Big Stone Gap is the first book in the Big Stone Gap series. It follows Ave Maria Mulligan through her thirty-fifth year, when she goes from being the town spinster to being content with who she is. Of course, it turns out that who she is is different than who she thought she was (everyone follow that sentence?). Ave Maria’s mother left her a letter when she died, explaining that the father she grew up with was not her biological father. Ave Maria, who has always been so in control of her life that she could spend it focused on others, suddenly needs to discover who she really is. Ave Maria’s voice shines throughout the story, and this is what had me hooked by page two. I knew Ave Maria and was inside her head from the very beginning.
There are moments when I’m glad I’ve been introduced to a series late, and this is one of them. I can go to the library right now and get the rest of the Big Stone Gap series, without waiting years between publication dates. On the other hand, some series need to be read slowly and savored, rather than devoured, and this is certainly one of those. I love Adriana Trigiani’s writing! You’ve got to slow down and read carefully or you miss some of the best phrases. To savor or devour. . .Oh, the dilemma!
If you, too, are late to the Adriana Trigiani party like I was, please remedy that soon! Find a copy of Big Stone Gap or any of her other books, and introduce yourself to this amazing author and her irrestible writing.