The Little Giant of Aberdeen County [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Tiffany Baker (Author), Carrington MacDuffie (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2009

Since she was born, Truly has suffered constant abuse and humiliation for her enormous size, while her beautiful, feminine sister, Serena Jane, has been pampered and admired. But when Serena Jane's beauty attracts a ruthless suitor with a witch in the family, both their destinies change forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Carrington MacDuffie brings Baker's sprawling debut title to life with a thorough attention to detail and excellent ability to convey the rustic local color of rural upstate New York without falling into stock caricatures. Protagonist Truly Plaice—whose size and stature isolate her from daily social life in the provincial community—never loses her grit and determination in spite of all the heartache she endures. MacDuffie's talent shines in her portrayal of Truly's childhood friend Amelia Dyerson, whose mute interactions with the outside world belie her scrappy survival skills and emotional depth. MacDuffie also brings skill and insight to the male figures, particularly Truly's menacing brother-in-law, Doctor Bob-Bob Morgan. The transitions make for a sometimes challenging listening experience, but MacDuffie does justice to the ambitious project. A Grand Central hardcover (Reviews, Sept. 8). (Feb.)
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From Bookmarks Magazine

A gothic, macabre tale involving revenge, redemption, folk medicine, and magic, The Little Giantgarnered ample praise from critics, who were perhaps surprised that the story of a gargantuan woman captivated them so thoroughly. Although the first part, which focuses on the relationship between Truly and Serena Jane, contains elements of melodrama, it allows Baker to explore the contrast between all kinds of beauty and ugliness. Baker moves on to explore issues such as family, betrayal, love, and friendship (her attempts to tackle topics such as euthanasia, rape, and sexual orientation fall a little flat). A few critics also faulted Trudy's unrealistic first-person but omniscient narration, but this was a minor complaint in a compelling, emotional, and intelligent novel from an author to watch.
Copyright 2009 Bookmarks Publishing LLC --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.; Unabridged edition (January 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433246953
• ISBN-13: 978-1433246951
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (107 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,509,026 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tiffany Baker is the New York Times bestselling author of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children, and holds a PhD in Victorian Literature and an MFA from UC-Irvine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "LOVE IS LOVE HOWEVER IT COMES....", January 10, 2009

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Little Giant of Aberdeen County (Hardcover)

Love, hate, forgiveness, revenge, mystery, witchcraft - all the elements of a fine novel. When these elements become prose in the hands of Tiffany Baker the results are finer than fine.. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is memorable in every way, not only as an extraordinarily well written novel but also as a story rich with meaning.

We meet Truly Plaice who is an anomaly in the small town of Aberdeen. She would be an anomaly anywhere because Truly is a gargantuan woman, challenging the scales at 400+ pounds. There is little room in our world for those not seen as normal and Truly is reminded of her perceived abnormality every day. These reminders come in cruel ways, such as a schoolmate putting tacks on her chair to see whether or not she can feel the sticks through such generous flesh or in the astonished stares of the curious.

Her mother died in childbirth. Townsmen had placed bets on the weight of a baby who had added so much poundage to a woman. By the age of one and one-half years the only clothing that would cover Truly was one of her father's shirts. He was a perplexed miserable man who never recovered from his wife's death, and was totally unable to handle raising Truly and her older sister, Serena Jane, who was petite, beautiful, vain and a perennial May Queen. Such a contrast was painful for both girls.

After their father died the sisters were parceled out - Serena Jane went to the home of Amanda Pickerton where she and her minister husband doted on the girl. Serena Jane's future was bright until it was altered by Bob Bob Morgan, the youngest son of the Morgans whose men had been the town's doctors for generations.

Truly was sent to a ramshackle farm owned by the Dyerson's; it was a place where no one save debt collectors came to call.. While Truly missed her sister she grew to love working out of doors and tending to the farm's horses.

She walked to school with young Amelia Dyerson who rarely spoke. They found no friends or welcome there save for Marcus, another unusual child who had an eager mind and a penchant for remembering details.

Truly grew to adulthood, ever larger due to an abnormality in her pituitary gland. She knew little of what other young women knew but she also knew some things that they did not. It was rumored that the first Dr. Morgan's wife, Tabitha, was a witch who possessed strange healing powers and had made note of her secrets in a shadow book long hidden where it would not be found.

Readers will find themselves loving Truly and pulling for her, hoping that somehow she can overcome insurmountable obstacles. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is a not to be forgotten epic, every bit as grand as Truly herself.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review, January 8, 2009

By 

Cheryl Koch (CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Little Giant of Aberdeen County (Hardcover)

By the time Truly was born, she had already been big news. Truly's mother died giving born to Truly that it was speculated that Truly killed her mother. Dr. Morgan said Truly's size was a new record. Truly and her older sister, Serena Jane are complete opposites. Truly is a big gal, that when she was growing up she had to wear boy's clothing; where as her sister, Serena Jane looked like a china doll with her blond hair and petite frame. Truly turned out to be the star of Aberdeen but not the kind of star anyone wants to be. While Truly tries to get by day by day; her sister Serena Jane has caught the attention of Dr. Morgan's son, Robert. Robert thinks Serena Jane s the most beautiful woman he has ever seen and he wants her for his own. He will do anything to keep her.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is a charming, endearing read. In my opinion Truly was the prettier of the two sisters. Truly is beautiful both on the inside as well as the outside. She had a big heart that reached everyone; no matter whether they liked her or not. Serena Jane could have sided with the rest of the town and rejected her sister but she loved her sister and it showed in the end. Tiffany Baker shows just how talented she is with her debut novel The Little Giant of Aberdeen County. Tiffany has just gained a fan in me.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs more work and could have been better, February 27, 2009

By 

C. B Collins Jr. (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Little Giant of Aberdeen County (Hardcover)

Tiffany Baker's The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is well written and Ms. Baker has a creative way of expressing herself as well as considerable command of the English language. However there are some weaknesses to the work that bear mentioning. There were so many references to Truly's giant size that eventually the reader gets tired of hearing how large Truly is. There are holes in the plot that make much of the book unrealistic. I think Ms. Baker should have spent just a bit more time editing and re-writing so that the plot holes were taken care of and resolved. Likewise, there are parts of the book that are too obvious, such as where Tabatha had hidden her book of spells and cures. Many characters were given too short a treatment in terms of character development. Many of the men were stereotypical and seemed to lack realism. Often we are told too much by Ms. Baker and she could have actually produced a stronger book had she said less rather than said more. A good example of this is the conversations Dr. Robert Morgan has with law enforcement and the coroner about notifying him whenever an unknown woman's body was located. We could have used a bit more mystery here. There were very few if any surprises in the novel, it was a just a bit too predictable. I did think there was some dark somber humor hidden in the book, especially in the odd characters of the school teacher and the preacher's wife, both of whom were hateful creatures. I wish I could say more positive aspects of the novel but Ms. Baker should have spent just a bit more time re-writing this novel. As it now stands, it is a bit too amateurish.