Big Cherry Holler (34 page)

The first and best thing that ever happened to me was to have Ida Bonicelli Trigiani for my mother. What a beauty! What smarts! She gave up her career as an architectural librarian to raise our family, but she never gave up her love of books, which she passed along to me. Mom’s twin sister, Irma B. Godfrey, another fabulous librarian, is an inspiration to me, too
.

Because my mother was a librarian, I always took to them: so to Billie Jean Scott, Ernestine Roller, and James “Wheels” Varner of the Wise County Bookmobile, thank you. You introduced me to some great ladies of literature: Beverly Cleary, Astrid Ericsson Lindgren, Kay Thompson, Betty MacDonald, Madeleine L’Engle, Margery Williams, Carolyn Keene, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Johanna Spyri, and Louise Fitzhugh. And when it was time, you gave me Charlotte Brontë, Jane Austen, Margaret Mitchell, and Gwendolyn Brooks (thank you, Frances Lewis). Miss Scott always made sure I read the periodicals in high school, so from there, I read the great Erma Bombeck, Judith Viorst, and Meg Greenfield. Thanks to my dad’s subscription to
Esquire
magazine (it was stamped “For men only”), I read the wonderful essays of Nora Ephron
.

At mighty Random House, I thank my brilliant, tireless editor, Lee Boudreaux, and Ann Godoff, Andy Carpenter, Todd Doughty, Beth Pearson, and Pamela Cannon; and at Random House AudioBooks, Sherry Huber. And at Ballantine: the Italian force of nature, Gina Centrello, and the Irish typhoon, Maureen O’Neal. To Suzanne Gluck, the best agent on earth and an even better friend, my thanks and a new purse. New purses also to ICM’s Caroline Sparrow, Karen Gerwin, and Margaret Halton. Lorie Stoopack, you’re amazing. In Movieland, thank you to Lou Pitt, John Farrell, Michael Pitt, Jim Powers, and Todd Steiner
.

Michael Patrick King, this would be a weary, impossible road without you; Elena Nachmanoff and Dianne Festa, you rule; Caroline Rhea, I adore you. My endless love and thanks to: Rosanne Cash, Ruth Pomerance, Tom Dyja, Mary Testa, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, June Lawton, Nancy Josephson and Larry Sanitsky, Jill Holwager, Jeanne Newman, Debra McGuire, John Melfi, Dee Emmerson, Gina Casella, Cara Stein, Sharon Hall, Wendy Luck, Faith Cox, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sharon Watroba Burns, Nancy Ringham, Mike Allen, Constance Marks, Cynthia Rutledge Olson, Jasmine Guy, Susan Toepfer, Joanne Curley Kerner, Doris Shaw Gluck, Whoopi Goldberg, Max Westler, Susan and Sam Franzeskos, Jake and Jean Morrissey, Beata and Steven Baker, Brownie Polly, Aaron and Susan Fales-Hill, Kare Jackowski, Bob Kelty, Carol Ann Story, Christina Avis Krauss, Rachel DeSario, and Beth Thomas
.

My thanks and eternal love to my dad, for the title; also to my brothers and sisters, our family in Italy, the Spada, Mai, Bonicelli, and Trigiani families. To my girls back in the Gap—Iva Lou, Kaye, Debbie, Beth, Tammy, Janet, Teresa, Mary Ann, Joyce, Cindy, and Jean—thank you for your friendship and memories; to the folks of Big Stone Gap, thanks for your support and encouragement; and to my husband, Tim, for everything
.

Big Cherry Holler

A
DRIANA
T
RIGIANI

A Reader’s Guide

Fleeta Mullins
,
the cashier and cook at the Mutual, sits down with Adriana Trigiani to discuss the finer points of
Big Cherry Holler
, Trigiani’s sequel to
Big Stone Gap
set in, where else? Big Stone Gap
.

Fleeta Mullins: Okay, now just let me turn this thing on
.

Adriana Trigiani: Fleeta?

FM: What?

AT: Is there a reason we’re doing this interview in your car?

