Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Gap Saga 1) [Paperback]

Adriana Trigiani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 7, 2002 | Series: Big Stone Gap Saga 1

Big Stone Gap is a sleepy hamlet where kids get married and start families at eighteen, and stay for ever. So thirty-five-year old Ave Maria Mulligan is something of an oddity. A self-proclaimed spinster, as the local pharmacist she's been keeping the townsfolk's secrets for years. Now Ave Maria is about to discover a scandal in her own family's past that will blow the lid right off her quiet, uneventful life. Soon she's juggling two unexpected marriage proposals and conducting a no-holds-barred family feud. The thought of spending the rest of her life in Big Stone Gap is suddenly overwhelming...With an unforgettable cast of characters and a heroine with an extraordinary story to tell, all living in this quirky, remarkable town where even Elizabeth Taylor pays a visit, BIG STONE GAP is a wonderfully vibrant, unashamedly feel-good debut.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From 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).
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books (May 7, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743440129
• ISBN-13: 978-0743440127
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (201 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,174,488 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bestselling author Adriana Trigiani is beloved by millions of readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels. Adriana was raised in a small coal-mining town in southwest Virginia in a big Italian family. She chose her hometown for the setting and title of her debut novel, the critically acclaimed bestseller Big Stone Gap. The heartwarming story continues in the novel's sequels Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon, and Home to Big Stone Gap. Stand-alone novels Lucia, Lucia; The Queen of the Big Time; and Rococo, all topped the bestseller lists, as did Trigiani's 2009 Very Valentine and its 2010 sequel Brava, Valentine.

Trigiani teamed up with her family for Cooking with My Sisters, a cookbook coauthored by her sister Mary, with contributions from their sisters and mother. The cookbook-memoir features recipes and stories dating back a hundred years from both sides of their Italian-American family.

Adriana's novels have been translated and sold in more than 35 countries around the world. Trigiani's latest blockbuster Brava, Valentine (Very Valentine's sequel) debuted at number seven on the New York Times bestseller list following its February 2010 debut. Valentine Roncalli juggles her long-distance romance, as she works to better the family's struggling business. A once-in-a-lifetime business opportunity takes Val from the winding streets of Greenwich Village to the sun-kissed cobblestones of Buenos Aires, where she finds a long-buried secret hidden deep within a family scandal.

Trigiani's first young adult novel, Viola in Reel Life--the first in a series--debuted in September 2009. Fans fell in love with fourteen-year-old filmmaker Viola Chesterton, who moves from Brooklyn to a South Bend, Indiana, boarding school. In Spring 2011, readers will delight in Trigiani's follow-up novel Viola in the Spotlight, as Viola and friends spend an adventure-filled summer vacation in Brooklyn.

Readers will take a peek into the lives of the women who shaped Adriana, with her November 2010 nonfiction debut: Don't Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from my Grandmothers. The book makes a lovely gift for family (or yourself!), as Trigiani shares a treasure trove of insight and guidance from her two grandmothers: time-tested common sense advice on the most important aspects of a woman's life, from childhood to old age.

Fans everywhere will soon see Adriana's work on the big and small screens! She wrote the screenplay for and will direct the big screen version of her novel Big Stone Gap. Adriana has also written the film adaptations of Lucia, Lucia and Very Valentine--which will be made into a Lifetime Original Movie in 2011!

Critics from the Washington Post to the New York Times to People have described Adriana's novels as "tiramisu for the soul," "sophisticated and wise," and "dazzling." They agree that "her characters are so lively they bounce off the page," and that "...her novels are full bodied and elegantly written."

Trigiani's novels have been chosen for the USA Today Book Club, the Target Bookmarked series, and she's now officially a regular with Barnes & Noble Book Clubs, where she has conducted three online book clubs. Adriana speaks to book clubs from her home three to four nights a week.

Her books are so popular around the world that Lucia, Lucia was selected as the best read of 2004 in England by Richard and Judy.

After graduating from Saint Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana, Adriana moved to New York City to become a playwright. She founded the all-female comedy troupe "The Outcasts," which performed on the cabaret circuit for seven years. She made her off-Broadway debut at the Manhattan Theatre Club and was produced in regional theatres of note around the country.

