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Cold Sassy Tree

3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 · rating details · 42,421 ratings · 2,348 reviews

The one thing you can depend on in Cold Sassy, Georgia, is that word gets around - fast.

On July 5, 1906, scandal breaks in the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia, when the proprietor of the general store, E. Rucker Blakeslee, elopes with Miss Love Simpson. He is barely three weeks a widower, and she is only half his age and a Yankee to boot. As their marriage inspires a whi...more

Paperback, Dial Press Trade Paperback edition, 391 pages

Published July 2005 by Dial Press Trade Paperback (first published November 1984)

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May 16, 2013 Ebookwormy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: carp-500, 1-character-forming, fiction

I had the first sentence of this review written before I read this book. It was "life was pretty good in the south after the Civil War as long as you weren't black or poor." Quite frankly I was in no mood to appreciate cultural racism.

But then I started reading, and I was captivated. The humor of the story and the joy of life of the characters gave the book a clean feel of a simpler time - and the enjoying feel of a great, grand ole yarn. Yet at the same time, running like a deep aquifier alongs...more

25 likes · like · see review

Apr 13, 2007 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

I actually really liked this book, but I think I enjoyed the cultural and historical aspects of it more than the story, to be frank. Burns paints a wonderful picture of life in a small and changing southern town in the early 20th century. The depiction of the social tensions between the "lintheads" who work in the cotton mills and the rest of the town hit the nail on the head, in terms of the southern industrial mill era. We also see the coming of the automobile and the way that the town is stil...more

6 likes · like · see review

Sep 13, 2008 Irishcoda rated it 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...more

6 likes · like · see review

Nov 14, 2007 Kimber rated it 4 of 5 stars

I liked this book for a couple of reasons but first - I gave it only 4 stars because I had a hard time with the southern writing (trying to do the accent), it was a little distracting for me.

What I did like was some of the religious views taught - what might Jesus mean by 'ask and ye shall receive', the view of death and mourning. It made me look a little more at myself and see which character I fit - the gossips of the town, the drama queen mother, the one willing to press forward cheerfully no...more

3 likes · like · see review

May 23, 2008 Tiffany rated it 4 of 5 stars

I can't believe Janette only gave this book 3 stars! I love this book, it's so delightful, the characters are so human with their fears, and pettiness and prejudices and lusts. It had a lot of humor in it as well, like when the grandpa decided eloped with the millner (hat maker) 2 weeks after the grandma died, and his excuse was, "she's as dead as she's ever gonna be!" But we didn't doubt his devotion to the grandma, because he completely lined her grave with cut roses from her rose garden. It's...more

5 likes · like · see review

Mar 24, 2008 Cathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Maybe I should have given this more than three stars, because I truly enjoyed reading it and wanted to know what happened next to young Will, his cantakerous grandfather, and Love Simpson, the scandalous "Yankee" bride. It just seemed a trifle "Southern lit by the numbers" to me, with the town gossips and the coming of age and the quirky characters. A lot of the secondary characters are pretty stock, and I had a hard time with the super-thick dialect given to the black characters, which seemed u...more

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Feb 10, 2009 Megan rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Sissy

Recommended to Megan by: Grandma Hazel

Shelves: fiction, favorites

My grandmother's favorite book of all time, so I have always wanted to read it. This is such a great book. It nearly ripped my heart out for making me think of my Grandmother. It is about a 14 year old boy in 1906 Cold Sassy, Georgia. The book centers on Will Tweedy's relationship with his grandfather and the small town scandal that begins when his grandfather remarries a young woman two weeks after his wife's passing. The narrative is so witty and touching and it is written in such a strong sou...more

7 likes · like · see review

Mar 13, 2008 Kelsey rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: EVERYONE

Recommended to Kelsey by: Keri Garcia

I read this one a few weeks ago and I loved the characters in this story because I could see a little bit of myself in each one of them. It is a simple story about a boy named Will Tweedy in a small Georgia town in the early 1900s whose Grandpa remarries the young and very attractive milliner only three weeks after losing his wife.

