[URF]∎ Read Cold Sassy Tree Olive Ann Burns 9780385312585 Books

Cold Sassy Tree Olive Ann Burns 9780385312585 Books

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Cold Sassy Tree Olive Ann Burns 9780385312585 Books

It's amazing that this was Olive Ann Burns first and only finished novel (she had the beginnings of a sequel started when she passed away after a fight with cancer) - the novel was a little hard for me to get into at first, but then all of the characters just really came alive through her excellent portrayals. Grandpa Rucker was a formidable character who had a monumental influence in young Will Tweedy's life. Will's thoughts and observations were sometimes humorous and gave a lot of insight into southern life at the turn of the century. This book contains important and relevant observations about race at a difficult time when people in towns across the south did not want anything to change. Love Simpson's inquiry of Will Tweedy about why black people ate on different plates, why they went to the restroom in a different place was met with an incredible attitude of "that's just what they do". This book is timeless and should be on a must read list for anyone interested in the machinations of a family who has lost their matriarch and how the townspeople and that family handle this loss in regard to social, religious and familial ways.


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Cold Sassy Tree Olive Ann Burns 9780385312585 Books Reviews

Such a great story! No sensationalism here, just great storytelling (and excellent writing--a must for me). The dialect and accents are deliciously authentic.It takes great skill to write accent and Burns does it beautifully. I understand that she spent years working to get that part just right, and she was phenomenally successful. I read Earl Hamner's Spencer's Mountain just after reading Cold Sassy Tree and the difference in how dialect was written was striking. His should have been superb, but it fell flat next to Burns'. Quite by accident, my mother and I were reading Cold Sassy Tree at the same time. She was as mesmerized by it as I was. If you like Southern fiction, I think you'll love this book. And you'll be begging for more.
I enjoyed this book but take issue with the representation of the black characters. While the author uses occasional vernacular from the white characters, the narrator says he corrected the language in general. This did not apply to the black characters whose language was caricature when compared to the white characters corrected language.
I loved the story told by a 14 yr old boy and his perception of what was happening in the world around him. The relationship with his grandfather Rucker was so important and special for his life. I found myself feeling envious of the camaraderie found within the community of Cold Sassy Tree even though they had their prejudicial narrow belief systems. The community still had a deep sense of love and commitment for each other. Grandfather Rucker was not only important as grandfather but as a patriarch for the whole community. I was amazed that he was supposed to be old at 54 years old. I guess they figured age different around 1900. Anyway his thinking was progressive for the town and being a leader he was an agent for change whether they (his family and the town) wanted to or not. I enjoyed the book immensely and was sorry it ended.
I'm a ripeness ia all kind of reader and this book called to me when I saw it on the shelf. So I ordered the edition. I have to admit that the first chapter was off-putting. Partly uneven tone. Partly a certain preciousness. But I persisted and the second chapter was better as were the following chapters. I was hooked.

There are occasional difficulties in the author's decision to narrate the book from a first person point of view, that POV being a fourteen year old boy. Two scenes turn on Will Tweedy overhearing highly intimate exchanges between his Gradnfather and the Grandfather's much younger second wife. These do test credulity.

That said the amazing strengths of this novel more than compensate for these lapses. The setting a small town in Georgia in July of 1906; the characterizations; the inventive plotting are simply amazing. Will Tweedy's vernacular use of language is a delight not a distraction.

Humor abounds as does what Henry James called "felt life." I came to care about these people in a way that seldom happens for me. I wonder what they're doing now as if they were people I had known and loved. The only other book that did this for me was The Makioka Sisters.

I finished this book last night. I missed my Pilates class to finish it. That's how good this book is--because I really like Pilates. But I like this book more.
This has been one of my favorite books of all times for many years. I have read the book and heard the book on Audible, as well. The late author is so talented, the print speaks as audibly as the narrator. Both the print and audible edition are delightful to experience.
At a time when we are questioning our reverence for Confederate history, this book brings to light the heart of Confederate humility and loyalty.

This is a story of a young man, Will Tweedy, as he sorts out family values, community prejudices, Christian assumptions, and his hope for the future in a changing society.

Will shares with us his dreams, his pranks, his mourning of a best friend, the loss of his grandmother, his being the first young man in his community to drive an automobile, and his first kiss. Central to Will's life is his Grandfather Blakeslee, who scandalizes the town when he marries a young, pretty woman, three weeks after his wife dies and saying, "Miss Mattie Lou was as dead as she'd ever be."

This book is adroitly written in such diverse ways. The story was captivating. The characters were well developed and lovable. The voice was amazing! I could not have done what this author did. She captured the voice of a young boy becoming a man and used the southern dialect in such a way that I fell into it. Found myself thinking in a "down-south, down-home" way. And yet, with very few exceptions I was able to follow the meaning in sentences without getting lost. I couldn't read as fast as I usual, but I got it. And I loved it.

This book would probably mean more to you if you are a Christian, but it's so great, I think you would love it even if you were not.
It's amazing that this was Olive Ann Burns first and only finished novel (she had the beginnings of a sequel started when she passed away after a fight with cancer) - the novel was a little hard for me to get into at first, but then all of the characters just really came alive through her excellent portrayals. Grandpa Rucker was a formidable character who had a monumental influence in young Will Tweedy's life. Will's thoughts and observations were sometimes humorous and gave a lot of insight into southern life at the turn of the century. This book contains important and relevant observations about race at a difficult time when people in towns across the south did not want anything to change. Love Simpson's inquiry of Will Tweedy about why black people ate on different plates, why they went to the restroom in a different place was met with an incredible attitude of "that's just what they do". This book is timeless and should be on a must read list for anyone interested in the machinations of a family who has lost their matriarch and how the townspeople and that family handle this loss in regard to social, religious and familial ways.