Description
Review Praise for BIG STONE GAP"Charming . . . Readers would do well to fall into the nearest easy chair and savor the story." — USA Today"Delightfull
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y quirky . . . chock-full of engaging, oddball characters and unexpected plot twists, this Gap is meant to be crossed." — People (Book of the Week)"As comforting as a mug of chamomile tea on a rainy Sunday." — The New York Times Book Review"A touching tale of a sleepy Southern town and a young woman on the brink of self-discovery and acceptance." — Southern Living"Ave Maria's spunky attitude, sardonic wit, and extravagant generosity compel you into her fan club . . . . Delightfully entertaining." — Tampa Tribune"A delightful tale of intimate community life [where] the characters are as real as the ones who live next door." — Sunday Oklahoman"In a sassy Southern voice, [Trigiani] creates honest, endearingly original characters." — GlamourFrom the Hardcover edition. Product Description Read by the AuthorThree Cassettes, Approx. 5 hoursIt's 1978 and 35-year-old Ave Maria Mulligan is the self-proclaimed spinster of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, a sleepy hamlet in the Blue Ridge Mountains. As the local pharmacist, she's been keeping the townfolks' secrets for years, but she's about to discover a skeleton in her own family's tidy closet that will blow the lid right off her quiet, uneventful life. Soon she finds herself juggling two marriage proposals, conducting a no-holds-barred family feud, directing the prestigious Outdoor Drama and keeping the town's dysfunctional Rescue Squad on its toes.The crazy-quilt of characters includes Jack MacChesney ("Jack Mac" to his friends), the stoic miner with coal dust on his hands but love in his heart; Iva Lou Wade, the sexpot Bookmobile librarian; Theodore Tipton, band leader extraordinaire; Preacher Elmo Gaspar, the snake-handling Freewill Baptist; and Pearl Grimes, a coal-miner's daughter on the verge of a miraculous transformation, thanks to Ave's intervention. 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. From Library Journal Ave Maria's life in Big Stone Gap, VA, is essentially the same as it's been for all 35 years of her life, but after her mother's will reveals that the man Ave thought was her father isn't, she begins to lose hold of her routine. Before long, she's had two surprise marriage proposals, the clerk at her pharmacy has decided to quit, and her embittered aunt has decided to sue her. In between panic attacks and shouting matches, Ave tries to figure out what all these changes mean in her life. Trigiani's reading of her novel is superb, capturing not only Ave Maria's voice but the voices of the varied and eccentric residents of Big Stone Gap. The abridgment is not as smooth as it might be, leaving listeners with the occasional notion that they have missed something, and, in spite of a weak and somewhat lengthy ending, this isn't t
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