The plot was so easy going and I really felt like I was watching a movie. Burns did a great job with the southern accent - it must have taken her forever to spell eac...more

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Sep 27, 2010 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sara by: nancy jackson

This book is set in a town called Cold Sassy in Georgia during the 1900’s. Will’s grandmother has just died and his grandfather doesn’t seem to be in remorse as much as the town thinks he should be. Then the scandal begins! He announces he has married a woman much younger than he, not 3 weeks after he buried his wife. Grandpa claims he hired her so that he would have a free housekeeper but you later find out that that is not true. Grandpa was actually in love with Ms. Love. The drama continues a...more

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Mar 05, 2009 Karli rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book takes you to the South like no other. The story is simple and funny as it follows a boy's confusion over his grandfather marrying a young bride right after his grandmother dies. But the setting will transport you to a lazier, simpler time of dusty railroad tracks, porch swings and the corner store. I loved it!

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Sep 22, 2007 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

My favorite book of all time. It hits on all cylinders -- it's hilariously funny, it's poignant, it's sad, it's witty, it's a historical snapshot, it's quintessentially southern -- and perhaps those with a similar background will understand it best. Maybe you can hear your relatives saying similar things.

I read it in 9th grade b/c it was required reading, and I was never the same...I have read it multiple times. I "made" my husband read it when we were dating. The author and I were born on the...more

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Jul 07, 2008 Camilla rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES! It is written from the perspective of a young boy at the turn of the century. He lives in a small southern town and his grandmother has just died. Contrary to prescribed and accepted mourning practices, his grandfather quickly remarries a young, beautiful, and outgoing woman who works in his store. The town is in upheaval!!

This book explores the young boys perspective on his late grandmother, his relationship with his granfather and new STEP-grandma, and his...more

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Oct 16, 2011 Adele rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, book-club

I absolutely loved this book. It took me a while to read it as it isn't a book that "you just can't put down." It is pretty slow moving, but I think it is purposely written that way. It is all about a slow moving southern town in Georgia. I feel like it picks up at the end, just as the town itself is becoming more "modern" and becoming a faster paced town. I really enjoyed the story and the beautiful way she portrays an old man growing young, a young boy growing up into adulthood and this small...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 20, 2009 Kw rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the best novels I have ever read. Beautifully written.

1 like · like · see review

Jan 05, 2009 Maggie rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who grew up in the south.

Shelves: most-highly-recommended, 2009

I was instantly entranced; and terribly sad when the book ended.

3 likes · like · see review

Aug 03, 2011 Britt Doughty-godchaux added it · review of another edition

I was lent this book by an English co-worker, and at first I thought the dialect-rich Georgia-speak was irritating and its main appeal stemmed from it being novel and exotic. But the story did grow on me. And I did something that I have never done before: I put a book down 200-some pages into it and picked it up again months later and finished it. The journal premise for the detail of description is reedy in moments, but the characters and the voice of the narrator up for it. I realised that eve...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Gale rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: humor-young-adult, southern-usa-milieu, turn-of-the-century

"Keeping the Town in Scandal and Stitches!”

Olive Ann Burns has created (or recreated) a fictitious small town in rural Georgia set in a still-naïve 1906. A town where women are easily shocked--yet eager to gossip about everyone else’s business. With candid humor Will, the grandson of the town’s leading store owner, relates his schoolboy pranks amidst his family’s misadventures. His vivid imagination and juvenile interpretation of adult motivations provide a rollicking soap opera of a novel—for...more "Keeping the Town in Scandal and Stitches!”

Olive Ann Burns has created (or recreated) a fictitious small town in rural Georgia set in a still-naïve 1906. A town where women are easily shocked--yet eager to gossip about everyone else’s business. With candid humor Will, the grandson of the town’s leading store owner, relates his schoolboy pranks amidst his family’s misadventures. His vivid imagination and juvenile interpretation of adult motivations provide a rollicking soap opera of a novel—for even as one chapter closes there is a hint of trouble on the next page. Between those outlandish Blakeslees and those oddball Tweedy’s, the nonsense never ends in this crazy family. I mean, how can a kid grow up to become a rational adult?

