Status
Available
Series
Publication
Laurel (1986), Edition: 1st, Paperback, 391 pages
Description
Modern times come to a conservative Southern town in 1906 when the proprietor of the general store elopes with a woman half his age, and worse yet, a Yankee. The one thing you can depend on in Cold Sassy, Georgia, is that word gets around - fast. When Grandpa E. Rucker Blakeslee announces one July morning in 1906 that he's aiming to marry the young and freckledy milliner, Miss Love Simpson - a bare three weeks after Granny Blakeslee has gone to her reward - the news is served up all over town with that afternoon's dinner. And young Will Tweedy suddenly finds himself eyewitness to a major scandal. Boggled by the sheer audacity of it all, and not a little jealous of his grandpa's new wife, Will nevertheless approves of this May-December match and follows its progress with just a smidgen of youthful prurience. As the newlyweds' chaperon, conspirator, and confidant, Will is privy to his one-armed, renegade grandfather's second adolescence; meanwhile, he does some growing up of his own. He gets run over by a train and lives to tell about it; he kisses his first girl, and survives that too. Olive Ann Burns has given us a timeless, funny, resplendent novel - about a romance that rocks an entire town, about a boy's passage through the momentous but elusive year when childhood melts into adolescence, and about just how people lived and died in a small Southern town at the turn of the century. Inhabited by characters who are wise and loony, unimpeachably pious and deliciously irreverent, Cold Sassy, Georgia, is the perfect setting for the debut of a storyteller of rare brio, exuberance, and style.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member chrissie3
2 stars
Do you enjoy a sweet story? Are you a religious person with deep faith? Do you enjoy books set in the South at the turn of the century? Then this book is probably a good choice for you.
My own response to the two first questions is not affirmative, and that is why I cannot give it more than
This is not only a coming-of-age story, but also a story of how it is to grow old. How do you deal with that? Will is the central character. He tells the story about is grandfather and what he did when his grandmother died. Yup, he got married again, three weeks after her death! Now this is darn-right scandalous! What will people think?! But the question is why, and you learn the real answer to that throughout the rest of the book. Is Will the main character? Or is it his grandfather?Are the grandfather’s actions and the way he chose to live his life and his behavior towards all those around him that is the central focus of this book? I know what I think. I also know that it drove me crazy that everyone was most concerned with what other folks would say.
But you know what is right and what is wrong, and we all do when it comes down to the basics, so the book’s message is rather simple. Maybe you like uncomplicated feel-good stories. There are hypocrites galore in this book. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but I will add that there is at least one that isn’t a hypocrite.
There must be some suspense in a book, right? Well, a few bombs are thrown in, but are they adequately explored? Or are they just thrown in for the effect? Miss Love’s rape and Uncle Campbell’s suicide.
OK, I have something really good to say about the book….. Well, at least the audiobook narrated by Tom Parker. The narration is excellent. You know immediately who is talking simply by the tone. Will never sounds like his grandfather. The women are prefect too. And Loomis, the black servant, he speaks just as he should. It is not hard at all to understand the Southern dialect.
Just one more thing…. I have read reviews that compare this book to Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”. One should never compare one book to another. No two books are ever the same in content or how they are written. Stupid me; I was thinking perhaps I would get another of Lee’s, and that hope made me so mad when it wasn’t fulfilled. I should have known better.
Completed July 13, 2013
Do you enjoy a sweet story? Are you a religious person with deep faith? Do you enjoy books set in the South at the turn of the century? Then this book is probably a good choice for you.
My own response to the two first questions is not affirmative, and that is why I cannot give it more than
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two stars. No, it is not a bad book. It is fine, it’s OK………if a bit boring. Although it gives a pretty good depiction of small town life in Georgia, it says nothing about racial inequities which of course still remained after the Civil War. The whites certainly don’t see their black servants as their equals but they are not cruel. White Trash on the other hand are looked down upon, and many of the new inventions of that era are interwoven into the plot – cars, telephones, house plumbing and electricity. But it is all so cute. This is not only a coming-of-age story, but also a story of how it is to grow old. How do you deal with that? Will is the central character. He tells the story about is grandfather and what he did when his grandmother died. Yup, he got married again, three weeks after her death! Now this is darn-right scandalous! What will people think?! But the question is why, and you learn the real answer to that throughout the rest of the book. Is Will the main character? Or is it his grandfather?Are the grandfather’s actions and the way he chose to live his life and his behavior towards all those around him that is the central focus of this book? I know what I think. I also know that it drove me crazy that everyone was most concerned with what other folks would say.
