The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

By: Tiffany Baker

Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie

Truly Plaice, an overly large and ungainly girl, is the polar opposite of her sister, Serena Jane, the epitome of feminine perfection. With their parents dead, Truly and Serena Jane are separated: Serena Jane to live a life of privilege as the future May Queen and Truly to live on the outskirts of town, the subject of constant abuse and humiliation.

There, while Serena Jane's beauty proves to be her biggest curse, Truly finds her calling - the ability to heal illness with herbs and naturopathic techniques - and, in reckoning with her demons, the possibility of love in unexpected places.

©2009 Tiffany Baker (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Baker's bangup debut mixes the exuberant eccentricities of John Irving's Garp, Anne Tyler's relationship savvy and the plangent voice of Margaret Atwood....It's got all the earmarks of a hit -- infectious and lovable narrator, a dash of magic, an impressive sweep, and a heartrending but not treacly family drama. It'll be a shame if this doesn't race up the best seller lists." ( Publishers Weekly)
" The Little Giant of Aberdeen County grabs you from its astonishing beginning to its riveting conclusion. Its charms are multitude -- a wholly unique love story, a devastating friendship, a bewitching multi-generational history, all brought to an apex in the larger-than-life personage of Truly, a heroine simultaneously infused with a quiet and dignified grace and peculiar sense of purpose. This dark-yet-rolicking debut is a must-read." (Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants)

Odd and delightful

This was an odd story, and I found it delightful.
I would read this AGIAN.
The narration was good.

Pretty good - but could have been Truly good!

I really enjoyed about the first 2/3 of this book, charmed by the engaging and wise-beyond-her-years protagonist Truly. But as the story moved toward its conclusion, I felt the author forcing actions on her heroine that felt more in service to an envisioned resolution and less true to the character she had crafted so well. In the end, Truly becomes willfully uncurious, stubborn, and ultimately less appealing.

I generally liked the narration, but wasn't thrilled with her insistence on using a gruff voice for every adult male character.

worth the irritation

There is nothing that irritates me more than a poorly edited narration. When the narrator corrected herself a few times at the beginning of the book, I almost quit. I am glad I didn't. This was a lovely story of acceptance and judgement and all kinds of relationships. I am glad I hung in there.

Worth the credit

No a bad listen. A little slow, but good characters, and sweet story. Everyone likes a little magical realism. At least I do. Not a book I will listen again and again though.

A Lovely Story

This is a sweet, touching story and I recommend it to anyone. It's themes are acceptance and forgiveness. I loved it.