Burns scatters a few sobering themes in this longer-than-average novel (not truly YA, despite the juvenile protagonist): Civil War prejudice flourishes, town kids taunt the lint heads from Milltown; pneumonia and primitive medical knowledge at the turn of the century. How much shame and censure must one family endure in its embarrassed but sincere attempt to honor the last wishes of a beloved relative?

Yup, Cold Sassy (named for a vanished grove of Sasparilla trees) seems destined/doomed to a continuous chain of social shocks--ever since Grandpa stunned everyone by announcing his decision to marry his milliner, Miss Love--just three scant weeks after Grandma’s burial! It is hard to say who is more scandalized: the town or his grown daughters!

Torn between loyalty to his beloved Grandpa (“You’re the son I never had, boy”) and his intermittent respect for his parents, Will tries to balance his noble wish to befriend a poor mill girl, yet maintain his social standing with his peers. This hilarious story reveals the internal demi-tragedy and struggles of women caught in the prison of a restrictive society. Emotional upheavals abound as Grandpa sets prissy Cold Sassy on its ears, with his crazy notions of family propriety and how to conduct commerce.

Can will survive the storms caused by his misunderstood grandfather to becomes his own man one day? Must he relinquish his private dreams of a profitable farm--in order to honor/obey Grandpa’s wish to carry on the family store? And which boyhood treasures of this summer will he keep as an adult? This book is darling and would make a wonderful comic mini series or movie. Teens—don’t be put off by the formidable length of this novel—you’ll wish it never ended! Hysterical reading fun for every member of the family!

(September 22, 2010. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)

(less)

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Feb 12, 2013 Melissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

It’s 1906 and Will Tweedy, a 14-year-old boy in a small Georgia town, tells us stories about his family. His tales mainly focus on this stubborn grandfather Rucker Blakeslee, who decides to remarry a very young woman only three weeks after his wife dies.
His adult daughters are scandalized and the town of Cold Sassy is shocked. Rucker’s new wife, Miss Love Simpson, is a strong woman, but she still wants to be accepted by the traditional town. Rucker runs the local grocery store, so everyone in t...more It’s 1906 and Will Tweedy, a 14-year-old boy in a small Georgia town, tells us stories about his family. His tales mainly focus on this stubborn grandfather Rucker Blakeslee, who decides to remarry a very young woman only three weeks after his wife dies.
His adult daughters are scandalized and the town of Cold Sassy is shocked. Rucker’s new wife, Miss Love Simpson, is a strong woman, but she still wants to be accepted by the traditional town. Rucker runs the local grocery store, so everyone in town knows his business. The novel captures the core of small town life. Everything you do is under a microscope and people are so concerned about what their nosy neighbors will think of their every decision.

The book focuses on Will’s whole family, from his bossy Aunt Loma to his quiet, devoted father Hoyt. It’s written almost like a collection of short stories, weaving from one adventure to the next. The chapter that takes place on a train trestle was so intense it had a heart racing! I also loved the scenes with the Rucker and his wife Mattie Lou before she died. He’s a tough old bird, but when it comes to love he’s a complete softie.

The point-of-view did remind me of To Kill a Mockingbird, not just because it’s a child of a similar age, but also because it's set during a similar time period in the south. There's an observational honesty that comes from choosing a narrator like that. The story never reaches the same depth as To Kill a Mockingbird, but it has a similar tone.

BOTTOM LINE: I really loved reading about Will’s adventures and I was surprised and touched by the serious tone the book took on towards the end. I’d highly recommend this one for anyone who enjoys coming-of-age stories, turn-of-the-century fiction or Southern novels.

“To me they were like a book, a book with the last chapter missing. And I couldn’t wait to know how it ended.”

