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Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1)
Big Stone Gap - Big Stone Gap, Bk 1
Author: Adriana Trigiani
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." She lives an amiable life with good friends a...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780345438324
ISBN-10: 0345438329
Publication Date: 4/3/2001
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 481

3.8 stars, based on 481 ratings
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
I first read Trigiani in a compilation book of American female authors. I was intrigued by Trigiani's writing style and decided to give this novel a try as my first full read from her. What a story! A novel full of life lessons all can relate to and characters that you'll love and hate. I loved the book so much, that I immediately read the sequel "Big Cherry Holler" the next day! Easy to read- you could plow through both books in a day.
l3rookeLuvsl3ooks avatar reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 60 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
The characters made me feel warm and cozy even if the story seemed a waste of time. The story was ridiculous and trite, but escaping to the beautiful scenery and joining in the company of a local drug store pharmacist, a book-mobile driver and a bunch of fun-lovin' other characters was embarrassingly fun. My literary senses were entirely assaulted and I love it. Kinda kinky in a bookworm way... I guess sometimes your story life needs a little trashy spice!
natalexx avatar reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 52 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
This charming book reminded me of the movie "Waitress" (starring Keri Russell and Nathan Fillion) ... in fact, so much did it remind me of the movie that, remembering the name of the female writer/director of "Waitress" was some form of "Adrian," I had to make sure the author and the director were not the same person. (They aren't. This is Adriana Trigiana; "Waitress" was Adrienne Shelly.)

Still, if you liked "Waitress," you might like this book. The qualities of "Waitress" this reminds me of are the tone (that hard to define way of being naturally quirky, effortlessly conveying the idea that the characters are just like this without being aware that it's unusual), the small-town setting, and the piercing insight of the main character's revelations into the world around her and her place in it.

It's a great book to curl up with on a rainy day or a slow Sunday. I read a lot of books in quick 5-minute "bites" of time; this was not a good book for that type of reading. It's a book to take some time with in order to enjoy the progress of the rolling storyline. (Not that the storyline is "slow" - there are plenty of interesting plot developments - but it doesn't have intermittent climactic moments or chapter-by-chapter cliffhangers as so many modern novels do.)

I had never read anything by Trigiani before, but this book may have made me a fan. I will be ordering more of her novels ASAP.
FabN46 avatar reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 103 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
This is the second book I've read by Adriana Trigiani and I intend on reading everything else she has written! Loved this story about "Ave Maria," a single woman in her 30's who, after her mother dies, finds that she needs a change. Full of wonderful characters, this book does not disappoint!
reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 187 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
My first Adriana Trigiani book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The peole were true-to-life, very much like Southerners act, speak and think....with both the good and bad traits presented.

Set in 1978 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, Big Stone Gap is a typical coal-mining town. The people are dependant on the coal mines for their living, even as they deny that the mines are responsible for the Black Lung and other related diseases that take their menfolk. Ave Marie Mulligan, the town pharmacist and self-proclaimed spinster, discovers she's not who she always thought she was when her mother dies and Ave Marie discovers a letter her mother wrote to her before her death. That letter starts her on a journey of self-discovery, for herself and the ones she holds dear.

For a book that will make you stop and question your own life-goals, follow Ave Marie as she learns who she really is and finds that sometimes you have to lose your old self before you can find who you really are.
Read All 123 Book Reviews of "Big Stone Gap Big Stone Gap Bk 1"

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reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 385 more book reviews
Good read
dulcimer42 avatar reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 107 more book reviews
One of those books where the characters become your friends, you know and understand them so well. Life in Big Stone Gap begins to feel like home. And Ave Maria feels like she could have been your sister, you are that much like her. This is a feel good book and I savoured the last few pages, as I hated for it to come to an end. Yes, I recommend it. You'll be glad you read it.
alliepoetesswitch avatar reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 141 more book reviews
This was a fast read. When I got to the last page I couldn't believe the book was done, now I am on to the 2nd book. Can't wait to see what the movie will be like (since the author is the one directing and writing the movie). I think a lot more time with her father would have been nice, but the time that was spent was very quick!! I don't read many fiction stories much anymore but I sure liked this semi-autobiographical fiction.
reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 4 more book reviews
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." She lives an amiable life with good friends and lots of hobbies until the fateful day in 1978 when she suddenly discovers that she's not who she always thought she was. Before she can blink, Ave's fielding marriage proposals, fighting off greedy family members, organizing a celebration for visiting celebrities, and planning the trip of a lifetimea trip that could change her view of the world and her own place in it forever. Brimming with humor and wise notions of small-town life, Big Stone Gap is a gem of a book with a giant heart. . . .

First in a series of 3
reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on
It is a wonderful written book. I could not put it down, I never thought that I'd finish reading it so fast. Ms. Trigiani will be on my authors list.
reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 4 more book reviews
Reading this made me feel like I was in a place similar to Mayberry with characters sort of like the ones in the Andy Griffith show. I liked the people and the development of the characters. It was enjoyable, but it wasn't one of those books I just couldn't put down. It seemed to start losing me near the end...I just didn't feel all that attached to the characters anymore. It almost seemed as though the author ran out of stuff to write about so she just wanted to tie up the loose ends and be done with it. It was a nice enough book and I'm not sorry I read it, but I am ok with not reading the next ones. It was enough.
freebird1985 avatar reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on
The characters in this book were real and fleshed out so that I would not be surprised to meet one of them in a small mideastern state one day!
MKSbooklady avatar reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 989 more book reviews
A small town, where everyone knows your business. Ave Maria is single, owns her own business and therefore is fodder for the small town gossip. But she is a kind, thoughtful person, who takes care of everyone who needs it. When she finds out some interesting facts about her past, things change.
reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 148 more book reviews
Took awhile to get into the book, but once everything started moving I couldnt put it down...til the end.
katgif avatar reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 28 more book reviews
This was an excellent book.
reviewed Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap, Bk 1) on + 4 more book reviews
Loved this book! Easy reading and very touching. At first it is a little hard to get into but well worth the effort. When you finish it you don't want it to end at all. But very fortunate for all of us who are so involved with the characters in this book, the author has continued on 8 years later with her next novel Big Cherry Holler --with more of the same people you have grown to love.


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