Big Stone Gap (Trigiani)

Book Reviews
Big Stone Gap is as comforting as a mug of chamomile tea on a rainy Sunday served with Ave Maria's specialty: freshly baked oatmeal cookies.
Andrea Higbie - The New York Times Book Review


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


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.
Publishers Weekly