“To mourn is not the same as to be in mourning, which means wearing a black armband and sitting in the parlor talking to people who call on the bereaved. At first you feel important, the armband makes you special like having on a badge, but after a day or two it stops meaning anything. But to mourn, that’s different. To mourn is to be eaten alive with homesickness for the person.”

“My mother always said, ‘Never expect church members to be perfect, Christians are still people.’”(less)

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Jan 17, 2013 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: real-literature, retro-books

I adored this book. It has been on my TBR (to be read) pile for quite a while. The parts I liked best about it were how the town gossip inspired people to do things that they wouldn't normally do. How the society was woven together by the various churches, and gossips. I liked the pont-of-view of Will Tweedy, and how he grew up through the story. I liked how he couldn't figure out why his mom and aunt acted they way the did while putting it in perspective of his Sunday school lessons. Then he wo...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Cora Neisen rated it 4 of 5 stars

1. Cold Sassy Tree
2. Olive Ann Burns
3. Historical Fiction
4. The story is told from the point of view of a fourteen year old boy, Will Tweedy in Cold Sassy, Georgia in the year 1906. The book begins with Will's grandpa marrying a very young woman three weeks after his wife passed away. The rest of the book is about the family drama that comes along with the scandal.
5. Because the book revolves around the events after Will's grandma died, a theme is how humans respond and deal with death. Another...more

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Oct 19, 2012 Brandy rated it 3 of 5 stars

During my most recent trip back to Kentucky, I was fortunate enough to have a friend who volunteered to come over to my townhouse every day to sit with my cat, saving me much kitty stress and many boarding dollars. When I came home, said friend told me that, of all the books I have around the house, she had begun reading Cold Sassy Tree.

Now, I'd picked up Cold Sassy Tree last summer during one of my allergy-ridden hazes, when I wanted something easy to read but which could keep my interest. I ac...more During my most recent trip back to Kentucky, I was fortunate enough to have a friend who volunteered to come over to my townhouse every day to sit with my cat, saving me much kitty stress and many boarding dollars. When I came home, said friend told me that, of all the books I have around the house, she had begun reading Cold Sassy Tree.

Now, I'd picked up Cold Sassy Tree last summer during one of my allergy-ridden hazes, when I wanted something easy to read but which could keep my interest. I actually read it several months later, and found it pleasant enough, and, as many have noted before me, evocative of family stories and lost histories. I have so many books around here, though. If I were to come into this house a stranger, I'm not sure Cold Sassy Tree would even be in the first 25 books I looked at.

For the most part, though , this novel is exactly the kind of book shared amongst many friends. It's easily accessible, non-threatening, non-challenging, and really pretty charming. And despite the way that sentence may have sounded, I don't really hold any of those things against the novel or the seemingly lovely Olive Ann Burns. She uses the historical context to draw attention to issues that faced most small Southern towns in the early 20th century, such as racism, sexism, regionalism, the sudden push from an agrarian society to an industrial one, etc. These are all, of course, Important Factors to understand in our common history, and that's probably why this book has repeatedly found its way onto high school reading lists. The context as well as the device of telling the story through the eyes of a 14 year old narrator also help her examine these problems in a way which allows a late 20th-century/early 21st-century reader to more easily stomach the points she makes.

It is, however, very safe. And this impression isn't just a matter of historical context; of course, many books could be/ have been written far after the events being discussed but manage to make their topic matter positively dangerous again. I'm not sure I want that in every book, but a little risk isn't a bad thing. In this book, though, the risk factor seems almost entirely centered in the will they/won't they fall in love question about Miss Love Simpson and her practical husband, the much older Rucker Blakelee. To be honest, it's a charming love story about a romance which starts in practicality and ends in something much deeper and more enduring. However, that's the second time in this post that I've used the word "charming" to describe the book, and that's where the sticking point is for me. I'm sure it has more to do with my own personality than with the merits of the book, but charming things generally provide very limited returns of satisfaction for me.

