marcopoloreads's review against another edition
3.0
Cold Sassy Tree is a book that takes place in a town called Cold Sassy in the early 1900s. Our main character Will Tweety is caught off guard when his grandfather E. Rucker Blakeslee has decided to get remarried to Love Simpson three weeks after the death of his wife. Will somehow finds himself getting sucked into the drama of their marriage, and is unsure of what to do.
I was surprised by the relationship between E. Rucker Blakeslee and Love Simpson, it was a really sweet romance and I liked seeing the relationship through Wills point of view. The drama to it all was really entertaining, and I also enjoyed the family relationships in this book and seeing it change over time.
This book starts to fall apart once it starts to go on about religion. If you're a religious person who enjoys some familial drama and are looking for a book that takes place in the 1900s south, then this is the book for you. If not, get ready to be really bored by the constant talk of religion. This book goes on and on about religion, especially near the end, and if I didn't listen to this on audio I would have DNF'ed it.
I think this would be a fun book for people who enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, just be wary that the book drags at times.
I was surprised by the relationship between E. Rucker Blakeslee and Love Simpson, it was a really sweet romance and I liked seeing the relationship through Wills point of view. The drama to it all was really entertaining, and I also enjoyed the family relationships in this book and seeing it change over time.
This book starts to fall apart once it starts to go on about religion. If you're a religious person who enjoys some familial drama and are looking for a book that takes place in the 1900s south, then this is the book for you. If not, get ready to be really bored by the constant talk of religion. This book goes on and on about religion, especially near the end, and if I didn't listen to this on audio I would have DNF'ed it.
I think this would be a fun book for people who enjoyed The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, just be wary that the book drags at times.
cbeezy1995's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mjsteimle's review against another edition
3.0
Real, familiar, interesting, and entertaining without being overly dramatic.
cher_n_books's review against another edition
1.0
1 star - I really hated it.
A long, boring soap opera about small minded, judgmental, gossipy people in a backwoods town that specializes in making a full blown scandal over every petty incident. It includes something for everyone: racism, sexism, chauvinism, religious prejudice, and "yankeeism". It is like an all you can read buffet of ignorance.
But there's something for the romantics too! A charming love story about a vile old adulterer, whom after lusting for years after a woman young enough to be his daughter, he finally marries her three short weeks after he buries his wife of decades. (Well he had to move fast in case "someone else got her first").
Thankfully I read this one via the audiobook version as it would have been an even slower and more painful read otherwise due to the thick southern vernacular:
If’n you’d a-got kilt, it’d mean you jest didn’t move fast enough, like a rabbit that gits caught by a hound dog.
Ain't the best prayin' jest bein' with God and talkin' a while, like He's a good friend, stead a-like he runs a store and you've come in a-hopin' to git a bargain?
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Favorite Quote: To mourn is to be eaten alive with homesickness for the person.
First Sentences: Three weeks after Granny Blakeslee died, Grandpa came to our house for his early morning snort of whiskey, as usual, and said to me, "Will Tweedy? Go find yore mama, then run up to yore Aunt Loma's and tell her I said git on down here."
A long, boring soap opera about small minded, judgmental, gossipy people in a backwoods town that specializes in making a full blown scandal over every petty incident. It includes something for everyone: racism, sexism, chauvinism, religious prejudice, and "yankeeism". It is like an all you can read buffet of ignorance.
But there's something for the romantics too! A charming love story about a vile old adulterer, whom after lusting for years after a woman young enough to be his daughter, he finally marries her three short weeks after he buries his wife of decades. (Well he had to move fast in case "someone else got her first").
Thankfully I read this one via the audiobook version as it would have been an even slower and more painful read otherwise due to the thick southern vernacular:
If’n you’d a-got kilt, it’d mean you jest didn’t move fast enough, like a rabbit that gits caught by a hound dog.
Ain't the best prayin' jest bein' with God and talkin' a while, like He's a good friend, stead a-like he runs a store and you've come in a-hopin' to git a bargain?
-------------------------------------------
Favorite Quote: To mourn is to be eaten alive with homesickness for the person.
First Sentences: Three weeks after Granny Blakeslee died, Grandpa came to our house for his early morning snort of whiskey, as usual, and said to me, "Will Tweedy? Go find yore mama, then run up to yore Aunt Loma's and tell her I said git on down here."
sarahunsaker's review against another edition
2.0
Had a very hard time getting into this. Finally at the half point I had to put it down and move on.
grazanne's review against another edition
5.0
Written 5/2000: Set in a small Southern town in 1906. About a boy and his grandfather finding themselves and finding their family. Also shows the importance of doing what you want instead of worrying what others are going to think.
kristinamskinner's review against another edition
2.0
Blah.
