[.ca] Cold Sassy Tree (ISBN 0899193099)

Warm sassy surprise....:
I had been on a terrible dry spell for about a year in my book choices. Everything I opened was crap. This book was recommended to me by a family memeber. Considering the luck I was having, I didn't have any real high expectations. So, what a pleasant surprise when it turned out I LOVED this story! This is a story about a 14 year-old boy living in small-town south at the turn of the century. Though I know she wasn't old enough, I'd swear Burns lived this story; she was that descriptive. I really got the feel of the small town southern town and living. The boy had very strict, deeply religious, well-intentioned parents. The boy got plenty of comic relief from other family members, friends,busy-body neighbors, and most of all, a goofy Grandfather. Grandpa gets married three weeks after Grandma dies to a young "northerner," and becomes the scandle of the town. You think the motives for this whirlwind marriage are clear until the very end, and it's a fun journey getting there. I even had a tough time trying to decide if I liked this couple all of the way through this story, which made it a page turner for me. The family interactions are a little over the top. I wondered more than once who really talked this way? And there were a couple of narratives by the boy done while he was spying on Grandpa and his wife that I thought were down-right creepy. But all-and-all, it was an enjoyable, fun read. And possibly the best part of all of this is, my dry spell is over. Along with this one, I've been reading some darn good books lately!

Boy howdy, I loved it:
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.

Unimaginative:
As a lover of books, I began reading this book with great expectations. However, I found the story noncompelling, the writing unimaginative, and the characters uninteresting. I must confess I do not understand the nationwide obsession. I have read far better glimpses into small-town Southern life.

Bodacious:
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!

A very enjoyable read:
I had a hard time getting into this book the first time I picked it up but when I picked it up (quite a while) later I couldn't put it down. I found myself hungry for more when I was done. I liked Cold Sassy Tree so much I'm avoiding "Leaving Cold Sassy" (the author's last book before she died). I don't want to leave Cold Sassy! This is a warm, humorous, southern-charm story about growing up and sticking to your guns despite what the people of a small southern town might think, with interesting, unexpected twists among characters you become very fond of. An older man wanting to marry a young, beautiful woman three weeks after his wife dies is pretty scandalous for a small "proper" southern town. I entered the story with certain preconcieved notions about the characters and motives and was pleasantly entertained while the characters and plot developed into unexpected places. A good, quick, warm read.