Still, it's hard to be comfortable feeling grouchy about a book like this, especially when I have no real or specific complaints. The characterization was terrific, the regional flavor spot on, and the storytelling entertaining enough to keep me from wanting to put the book down. Not a bad read at all. And I'm very glad my catsitting friend enjoyed it.(less)

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May 09, 2012 Sandra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Loved this book, loved the narrator, a 14 year old southern boy, and loved his grandfather, the ceterpiece of the story and of all the surrounding stories. I am in complete disagreement with reviewers who take offense at the southern 'cliches' and 'cariacatures'...these notions of people and places do not spring unbidden out of nowhere, they are grounded in the truth about a place and a people. Nor do I agree with those who take issue with the lack of racial tension...not every story set in the...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Ultimate Reading List

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, literary-fiction, novels, popular-fiction, ultimate-reading-list, young-adult, humor-and-comedy, romance

Blurbs for the book claimed it was "better than To Kill a Mockingbird and reminiscent of Alice Walker. I can't agree with either remark, although I did love this book and rated it a five. But not all fives are created equal. I recently reread To Kill a Mockingbird and that one is a classic on a whole other level. The only Alice Walker novel I've read is The Color Purple. Some aspects of how Burns conveyed the Southern American dialect was reminiscent, as was the iconoclastic spirituality, althou...more Blurbs for the book claimed it was "better than To Kill a Mockingbird and reminiscent of Alice Walker. I can't agree with either remark, although I did love this book and rated it a five. But not all fives are created equal. I recently reread To Kill a Mockingbird and that one is a classic on a whole other level. The only Alice Walker novel I've read is The Color Purple. Some aspects of how Burns conveyed the Southern American dialect was reminiscent, as was the iconoclastic spirituality, although I don't feel it's as intense or original as Walker's epistolary novel.

The story is told by Will Tweedy, who eight years later looks back to 1906 when he was fourteen years old and his grandfather, Enoch Rucker Blakeslee scandalized the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia by eloping with Miss Love Simpson--a woman young enough to be his daughter. Only three weeks after his wife died. And she's a suffragette. And a Yankee! Will may be the narrator, but his grandfather definitely is the heart of this tale. A Civil War veteran and owner of the town general store he's definitely one of the more memorable fictional characters I've encountered. And the young naive first person voice of Will and the setting of a small Southern town might remind some of Scout of To Kill a Mockingbird. Some blurbers even compared him to Twain's Huckleberry Finn.

The books mentioned above though all have pretty sharp social critiques, especially concerning racism. In Cold Sassy Tree there's really only one pointed passage on racial matters--coming from Miss Simpson, the one outsider. This isn't concerned with such weighty matters but is a rather gentle, nostalgic coming of age tale and mostly light in tone despite one dark secret. It has more than its share of humor, the funniest scenes I thought dealing with the first automobiles ever to hit Cold Sassy. Even if it's not a deathless classic, it's still an engrossing, charming read with unforgettable characters and a great portrait of its time and place.(less)

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Oct 27, 2011 Joy rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book jacket says this novel is one of the favorites of Barbara Bush. It is a great coming-of-age story of a young teen boy in a small town in Georgia in 1906. It's a great picture of Southern life with it's caring AND busy-bodyness. There's lots of wisdom from Grandpa Blakeslee, especially:
"Will, faith ain't no magic wand or money-back gar'ntee either one. Hit's just a way a-livin'. Hit means you don't worry th'ew the days. Hit means you go on holdin' on to God in good or bad times, and you...more

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Oct 19, 2011 Lillie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was really good...there was so much that I liked about it. I liked the story, I liked Miss Love and Grandpa, I liked Will and his point of view, and how as a 14 year old boy his story telling is mostly unbiased and innocent. I really liked some of the main themes. The ones that I particularly picked up on was the contrast between true faith and Sunday religion. I liked hearing Grandpa's view on God and faith especially since he was more honest in recognizing hypocrisy. It was very interesti...more

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Jul 26, 2011 Steven rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fantastic characters and a good plot. I loved the setting, the old South, the gossipy small town and the funny, quircky, but very believable people. This is an excellent picture of life at the turn of the century, including the advent of the automobile, electric lights and indoor plumbing. It's also an interesting coming-of-age tale told by a 14-year-old boy.

