Big Cherry Holler: A Big Stone Gap Novel

This is one of those times that I really want to use half stars again. I enjoyed the first book, Big Stone Gap, quite a bit and gave it 4 stars. However, I enjoyed this book more and, to me it is almost (but not quite) in the 5 star category. So, in my heart, this is a 4.5 star book.While Big Stone Gap was a book about a love story, it did wade at least knee-level into the waters of self-acceptance. Big Cherry Holler dives right into that pool. In many ways, it is the story of what comes after "happily ever after," something that I can really appreciate.While there is quite a bit going on in this book, it really centers around Ave Maria and her marriage to Jack Mac. They are 8 years in, a time when many marriages struggle. Now, add to that the fact that they are dealing with the death of their son (this comes up in the first chapter, so I'm not considering it a spoiler!) a few years prior. That is a huge mine field for couples and many marriages do not survive such a tragedy. Then, to top it off, Ave Maria is still dealing with the "self work" she started in Big Stone Gap.I love Ave Maria more in this book than I did in the first--even though I wanted to shake her several times during this book. But she's human and just the sort of person I'd want as a friend--and I'd want to have her friends, as she has the most entertaining social circle around.I will say it was stressful to read about the issues in her marriage, but when is that not stressful? I do wish that Trigiani had delved a bit more into Jack Mac's side of things--after all, it takes 2 to tango and it almost seemed like Ave Maria was doing a solo out there. But, this book is ultimately about Ave Maria so that isn't bothering me as much as it might in another book.I also wish that Trigiani had either amplified or muted some of the little side stories. They were interesting, but there wasn't enough in there for me to really sink my teeth into. I think if she had either fleshed them out, or got rid of them completely, it would have improved the book.All in all, I loved this book enough to spend surprising little time on the drawbacks. It's a story about real life, and that I can appreciate.

Marital dissatisfaction, threatened infidelity and coming to grips with a child's premature death receive sensitive but predictable treatment in Adriana Trigiani's disappointing "Big Cherry Holler," a much-anticipated sequel to her smash debut, "Big Stone Gap." Conflicts tend to have tidy resolution; characters lose dimension, and plot descends into saccharine melodrama. Despite these drawbacks, "Holler" does not flinch from an otherwise absorbing treatment of how two good people can become lost in their marriage.Ave Maria and Jack Mac find themselves lost in the eighth year of their marriage. Stgruggling with the sudden and catastrophic death of their son Joe, the two have an unspoken understanding that their relationship is fraying, perhaps beyond reclaim. Jack discovers that his life-long dream to work in the mines has evaporated with job loss. Ave Maria is unable to fill the void in her heart with acceptance and forgiveness; instead she seeks activities -- in a pharmacy and on a medical emergency team -- that supplant understanding. In "Big Stone Gap," Trigiani permits her characters to grow with the challenges of personal isolation and love at middle age; "Holler" is lamentably formulaic in its unwillingness to permit Ave Maria authentic opportunities for personal evaluation.Instead of permitting Jack Mac and Ave Maria to explore the consequences of infidelity, both physical and emotional, Trigiani pulls back. The author retreats to a safe distance, allowing Ave Maria to travel to Italy for a summer of purported contemplation and self-renewal. Of course, she meets a new love interest. Of course, she is ever so tempted. Of course, she is animated by her discovery of "the other woman" in her husband's life. All these realizations ring hollow and have the impact of a television movie of the week.Even the minor characters, so intriguing and textured in "Big Stone Gap," disappear into unidimensionality. Nowhere is this more evident in the shabby development of Theodore Tipton, whose homosexuality will be no suprise to readers of Trigiani's first novel but is somehow supposed to be astonishing to readers of the sequel. His dynamic friendship with Ave Maria descends into convenience in "Holler;" he appears and disappears whenever a crisis occurs. He dutifully offers sagacious advice, usually unheeded. The women who compose the community of Big Stone Gap exist as foils to the plot; they are little more than scenic props to the emotional terrain Ave Maria must traverse in oder to solve her dilemma.Even more irritating is the author's endless homage to Italy. Ave Maria's summer sojourn in northern Italy reads more like a Tauck travel brochure than serious literature.It is unfortunate the "Big Cherry Holler" has these weaknesses as the novel's treatment of love's integrative powers and fragility is serious and worthy of praise. When Trigiani asserts that "it is easy to turn away from love entirely and choose to live alone in private fear," she drives to the very core of the anguish any man or woman feels in determining how much to risk for love. The author understands how love alters us and how difficult it is for people to ultimately determine how much and what they would do for it. She is absolutely correct when she warns men that the "most important thing a father could do for his son was to love his mother." Her treatment of adult sexuality in marriage shines with compassionate understanding."Big Cherry Holler" is a conflicted novel. Despite the fact that it successfully treats such serious adult themes as marital discord, sexual fulfillment and authentic love, the novel instead focuses on superficial glitz and comforting bromides. Ultimately, readers will lament how Adriana Trigiani traded her opportunities for significant literature for something commercially palatable.

One of my favorite books by Adriana Trigiani. I have recommended this book to all of my friends and am looking forward to the next one in the series.

it was an enjoyable book. Looking forward to finishing the series.

This book was a wonderful read! Loved the characters and read it in the voices from the movie we just watched "Big Stone Gap" that took place in Virginia. Ms. Trigiani brings the characters to life in a really believable storyline with real emotions. I will eventually read all of this author's books!

I read every type of book. This book probably would get a 2 or 3 star vote from me compared to all books I read but for what it was it definitely gets a 4. It's very easy to read no twists or turns just a nice book to read on a trip or the beach. The language gets a little tiresome at times because it seems imperative we understand the characters are from that part of the country etc. The plot was sweet and endearing. I would buy the next in the series when it comes out. The very small parts of the book that were left to "our imagination" were a little irritating because I don't read books to "write them in my head" I want things clearly laid out for me:) It was fun and good and you will enjoy it.

Love, love , love this, read it before and it brings me to a happy place! A good story teller and one of my go to authors. I have read all three books and the follow up and most of her other titles . I recommend her all the time !

The proof reading for my Kindle edition seems to have been totally neglected! It's littered with annoying errors. What happened?

Only half way through reading this book. I'm enjoying it just as much as I did the first one in the series.The film is very good too

It was a good quick read but plot was thin and very predictable.

I loved the story, continuation of the first book and seeing how the characters develop. But there were a lot of errors in the text, spelling mistakes, typos, punctuation etc which you had to keep going back and checking if you had read it right, which was a great shame.