I couldn't stand most of the characters!
It had some cute anecdotes and monologues about faith that I liked. That's about it.
I couldn't stand most of the characters!
It had some cute anecdotes and monologues about faith that I liked. That's about it.
bethgiven's review against another edition
3.0
So this book took me weeks to finish. I think that's saying more about my priorities lately than the book, though, because every time I picked it up I rather liked the story that was told.
The story is a simple one, focusing more on the quirky characters than any real plot. But I like those kind of books, especially when they're well done, like this is. The voice is just perfect; I loved reading the southern colloquialisms that really brought the dialogue to life. And the characters were distinct and fun to read about.
One of the themes I really liked was the gossipy nature of this small town. Everybody was set on judging everyone else, and sometimes the actions of those who didn't fit the mold were an embarrassment to those who did. The climax on this issue came about 2/3 of the way through the book through the offhanded comment from Aunt Carrie, a character so minor she really only had two scenes. But is caused Will to reflect:
"I knew Mama and them were shocked at Aunt Carrie, but she made sense to me. Long as you didn't hurt anybody, why shouldn't you dance if you liked dancing, and marry again if you needed looking after, and go fishing or wear a flowerdy dress if it might lift your grief a little?" (p. 255)
The other theme I liked: the ties of family to one another. The bond between grandfather and grandson was especially nice, and I also enjoyed the changing relationship of Will and his aunt Loma (which bordered on sibling rivalry since they were only five or six years apart).
There was a few mildly sordid scenes toward the end of the book that I found a little uncomfortable -- though I think I was bothered more by the fact that a fourteen-year-old boy was the one overhearing, the one witnessing, the one revealing it to the reader. And when I reached the end of the book, I'm not sure whether the ending was entirely satisfactory (it's not exactly "happy").
But still, on the whole I liked this novel. Worth reading.
The story is a simple one, focusing more on the quirky characters than any real plot. But I like those kind of books, especially when they're well done, like this is. The voice is just perfect; I loved reading the southern colloquialisms that really brought the dialogue to life. And the characters were distinct and fun to read about.
One of the themes I really liked was the gossipy nature of this small town. Everybody was set on judging everyone else, and sometimes the actions of those who didn't fit the mold were an embarrassment to those who did. The climax on this issue came about 2/3 of the way through the book through the offhanded comment from Aunt Carrie, a character so minor she really only had two scenes. But is caused Will to reflect:
"I knew Mama and them were shocked at Aunt Carrie, but she made sense to me. Long as you didn't hurt anybody, why shouldn't you dance if you liked dancing, and marry again if you needed looking after, and go fishing or wear a flowerdy dress if it might lift your grief a little?" (p. 255)
The other theme I liked: the ties of family to one another. The bond between grandfather and grandson was especially nice, and I also enjoyed the changing relationship of Will and his aunt Loma (which bordered on sibling rivalry since they were only five or six years apart).
There was a few mildly sordid scenes toward the end of the book that I found a little uncomfortable -- though I think I was bothered more by the fact that a fourteen-year-old boy was the one overhearing, the one witnessing, the one revealing it to the reader. And when I reached the end of the book, I'm not sure whether the ending was entirely satisfactory (it's not exactly "happy").
But still, on the whole I liked this novel. Worth reading.
cosmicbookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Olive Ann Burns is an excellent story teller. Told from the eyes of a young teenager we learn about the good, the bad and the ugly of life in a small rural southern community. Filled with gossip, bigotry, hypocrisy and contempt for those who are different. We see how people let difficulties ruin their lives or how they rise above them. An interesting look at human nature and the early 1900's in southern US. We see the difference between people who choose to try to understand the experience of others and appreciate life and those who let bitterness destroy their lives and those around them.
judyward's review against another edition
4.0
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 his two daughters, but Miss Love Simpson is half the age of her groom and almost a Yankee--she was raised in Baltimore, Maryland. During the next year, Will Tweedy is one of the only residents of Cold Sassy who approves of the marriage and the reader sees the relationship from his viewpoint. Will Tweedy also grows up a lot during the year chronicled--he was run over by a train, had his first kiss, learned to drive a car, and learned a lot about life, religion, social class, and prejudice. A charming coming of age story that should appeal to all readers.