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Title: Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, Richard Thomas ISBN: 0-553-45166-9 Publisher: Bantam Books-Audio Pub. Date: 01 March, 1989 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.99 (176 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Brent's Cold Sassy Tree Review
Comment: Cold Sassy Tree Book Review
Cold Sassy Tree was an enjoyable book due to a few strong points and little weak ones. The characters seemed to be typical people living in a small southern town, where the news spreads exceptionally quick. Olive Ann Burns makes the characters and their stories very interesting and amusing to read about from Will's close encounter with the train to Grandpa Rucker's Marriage to Miss Love. Burns makes the reader keep guessing about what will happen next.
Burns tells a captivating story of this small Georgian town. There are many exciting short stories in the book, however the main plot deals with Grandpa Rucker and Miss Love's marriage. There are two different opinions of this subject. First, there is praise from Will, followed by criticism from almost everyone else in town. Burns does an extraordinary job showing how a small town similar to Cold Sassy would act in this situation.
Burns chooses the proper point of view for this novel, by picking Will Tweedy to narrate the story. Even though Will could be bias or stretch the truth at times, he did a superior job telling this story. Will might have over exaggerated Aunt Loma's cruelty. He also could have made Grandpa Rucker's relationship with Miss Love seem not as corrupt as it really was because of his relationship with Grandpa. Will moved the story along very well, without meaningless or unnecessary detail. However, in some cases a bigger picture would have been gained had another perspective been used. The reader would have seen what was going on all over town rather than just staying with Will the majority of the time.
Cold Sassy Tree is a very smoothly written novel because of the transitions from chapter to chapter. It would not jump from setting to setting out of the blue without an explanation. The book clearly illustrates the development of Will Tweedy throughout his boyhood. From what he learned by with his own incidents and knowledge, to what Grandpa Rucker taught him, he matures. The characters were all very typical and everyday for this setting. However, the short stories and plot are authentic and unique for an account on a maturing southern young man. Such as the train trestle incident, and the plot of Grandpa's marriage with Miss Love.
Olive Ann Burns is an excellent storyteller. She makes the reader wonder if his/her hometown was once resembling Cold Sassy. It also makes the reader think if he/she is reminiscent of the town- following social rules and not doing what is right, or similar to Will Tweedy and Grandpa Rucker by doing what their heart tells them to do. This is a high-quality novel, but it will not stand the test of time like Dickens, Shakespeare, and other famous authors. Olive Ann Burns is indeed a fine writer, but she has not written a sufficient amount of popular novels for her name to linger with the names of the greatest authors.
Rating: 5
Summary: Southern Life Under the Sassafras Tree
Comment: Cold Sassy Tree is a classic portrait of small-town life set in a small, southern area in Georgia. This book about life, love, and death is so exhilarating, hilarious, and touching that the reader experiences each and every moment in the lives of the people of Cold Sassy, Georgia. The author vividly brings to life a time in which family comes first. Olive Ann Burns charmingly reveals the colorful story of a family handling the loss of a loved one. She uses the dialect and customs of the Southern people in 1906. The author has created a book so passionate and compelling that all can easily enjoy.
Olive Ann Burns' characters are original and believable. Grandpa Blakeslee, the head of the Blakeslee family, shocks the town by marrying a lady half his age and just three weeks after his wife's death! To make matters worse, his new wife, Miss Love Simpson, is a Yankee. The thoughts, feelings, and actions of each character are so true to nature making each one credible. Grandpa Blakeslee's daughters react to the marriage announcement as most would; Mary Willis cries and Loma furiously pounds her fists. Upset and shocked, the two women are more concerned about what the community of Cold Sassy will say about the elopement than how lonely Grandpa feels. The townspeople behave in a manner befitting most nosy neighbors; they spy on the newlyweds and then spread the gossip. As in most small towns, news travels fast!
The well-developed plot, focusing on the changes that take place in the lives of the Blakeslee family and the small town of Cold Sassy, is inviting and leaves the reader wanting more. The author has the reader believing that he is experiencing each happy, funny, and sad moment in the lives of the inhabitants of Cold Sassy, Georgia. Even the romantic kiss in the cemetery between Will Tweedy and the mill girl, Lightfoot McClendon, is spied by Alice Ann, the town busy body, and heard by the entire town before Will can even make it home! The one flaw in the plot line is that the ending could easily be the beginning of another story. It leaves the reader wondering about the fate of the Blakeslee family. Therefore, Olive Ann Burns has opened the door for a sequel to Cold Sassy Tree.
The story unfolds revealing the feelings of each character as told by the fourteen year old Will Tweedy, Grandpa Blakeslee's grandson. The point of view is honest, emotional, and heartfelt. Being told by the grandson, the reader is introduced to his feelings and perceptions of the characters in the novel. The reader is getting the inside scoop from the watchful eyes and listening ears of a young boy. The story is so persuasive, the reader never wants to put the book down.
Although the story is told in a dialect familiar to the region and some of the words used are not common, the story is convincing and easy to follow. The story, told in the past tense, is a recollection of Will Tweedy's memories. The style is unique and imaginative, picking the reader's interest with each page.
The novel is entertaining causing the reader to experience a realm of emotions. It makes one visualize a time in our country in which the pace was slow and family was important. The charming novel is a masterpiece to be enjoyed by all.
Rating: 5
Summary: Bodacious
Comment: I simply loved this little book---it's full of humor, warmth, and great characters. Olive Ann Burn's use of dialogue and dialect are perfect and lend an air of southern atmosphere to the entire novel. I was reminded at times of Jackson McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood" with its use of humor and darkening tales. Simply wonderful!
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Title: Leaving Cold Sassy: The Unfinished Sequel to Cold Sassy by Olive Ann Burns ISBN: 0385312202 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 01 March, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Spark Notes Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns, Olive Burns ISBN: 1586635069 Publisher: Sparknotes Pub. Date: 01 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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Title:Cold Sassy Tree ASIN: 630158919X Publisher: Warner Studios Pub. Date: 15 January, 1992 List Price(USD): $14.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $14.95 |
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Title: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver ISBN: 0061097314 Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Mama Makes Up Her Mind: And Other Dangers of Southern Living by Bailey White ISBN: 0679751602 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 May, 1994 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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