Maria's journey during this discovery. With charm and gutsy charisma, Bennett describes this woman's deepest fears, longings, disappointments, and the rocky path to a woman's final destination. When Jack comes into Ave's life, Bennett turns up the sexual tension, and listeners will fall in love with love along the way. Bennett perfectly delivers a cozy and charming story. B.J.P. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine Read all 7 "From The Critics" >

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Have there ever been more engaging late bloomers than Ave Maria Mulligan and her circle of doting, meddlesome friends? Adriana Trigiani writes with wit and grace about misguided romances and family secrets, and so very winningly about generous hearts. This urban Yankee reader found hours of bliss in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. — Elinor Lipman

Funny, charming and original! — Fannie Flagg

I have not enjoyed a novel this much since Cold Mountain. The characters are exquisitely and richly drawn. Ave Maria Mulligan is so real, she is almost a miracle. The story is poignant without being sentimental, and funny without being mean, and the story, the people, and the place of Big Stone Gap have stayed with me long after reading the book. — Rosanne Cash

It is one of my all-time favorite novels...unforgettable. — Whoopi Goldberg