But you know what is right and what is wrong, and we all do when it comes down to the basics, so the book’s message is rather simple. Maybe you like uncomplicated feel-good stories. There are hypocrites galore in this book. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but I will add that there is at least one that isn’t a hypocrite.
There must be some suspense in a book, right? Well, a few bombs are thrown in, but are they adequately explored? Or are they just thrown in for the effect?
OK, I have something really good to say about the book….. Well, at least the audiobook narrated by Tom Parker. The narration is excellent. You know immediately who is talking simply by the tone. Will never sounds like his grandfather. The women are prefect too. And Loomis, the black servant, he speaks just as he should. It is not hard at all to understand the Southern dialect.
Just one more thing…. I have read reviews that compare this book to Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”. One should never compare one book to another. No two books are ever the same in content or how they are written. Stupid me; I was thinking perhaps I would get another of Lee’s, and that hope made me so mad when it wasn’t fulfilled. I should have known better.
Completed July 13, 2013
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LibraryThing member mrstreme
Like old men at the checkboard, Olive Ann Burns spins a wonderful yarn in her book, Cold Sassy Tree. Told from the perspective of Will Tweedy, a teenager in the fictional town of Cold Sassy, Georgia, during the early 1900’s, Cold Sassy Tree is a marvelous snapshot of small-town Southern life
The story revolves around Will’s grandfather and his sudden marriage to a Yankee woman (Miss Love) three weeks after his wife’s death. In a town where anyone’s business is everyone’s business, this turn of events was nothing short of scandalous. Men and women were expected to properly mourn their spouses’ deaths – and remarriage to a “God fersaken” Yankee just added salt to the wound. In addition to her Yankee roots, Miss Love was a suffragette, an “old maid” and tradeswoman – in short, the exact opposite of a genteel Southern woman.
Did Will’s granddaddy marry Miss Love because he wanted a housekeeper (as they told everyone), or did he love this woman before his wife even set foot into the grave? Cold Sassy was awhirl with gossip, and through Will’s eyes, this story is delightful and entertaining.
I attended college in Macon, Georgia, and many of my classmates were from small towns like Cold Sassy. I often went home with these young women and was exposed to the small-town life of many Georgia places such as Thomaston, Tifton, Barnesville and Lovejoy. “God’s honest truth,” I attended the Chitlin Hoedown in Yatesville and looked upon a Confederate War memorial in more than one town square. I watched young men around a campfire in their re-enactment Confederate uniforms and added “bless her heart” and “ya’ll” to my vocabulary. Back then and now, I am fascinated with this culture, which is why I enjoyed this novel so much.
Reading Cold Sassy Tree evoked such wonderful memories of my younger years – and the trip down memory lane was certainly worth the short time I spent reading this book. Lovers of Southern humor and popular fiction will enjoy Cold Sassy Tree. Furthermore, I am looking forward to reading its incomplete sequel, Leaving Cold Sassy, written while Burns was on her deathbed and published posthumously. I am sure it will be as quaint and representative of Georgia life as its predecessor.
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during the turn of the century.The story revolves around Will’s grandfather and his sudden marriage to a Yankee woman (Miss Love) three weeks after his wife’s death. In a town where anyone’s business is everyone’s business, this turn of events was nothing short of scandalous. Men and women were expected to properly mourn their spouses’ deaths – and remarriage to a “God fersaken” Yankee just added salt to the wound. In addition to her Yankee roots, Miss Love was a suffragette, an “old maid” and tradeswoman – in short, the exact opposite of a genteel Southern woman.
Did Will’s granddaddy marry Miss Love because he wanted a housekeeper (as they told everyone), or did he love this woman before his wife even set foot into the grave? Cold Sassy was awhirl with gossip, and through Will’s eyes, this story is delightful and entertaining.
