Reviews
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani is both a debut novel and the start of the Big Stone Gap series. Ave Maria Mulligan is a thirty-five-year-old pharmacist, uninterested in marriage but pursued by a local bachelor. The big excitement in this sleepy Appalachian town is the announced arrival of Elizabeth Taylor. Apparently the one chapter about Elizabeth Taylor, tucked in about two thirds through the book, is based on fact. How though it inspired the rest of this sleepy book, I have no idea. Removing the actress from the book, the next BIG EXCITEMENT is the weekly arrival of the bookmobile. I like bookmobiles and libraries and librarians — heck, I even am a librarian. But as a riveting plot point, the bookmobile isn't much of a happening. Near the end of the book — well after Elizabeth Taylor — the lengthy and dull character studies finally end and POOF a family secret appears. I guess the plot missed the bus and arrived on a later one.
This was a very fun book to read. I just loved all of the characters. It was a quick, light read. Great for a weekend.