FM: Yes ma’am. I didn’t want a bunch of input from those layabouts at the Mutual Soda Fountain. I don’t need me Spec Broadwater tellin’ me what to ask and how to ask it.

AT: No problem.

FM: Now, my first question is: did Jack Mac cheat on Ave Maria—some of us think he did and some of us think maybe not
.

AT: What do you think?

FM: I think men are men and he definitely had himself a fine time whilst Ave Maria was runnin’ around It-lee
.

AT: Okay.

FM: So he did! I knew it! I knew it!

AT: I didn’t say he did or didn’t, Fleeta. That’s up to you, the reader.

FM: Well, that just stinks. You ought to tell us.

AT: If Ave Maria wants to find out, then you’ll find out. The books are written in her voice and she makes all the decisions.

FM: But you’re the one writin’ the story.

AT: I’m just passing along what she’s thinking.

FM: Well, I guess I’ll have to live with not knowing.

AT: For now.

FM: You mean I may find out in a future book?

AT: I think you might.

FM: Hallelujah. ’cause I got me a pool goin’ and I wanna win. Now, I want to know about Pete Rutledge.

AT: Fleeta, I don’t mean to be a pill, but if you’re going to smoke, could you crack a window?

FM: Sorry. I liked Pete. I wanted him to be happy—but I didn’t want him to be happy at the expense of our local Jack. Now, help me with this—is Pete really in love with Ave Maria, or is he just after her ’cause he can’t have her?

AT: I think he really loves her.

FM: That’s bold.

AT: Don’t you think you could be married and make a friend and the feelings sometimes get intense?

FM: Of course. It’s happened to me.

AT: Really.

FM: There’s a man that comes to the wrestling meets over in Kingsport—and we had coffee after a GLOW show.

AT: What’s a GLOW show?

FM: The Glorious Ladies of Wrestling. Anyway, I had to have a talk with him, ’cause he got fresh and I told him we had a lot in common but he didn’t need to be puttin’ his hand on my knee to make a point, you know what I’m sayin’?

AT: I do.

FM: I think when you’re murried, you’re murried and there’s no room for hanky-panky. ’Course I was raised Baptist and we got us some rules.

AT: Were you surprised where the story went in
Big Cherry Holler
?

FM: I think it got serious, but I didn’t mind that. I think as you go on in life, you get you some problems and things have to be worked out. And I like how everybody in town got into Ave’s business, ’cause you know, that’s just how it is in this town.
You can’t hardly floss without half the town knowin’ it. Now, them ladies at Ballantine wanted me to ask you something.

AT: Sure.

FM: When you boil it all down, what is the theme of
Big Cherry Holler
?

AT: Letting go. Letting go of the past, of expectations we have about our mates, letting go of old hurts and making room for something wonderful to happen. Growth and change are good, don’t you think?

FM: I guess so. If both in the marriage is growin’ and changin’ together—but there ain’t nothing worse than bein’ on different pages—when that’s happens, well, it’s look-out-it’s-Splitsville.

AT: What did you think the theme of the book was?

FM: Keep an eagle eye on your husband. That, and don’t let your wife go off to It-lee without you.

AT: Very practical advice.

FM: Well, I’m known for that.

AT: I’ve heard.

FM: Well, I got to get back to the Mutual. The lunch crowd’s loading in and when they’re hungry, I got to get them fed.

AT: What’s the special today?

FM: Soup beans, corn bread, collard greens, spiced apples, and coffee.

AT: Sounds good.

FM: I’ll save ye some.

1. Big Cherry Holler
   is a sequel to the bestselling
   Big Stone Gap
   . Does it help to read
   Big Stone Gap
   before delving into
   Big Cherry Holler
   ? How did the author structure this book as a stand-alone novel, and how does it function as a continuation of the first book?
   

2. What is the significance of the title
   Big Cherry Holler
   , both literally and figuratively?
   

3. When the book opens, Ave Maria and Jack Mac have been married for eight years. How have her attitudes about herself and about relationships changed during that time? How has she remained a “spinster” in spirit?
   

