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 whirlwind of local gossip, fourteen-year-old Will Tweedy suddenly finds himself eyewitness to a family scandal, and that’s where his adventures begin.
Cold Sassy Tree is the undeniably entertaining and extraordinarily moving account of small-town Southern life in a bygone era. Brimming with characters who are wise and loony, unimpeachably pious and deliciously irreverent, Olive Ann Burns’s classic bestseller is a timeless, funny, and resplendent treasure.
Cold Sassy Tree is the undeniably entertaining and extraordinarily moving account of small-town Southern life in a bygone era. Brimming with characters who are wise and loony, unimpeachably pious and deliciously irreverent, Olive Ann Burns’s classic bestseller is a timeless, funny, and resplendent treasure.
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Rich with emotion, humor and tenderness." The Washington Post
"One of the best portraits of small-town Southern life ever written." --Pat Conroy
"One beautiful book. Better than To Kill A Mockingbird." --Shirley Abbott
"One of the best portraits of small-town Southern life ever written." --Pat Conroy
"One beautiful book. Better than To Kill A Mockingbird." --Shirley Abbott
From the Publisher
If the preacher's wife's 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 and an unimpeachably pious, deliciously irreverent town came to life. Not since To Kill A Mockingbird has a novel so deftly captured the subtle crosscurrents of small-town Southern life. Olive Ann Burns classic bestseller brings to vivid life an era that will never exist again, exploring timeless issues of love, death, coming of age, and the ties that bind families and generations.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
79 of 85 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Who can fail to love this wonderful novel, full of warmth, humor, and honesty, of life in a small, turn-of-the-century Georgia town. Told by Will Tweedy, a 14yo child whose Grandpa Rucker forms the spine of the novel. The story begins with the death of Grandpa Rucker's wife, a saintly woman beloved by all, and there's a lovely scene of Grandpa asking his grandson to cut all the roses from the garden and help him stick them into burlap sacking to make a blanket of roses under which to bury his wife.
After that touching scene, readers - not to mention family members and townsfolk and church people - are shocked to find Grandpa marrying Miss Love, the town's young and beautiful milliner less than a month later. And it's suspected that Miss Love has A Past.
A beautiful coming-of-age story unfolds as Will becomes the confidante of Miss Love and his grandfather, and he learns life-changing lessons about love, life, death, and the meaning of true reverence, and the smallness of some minds.
Wonderful, memorable characters, wonderful life lessons, wonderful set pieces. And absolutely top-notch dialogue.
After that touching scene, readers - not to mention family members and townsfolk and church people - are shocked to find Grandpa marrying Miss Love, the town's young and beautiful milliner less than a month later. And it's suspected that Miss Love has A Past.
A beautiful coming-of-age story unfolds as Will becomes the confidante of Miss Love and his grandfather, and he learns life-changing lessons about love, life, death, and the meaning of true reverence, and the smallness of some minds.
Wonderful, memorable characters, wonderful life lessons, wonderful set pieces. And absolutely top-notch dialogue.
32 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
... I was required to read this book in school. Being biased against the tedious, coming-of-age novels that always seem to find themselves on my reading list for English class, I immediately labeled Cold Sassy Tree under the "dragging, bland, slow-moving" category. My viewpoints have changed since then. Cold Sassy Tree is a fast-paced, interesting novel about the coming-of-age of a fourteen-year-old boy named Will, who grows up in Cold Sassy, Georgia. A major family conflict sets off the cruel, small-town gossipers of Cold Sassy in the beginning of the book. As the books progresses, several smaller plots take place, which support the theme and thus complicate the story. There are some points in the novel where it seems that Will's family's reputation has gone to the dogs. In the end, however, everything works out and Will learns lessons about life, love, and dignity. For the romantic, Cold Sassy Tree covers the acceptnace of so-called "odd couples." For the religious, Cold Sassy Tree questions theological issues. And for teenage boys also coming of age, Cold Sassy Tree views life from the eyes of a fourteen-year-old (as well as comments on the opposite sex).
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I read this book for school over the summer. Now that I've finished, I am so happy it was assigned. This was one of those books that you miss when your done reading.
It takes place in the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia in the early 1900s. The story is told by a 14 year old boy who has recently lost his best friend and his grandmother. Three weeks after his grandma's death his Grandfather announces that he is going to marry a young woman who is half his age. The family is embarrassed and the town is shocked. After almost a year the town and family starts to accept her the way she accepted them.