I attended college in Macon, Georgia, and many of my classmates were from small towns like Cold Sassy. I often went home with these young women and was exposed to the small-town life of many Georgia places such as Thomaston, Tifton, Barnesville and Lovejoy. “God’s honest truth,” I attended the Chitlin Hoedown in Yatesville and looked upon a Confederate War memorial in more than one town square. I watched young men around a campfire in their re-enactment Confederate uniforms and added “bless her heart” and “ya’ll” to my vocabulary. Back then and now, I am fascinated with this culture, which is why I enjoyed this novel so much.
Reading Cold Sassy Tree evoked such wonderful memories of my younger years – and the trip down memory lane was certainly worth the short time I spent reading this book. Lovers of Southern humor and popular fiction will enjoy Cold Sassy Tree. Furthermore, I am looking forward to reading its incomplete sequel, Leaving Cold Sassy, written while Burns was on her deathbed and published posthumously. I am sure it will be as quaint and representative of Georgia life as its predecessor.
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LibraryThing member drsyko
This is a beautifully written book. The story is moving and sensitive. The characters are well-developed and you care about them. The plot is interesting and the pace is quick without being rushed. This book is well-worth your time.
LibraryThing member wispywillow
It took me a while to finally get around to this. I bought it at a library book sale after a complete stranger pointed it out and recommended it to me.
The narrator, Will Tweedy, is 8 kinds of adorable. He somehow keeps the story light-hearted and fun even though there are several deaths throughout
Books like this have made me more and more fond of first-person point-of-view. When it's done only so-so, to me it is worse even than a so-so third-person p.o.v. book; but when 1st person is done well, such as in this book, it can pull you into a character and story more than its 3rd-person counterpart. That, at least, has been my experience.
If you like stories of Southern charm, small-town quirks, and pre-WW1 life, you'll probably enjoy this book.
The narrator, Will Tweedy, is 8 kinds of adorable. He somehow keeps the story light-hearted and fun even though there are several deaths throughout
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the story. The grandfather is also quite awesome, as is Miss Love. In fact, the little town itself seems to be a character in its own right, which is good since the novel is named after it.Books like this have made me more and more fond of first-person point-of-view. When it's done only so-so, to me it is worse even than a so-so third-person p.o.v. book; but when 1st person is done well, such as in this book, it can pull you into a character and story more than its 3rd-person counterpart. That, at least, has been my experience.
If you like stories of Southern charm, small-town quirks, and pre-WW1 life, you'll probably enjoy this book.
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LibraryThing member fingerpost
One of the "Southernest" Southern Fiction books I've ever read. It's a rambling sort of book. It doesn't tell one story, but a number of them, weaving in and out of each other. Because of this, even when it's at its best, the book doesn't propel the reader to the next chapter, because as often as
Will Tweedy is narrating the tale, telling about approximately one year, back when he was 14 years old, living in Cold Sassy, Georgia, in 1906. The central character of the book is Will's belligerent, demanding, outlandish, grandfather, who marries a woman who works in his store a few weeks after the death of his first wife. The scandal shocks the town and horrifies Will's mother, and his Aunt Loma. And that sets the first ball rolling for all that is yet to come. There are far too many little tales to mention them in a brief review. I would have liked to have gotten to know Lightfoot McClendon a little better though.
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not, the next chapter will totally change the subject. As such, it took me a while to plug through it, even though I mostly enjoyed it.Will Tweedy is narrating the tale, telling about approximately one year, back when he was 14 years old, living in Cold Sassy, Georgia, in 1906. The central character of the book is Will's belligerent, demanding, outlandish, grandfather, who marries a woman who works in his store a few weeks after the death of his first wife. The scandal shocks the town and horrifies Will's mother, and his Aunt Loma. And that sets the first ball rolling for all that is yet to come. There are far too many little tales to mention them in a brief review. I would have liked to have gotten to know Lightfoot McClendon a little better though.
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LibraryThing member Meladylo
Read this years ago, but just re-read while listening to the audio. The story was so enriched because of the Southern accent.
