Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani

In May the Norrisville book group read and discussed Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. This book was the first in a series set in a delightful town in Virginia, called, no surprise here, Big Stone Gap! Not a lot happens to 35-year-old Ave Maria Mulligan in this quiet backwater. The highlight of her week comes on Friday, with the arrival of the Bookmobile. The novel concerns the family scandals that befall Ave Maria in this seemingly uneventful town. Greed, lust, envy all manifest themselves even in this hamlet of "ordinary folk."

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 has made Ave realize that, at 35, she's on the shelf. When her best friend, the handsome high school band and choral director proposes and then takes it back, and the mountain-man Jack McChesney also proposes – she thinks – out of pity, Ave is in despair. To add to her emotional turmoil, a letter from her mother tells her her real father is a man who lives in Italy. All of this takes place against the backdrop of Big Stone Gap, its history, and its summer Bluegrass festival. How will Ave cope with the unexpected arrival of her entire newly discovered Italian family, and will she be able to recognize true love before it’s too late?

These are some things to consider when reading or discussing the book:
This is part of what Publisher’s Weekly had to say about Big Stone Gap: “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.” The reviewer places Ave squarely in the tradition of romantic heroines the world over. Would you agree that she conforms to the stereotype?

Publisher’s Weekly thought the book was almost too sentimental. Would you agree with the reviewer who wrote: “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.”

There is a lot of local color in the book – there is even reference to an actual 1978 visit to Virginia of senatorial candidate John Warner and his wife, Elizabeth Taylor – did you find this contributed to the story or was it irrelevant?

Some reviewers found the writing awkward and some of the characters overblown. What did you think?