I wrote this review as a response to other reviews that I read on the site. Frankly, I was outraged by what some people had to say about this book. Someone claimed that the Grandfather raped his granddaughter and one of the boys friends raped his own sister. I don't know what version he read but that was not at all a part of the story!!! The woman the grandfather married tells that she was raped as a child but that was the only raping that went on in the book, and it was needed to explain why she was so afraid of marring and men. Another person said that a child getting whipped is "HORRIFYING" but that was part of the culture back then. People do not agree with it now but back then it happened all the time. There was also a touch of racism in the plot but again it was needed so that Olive Burns could accurately portray southern life in the early 20th. century.
This book was a joy to read and I cannot wait to get the 2nd. part Leaving Cold Sassy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
It takes place in the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia in the early 1900s. The story is told by a 14 year old boy who has recently lost his best friend and his grandmother. Three weeks after his grandma's death his Grandfather announces that he is going to marry a young woman who is half his age. The family is embarrassed and the town is shocked. After almost a year the town and family starts to accept her the way she accepted them.
I wrote this review as a response to other reviews that I read on the site. Frankly, I was outraged by what some people had to say about this book. Someone claimed that the Grandfather raped his granddaughter and one of the boys friends raped his own sister. I don't know what version he read but that was not at all a part of the story!!! The woman the grandfather married tells that she was raped as a child but that was the only raping that went on in the book, and it was needed to explain why she was so afraid of marring and men. Another person said that a child getting whipped is "HORRIFYING" but that was part of the culture back then. People do not agree with it now but back then it happened all the time. There was also a touch of racism in the plot but again it was needed so that Olive Burns could accurately portray southern life in the early 20th. century.
This book was a joy to read and I cannot wait to get the 2nd. part Leaving Cold Sassy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A delightful and at times moving story of life in a small Georgia town...
I enjoyed this book as much as any that I have read recently. It is an accurate picture of small town life in Georgia 100 years ago. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Donald A. King
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not that great
I read great reviews of this book so I thought I would give it a try. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, but the story was a bore told my a narrator who is a bit of... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Patricia Woods
4.0 out of 5 stars
small town lives
The characters come alive from the viewpoint of a teenage boy growing up in a town where everyone thrives on being in everyone's business. I enjoyed the book from the beginning. Read more
Published 10 days ago by cookietoes
5.0 out of 5 stars
The kind of story we need to hear more often. A family's love for each...
Great book. Held my attention to the last paragraph. I felt as if i had lost a really good friend when I came to The End.
Published 13 days ago by Patricia Eaker
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great southern story
The characters were believable and the authors writing was a great description of the South and the characters there. Read more
Published 14 days ago by Ann W Kenyon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Warm sassy tree
The warmth of family filled the pages of this wonderful story. When the story is finished, it leaves you wishing for another chapter.
Published 18 days ago by Janice H. Jasilli
2.0 out of 5 stars
i got bored reading it
i read 60% of it...my rule is if i read that far into a book and it never
captivates..i put it down..which i did. the southern stacato speech was
exhausting
captivates..i put it down..which i did. the southern stacato speech was
exhausting
Published 20 days ago by liz p
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved it.
After seeing the opera I wanted to read the book and was very pleased, it was a wonderful story, very sweetly told and the characters were very believable.
Published 27 days ago by Jane Whitfield
5.0 out of 5 stars
Book Club Book
This was orders for my sisters book club. Not sure how the book was as I never read it since it was for a gift.
Published 1 month ago by D. Faust
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best book ever!
This is the book I always recommend to everyone! You will laugh, you will cry, you will be sorry when it is over.
Published 1 month ago by Kelly
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
45
books
cite this book:
See all 45 books citing this book
- Road to Tara: The life of Margaret Mitchell by Anne Edwards in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy in Front Matter
- John Wesley by R. Tuttle on page 90
- Tom Watson: Agrarian Rebel (Galaxy Book) by C. Vann Woodward in Front Matter
- Leaving Cold Sassy: The Unfinished Sequel to Cold Sassy by Olive Ann Burns on 14 pages
- American Literature: Encouraging Thoughtful Christians To Be World Changers; Senior High Level by James P. Stobaugh on 5 pages
- American Literature Teacher Text: Encouraging Thoughtful Christians to be World changers (Broadman & Holman Literature) by James P. Stobaugh on 4 pages
- The Book Group Book: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group by Ellen Slezak on 4 pages
- The Book Lover's Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature, and the Passages That Feature Them by Shaunda Kennedy Wenger on 4 pages
See all 45 books citing this book
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