4. Early in the book, it’s disclosed that Jack and Ave’s son, Joe, died after a sudden illness. In what ways do Jack and Ave deal with his death, both separately and together? How does their marriage bear the scars of their son’s untimely death?
   

5. What role does small-town life—both in Italy and in Big Stone Gap—play in Ave’s life? How do the mammoth physical attributes of the outside world play against her life?
   

6. Ave Maria sees Jack Mac chatting with a tanned, blond woman named Karen Bell, and immediately feels anxious. What evidence of marital estrangement accumulates after that incident? What aspects of Karen’s personality do you think would appeal to Jack Mac?
   

7. How does Ave Maria see Karen Bell as a rival, and in which ways does she feel superior to her? Which feeling ultimately proves more accurate?
   

8. Were you surprised by the revelation of Theodore’s homosexuality? Which clues—both in this book and in
   Big Stone Gap
   —are provided before his confession? How do you think this will affect his relationship with Ave?
   

9. When Ave’s protégé, Pearl, pleads with Ave to become a partner in the pharmacy, she signs on without consulting Jack Mac (much to his chagrin). What other decisions in her life does Ave keep to herself? Is Jack justified in his anger, or does he, too, keep some aspects of his life private? Which ones?
   

10. Ave’s daughter, Etta, is a main character in the book. Ave describes her as “wide open, and yet very private.” What parallels can you draw between Ave and Etta, and how are the two characters different? How is Etta a product of Jack Mac’s influence? How does she cope with her brother’s death?
    

11. How do the women of Big Stone Gap—Fleeta, Pearl, Iva Lou—function as a sort of Greek chorus for Ave? How does Ave affect each of their lives, and how do they, in turn, influence hers? How has each woman evolved throughout the two books?
    

12. The reader sees Ave Maria in a brand-new environment when she travels to Italy. Which facets of her personality come to the forefront? To what factors do you attribute this change in attitude and appearance?
    

13. While in Italy, Ave imagines what her life would have been like had her mother not married Fred Mulligan. How do you envision Ave’s life if she had grown up in Italy? Would it have been more or less fulfilling?
    

14. Ave’s haircut spurs an absolute transformation. In which other ways does her appearance play a role throughout the book? Of which other novels is this reminiscent?
    

15. What does Pete represent to Ave, both literally and figuratively? How does he reawaken passion in her?
    

16. Theodore dismisses Ave’s assertion that she didn’t really have an affair with Pete. How is this juxtaposition of “word vs. deed” a recurrent motif in the book? What examples can you find in the behavior of Ave, Jack Mac, and their friends?
    

17. When Jack Mac and Ave have their confrontation about Karen Bell, Ave admits that she wanted him to “take her pain away.” Besides Joe’s death, what other issues has Ave Maria grappled with throughout her life? How has she usually dealt with any pain she has suffered?
    

18. Do you believe that Jack Mac consummated his affair with Karen Bell? What evidence do you have for that conclusion?
    

19. Jack Mac tells Ave, “I truly believed in us, and you never did.” What actions echo Jack Mac’s assertion? How does Jack Mac demonstrate his love for Ave?
    

20. At the end of Aunt Alice’s life, Ave makes an effort to reconcile with her. To what do you attribute this change of heart? How does Ave’s relationship with Alice compare to the one she enjoys with her “Eye-talian” relatives?
    

21. What significance do you derive from the fact that Jack Mac and Pete get along immediately? What does Pete’s appearance in Big Stone Gap, as promised, indicate about his character? How is he similar to Jack Mac, and how is he different?
    

22. Do you feel that this book is a lead-up to Etta’s stand-alone story? How do you envision Etta’s adolescence and adulthood?
    

23. Adriana Trigiani, the book’s author, also is an accomplished playwright. How does this novel have the feel of a play—whether through Trigiani’s use of dialogue, setting, conflict, or any other literary device?
    

A
DRIANA
T
RIGIANI
grew up in Virginia and now lives in New York City with her husband. She is an award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker.
Big Cherry Holler
is her second novel. She is currently at work on the film version of her first novel,
Big Stone Gap
, for which she wrote the screenplay and which she will also direct.