Among her many television credits, Adriana was a writer/producer on The Cosby Show, A Different World, and executive producer/head writer for City Kids for Jim Henson Productions. Her Lifetime television special, Growing Up Funny, garnered an Emmy Award nomination for Lily Tomlin. In 1996, she wrote and directed the documentary film Queens of the Big Time. It won the Audience Award at the Hamptons Film Festival and toured the international film festival circuit from Hong Kong to London.

Adriana then wrote a screenplay called Big Stone Gap, which became the novel that began the series. Adriana spent a year and a half waking up at three in the morning to write the novel before going into work on a television show.

Adriana is married to Tim Stephenson, the Emmy Award-winning lighting designer of The Late Show with David Letterman. They live in Greenwich Village with their daughter, Lucia.

Perhaps one popular book critic said it best: "Trigiani defies categorization. She is more than a one-hit wonder, more than a Southern writer, more than a woman's novelist. She is an amazing young talent

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ya'll read this book, ya hea'?, May 10, 2001

By 

Dianna Johnston "Compulsive Reader" (Joplin, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Stone Gap (Hardcover)

If Jan Karon, Billie Letts and Fannie Flagg could be made into one person, they would create Adriana Trigiani. All the essentials are present: Jan Karon's quaint community charm, Billie Letts's honest and triumphant storylines, and Fannie Flagg's quirky and one-of-a-kind characters. A lively mix, to say the least....

According to the Chinese art of face-reading, something extraordinary is supposed to happen in the 35th year of Ava Maria Mulligan's life. Well, it's been 35 years -- and Ava Maria is getting impatient! Being the town spinster, town pharmacist, and all-around good gal just isn't good enough anymore. Even though Ava Maria tries to convince herself that she likes being alone and predictable, fate has another scenario in mind. With the discovery of a very big family secret, the entire world and life as Ava Maria has come to know and depend on is turned upside down. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing...

Plenty of surprising things and supressed feelings come to the surface during the course of Ava Maria's 35th year, which makes it one that will never be forgotten. Readers will fall in love with the town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia and all it's wonderful residents: Sexy bookmobile driver and jewelry peddler Iva Lou Wade, who has sampled many of the town's male appetizers; Theodore Tipton, director of the high school band and Ava Maria's very best friend; Jack MacChesney, the big, burly coal-miner who lives with his momma out in the holler; and Pearl Grimes, a 15-year-old mediocre mountain girl with potential that's just starting to crack the surface. Readers will see themselves in one or many of these characters, which makes this novel so appealing. A must read for Southern fiction fans and those who enjoy down-home humor and characters with heart.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real People Living The Good Life, April 6, 2000

By 

Francly Speaking "Instruction addict" (Florida) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Big Stone Gap (Hardcover)

I was born and raised in Big Stone Gap, and this book captures the essence of life in that town. As I read the book, I could smell the mountain air, hear the bookmobile coming around the street corner at the Post Office, and See the town merchants placing their wares on the sidewalks. What memories it brings back! The characters are real, the talk is true, and the honor and chivalry depicted in the book are still a part of that town. If you want a romantic novel that makes you yearn for the traditional values of yester year, this is the one to read. Big Stone Gap is real, refreshing, and a wonderful read to get lost in!

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Move over Rita Mae Brown, April 21, 2000

By 

Janis Dibart - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Stone Gap (Hardcover)

I loved this book--the characters became your friends and neighbors. Ms Trigiani has created a wonderful character in Ave Maria Mulligan--one that I hope will reappear in subsequent novels. Ave Maria may be an oddity in the little town of Big Stone Gap but she shares the hopes and disappointments of all women. She comes from a warm and loving mother and a father who could not show emotion though later in the story we find out that Fred Mulligan was a very good man--he left his business and his home to Ave's mom thus insuring that they would be passed on to her. Surprises and twists abound and true love wins the day in this great "chick" book. Ms Triagiani can create characters and give them such life you take them home with you--I shall miss Jack Mac Theodore Iva Lou and Pearl. Rita Mae Brown has a definite rival for best Virginia storyteller.