Helpful Score: 7
Well-written, touching story that reads fast at times, not-so-fast at others. Explores an excellent relationship between grandfather and grandchild - much deeper than I thought it would. Good, solid Southern fiction.
Helpful Score: 4
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
There is so much to love about this book. The characters are vibrant, the language is rich and there are good life's lessons throughout--but it's not preachy. This is a story told with lots of humor although it does have it's tear-jerker moments. Young Will Tweedy is 14 at the turn of the century and is living in the town of Cold Sassy, Georgia. His grandfather causes an uproar in this sleepy little town by eloping with the beautiful young employee in his store. That's bad enough but what really sets the tongues to wagging is that Grandpa's first wife just passed three weeks ago and is barely cold in the grave. The events subsequent to this scandalous event changes Will's outlook on life forever. He has an "old" grandpa who is made young again by the pretty young wife and he himself begins to grow up as he romanticizes about women, kisses someone for the first time, and drives around town in his grandfather's new automobile. Thumbs both up!
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I loved this book so much! It was the book that got me back into reading for enjoyment after finishing grad school many years ago. Believe it or not, I bought it because I liked the cover! A wonderful story with endearing characters. Highly recommended!
Helpful Score: 2
I read mostly classics, but this has now joined my favorite 20 of all time. A sweet funny story, full of nostalgia. I bought 5 (used) copies to hand out to friends. They all loved it too. Didn't like the sequel though.
Kimberly Y. (princesspeanutsmommy) reviewed Cold Sassy Tree (Cold Sassy, Bk 1) on + 23 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Not my cup of tea. The thick southern colloquialisms ground my reading speed to an annoyingly slow, southern pace. At one point I thought there would be a pivotal event making it a worthwhile read, but it never happened. I know many people loved this book, it just wasn't for me. I never finished the book, life is too short for bad reading!!
Wonderful story of a boy growing up in a small southern town in the early part of the century. Vivid characters and family issues are explored in funny and touching ways.
Unlike some reviewers, I loved the southern dialect...savored it even. Some phrases I'd have to read out loud (startling the dog) to get the sound right in my head. Besides that, it was an excellent, very interesting story with a surprising bit of religious thought and unconventional doctrine thrown in...quite thought-provoking. I wish that it hadn't just ended so suddenly...kind of like the author poured her all into it and then got kind of tired at the end and wound it up.
I think this is one of my favorite books of all time. It reminds me of "Fried Green Tomatoes" , another one of my favorites. I liked the main character and the others in the story reminded me of relatives. It's a book you could re-read through the years.
I LOVED this book. The characters were fun and real. I felt as if I just stepped into this book and became one of the bystanders in the setting. There were times when the main character reminded me of Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, and, to me, that is always a good thing! I was saddened to hear Olive Ann Burns passed away before she finished the sequel to this book, because I wanted to read MANY more books by her. Her writing style is very comfortable and familiar, just the kind of book to curl up with on a rainy day.
I enjoyed this book (even though I'm not fond of books written in dialect).
Excellent story, I read it aloud to my husband who so enjoyed hearing the young Will Tweedy's voice narrate this country tale of down right, down home happenings just at the time of change in USA, the advent of the motor car etc. and the changes brought to a small town.
I usually don't read these types of books but I enjoyed it and it entertained me!
This was a very engaging book. I felt like I really knew the characters by the time I got to the end. If you're from the south, you will definitely relate to these people.
Told in the early 1900's about a boy and his grandfather. Very good read about small-town southern life. Loved it
Didn't grab me....
This was a great book. I could hardly put it down. You become immersed in the small community of Cold Sassy almost immediately.
This is one of the funniest books I have EVER read! I have read it many times and seen the movie as well.
I loved it - small town life, as seen from a young boy's eyes, about love, life and death.
Prequel to "Leaving Cold Sassy". See if you can get both of them at the same time to be read back-to-back for a truly enjoyable story!
Wonderfully classic and entertaining.
A wonderful classic with lots of twist and turns.
It takes place in a small southern town in 1906. A widower of 3 weeks marries a woman half his age and the family and the rest of the town search for a way to deal with it....or not!
It takes place in a small southern town in 1906. A widower of 3 weeks marries a woman half his age and the family and the rest of the town search for a way to deal with it....or not!
Much, much better than the movie!
Very good.
Wonderful book about the South in the early 1900s. Great characters.
I really do love this book. It is warm and caring and explores relationships as time changes the characters. Here you will find a memorable story of "family" and challenges to be overcome with grace. Fun along the way adds to the whole atmosphere. I have listened to Cold Sassy Tree several times in the audio form which is read by Richard Thomas. He made all the pages come alive. :)
Loved it.
I LOVE THIS BOOK! A beautifully written book. Burns makes these characters, who live in a small southern town around the turn of the century 1900, come alive. It examines modernization, love and death, spirituality and religious ideas and prejudices, morals, and mores. There is a scandal. There is sadness. There is joy and love. There is a coming of age of a young boy. It is beautifully written. I didn't want it to end.
A great read.
If the precher's wife'f petticoat showed, the ladies would make the talk last a week. But on July 5, 1906, things took a scandalous turn. That was the day E. Rucker Blakeslee, proprietor of the general store and barely three weeks a widower, eloped with Miss Love Simpson - a woman half his age and, worse yet, a Yankee! On that day, fourteen-year-old Will Tweedy's adventures began adn unimpeachably pious, deliciously irreverent town came to life.
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