This book is excellent. I was just a little surprised by the dark turn it takes toward the end. Primarily because my kids had enjoyed list...more

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Mar 28, 2011 Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, fiction, classics, reviewed

When I don't have a strong reaction to a book, I have little to say about it. And Cold Sassy Tree is one of those books.

Now, the setting was well-drawn: Burns seemed to capture the time and culture, or at least convinced me, so uneducated on the era, that she did. Will Tweedy read as a reasonable facsimile of a teenage boy, though never having been one myself, I'll never be able to tell for sure. I found the various depictions of various griefs genuine and moving and insightful.

However, while mo...more

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Mar 13, 2011 Debik rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

This is one of my ALL TIME favorite books! Right up there with To Kill a Mockingbird. My husband, and then 14 year old daughter and I listened to the audiobook of it while on vacation, and have ever since been trying to find a "vacation book" that would even come close. 12 year Will Tweedy delightfully takes us through the ups and downs of his family and friends in 1906, Cold Sassy, Georgia. We share death, birth' marriage, old age and coming of age. I am not a person to read a book more than on...more

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Jan 23, 2011 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book about life in Cold Sassy, Georgia in 1906. Will Tweedy is fourteen year old and the favorite of his grandfather. E. Rucker Blakeslee is an eccentric man who owns the local store and lives life on his own terms. Barely three weeks after the death of his wife, Grandpa Blakeslee scandalizes the town of Cold Sassy by marrying Miss Love Simpson, who had moved to Cold Sassy to make hats in his store. Not only does Grandpa Blakeslee completely disregard social mores and the wishes of...more

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Sep 18, 2010 Leslie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those amazing books that captures many aspects of Southern life, especially during the changing times and attitudes of the early 20th century. Young Will Tweedy, just 14 years old, begins to discover just what the people around him are really like, as he explores his budding talents as a writer and records the strange events that take place after the death of his grandmother. Small town life and the upper middle class concern for appearances are explored with sympathy and amusemen...more

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About Olive Ann Burns

FROM GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA WEBSITE:
Olive Ann Burns was a professional writer, journalist, and columnist for most of her life. She published two novels, one posthumously, and for many years was a staff writer for Atlanta newspapers and the Atlanta Journal Magazine. Her most notable achievement was "Cold Sassy Tree", a novel that describes rural southern life and a young boy's coming-of-age at the tu...more

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Quotes from Cold Sassy Tree

“But to mourn, that's different. To mourn is to be eaten alive with homesickness for the person.” — 90 people liked it

“Ask and it shall be given you,'" I began. "'Seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.' We have the same message in the Book of Saint John," I said, sounding for all the world like a preacher...."
Well, but how could I just stop there? Those words were worse than nothing if I didn't tell what they meant to Grandpa. Looking at the long rough box, I spoke timid, in a mumbled voice. Not preachified at all. "Grandpa didn't think Jesus meant, by that, that we should ast God for things, or for special favors. He said we could trust that in the nature of things, without astin', we'll get lots of blessin's and happy surprises and maybe a miracle or two. When Jesus said ast and you'll get it, He meant things of the spirit, not the flesh. Right now for instance, I could ast, 'Lord please raise Grandpa from the dead,' but it wouldn't happen. But I can say, 'Please, God, comfort me,' and I'll get heart's ease. Grandpa said Jesus meant us to ast for hope, forgiveness, and all that. Ast, 'Hep us not be scared, hep us not be greedy, give us courage to try." I was really carried away. "Ast any such and God will give it to you. But don't ast Him not to let fire burn, or say spare me from death. At least, uh, that's what Grandpa said.” — 22 people liked it

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