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
This is often described as a coming of age novel, and is billed as young adult lit. It is actually a very sensitively written story set in Cold Sassy Georgia in 1906 and 1907. It is as appealing to adults as to highschoolers. The main character E. Rucker Blakesly scandalizes the town by marrying
Told from the viewpoint of his grandson, Will Tweedy, we see how the young second wife Love Simpson is shunned by Blakesly's two grown daughters Looma and Mary Willis, and how young Will is taken into Love's confidence when she claims that she is only a housekeeper to his grandpa, and it is a marriage in name only.
As time passes, we see southern culture at its best and worst. The townsfolk are given ample opportunity for greatness and meanness. Grandpa opens a car dealership in addition to his general store, Will Tweedy learns to drive, and discovers he is attracted to girls. Olive Ann Burns gives us a loving picture of small town life, and leads us through an exquisite story of love, forgiveness and hope.
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the milliner who works in his general store a scant three weeks after burying his first wife Miss Mattie Lou. Told from the viewpoint of his grandson, Will Tweedy, we see how the young second wife Love Simpson is shunned by Blakesly's two grown daughters Looma and Mary Willis, and how young Will is taken into Love's confidence when she claims that she is only a housekeeper to his grandpa, and it is a marriage in name only.
As time passes, we see southern culture at its best and worst. The townsfolk are given ample opportunity for greatness and meanness. Grandpa opens a car dealership in addition to his general store, Will Tweedy learns to drive, and discovers he is attracted to girls. Olive Ann Burns gives us a loving picture of small town life, and leads us through an exquisite story of love, forgiveness and hope.
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LibraryThing member madamejeanie
The writing style is reminiscent of "To Kill a
Mockingbird" and it is a sheer delight to read. Yes, it is written in
dialect, exactly the way people talked in that place and time, but it was
familiar to my tongue and ear and I really enjoyed it. It was almost like
listening to my grandmother speak
it at booksfree because I had all but forgotten about it and it was more
than worth a re-visit. It gets a full five stars because it's a good'n.
Mockingbird" and it is a sheer delight to read. Yes, it is written in
dialect, exactly the way people talked in that place and time, but it was
familiar to my tongue and ear and I really enjoyed it. It was almost like
listening to my grandmother speak
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again. I'm really glad I stumbled across it at booksfree because I had all but forgotten about it and it was more
than worth a re-visit. It gets a full five stars because it's a good'n.
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LibraryThing member BONS
This book starts out in 1906 in a very rural, southern town in Georgia. It is a portrait of small town life that I was not anxious to read but found myself enjoying greatly. It is told by Will a 14 year old and it is mostly of his family and the ever gossiping, judgemental folks of "Cold Sassy
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Tree" and how Will's grandpa managed to live in Cold Sassy. Show Less
LibraryThing member bnbookgirl
absolutely love this book. One of my top 10.
LibraryThing member RMLBookDiscussion
This was book drew probably the biggest group we ever had. Several people came because this was their favorite book. We never saw many of them again!
Good discussion.
Good discussion.
LibraryThing member ahooper04
Enjoyable from what I remember from my freshman year of high school.
LibraryThing member melydia
Will Tweedy was 14 years old and living in Cold Sassy, Georgia, in the summer of 1906 when his grandpa came home one day to announce he was marrying a woman half his age, not three weeks after the death of his first wife, Will's grandmother. The town, of course, is scandalized, and continues to be
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so as the story wears on. This is more of a "slice of life" depiction than much of a story - the author starts with a setting (the town of Cold Sassy) and a premise (Grandpa's new bride), and meanders through clever little anecdotes and asides for a while until the author decides it's time to end the story and starts killing off characters. This is not a bad story, just a fairly standard one. I don't have very strong feelings about it either way. The constant backcountry dialect got kind of old, but I feel that way about all books narrated in dialect so that's not exactly serious criticism. On the other hand, I could hear all the characters in my head with no problem. In the end, if you like this era of historical fiction, you'll enjoy the feeling of living in Cold Sassy; if you prefer more plot-driven stories where everything happens for a reason, you might want to skip this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member cestovatela
A fun and funny little book about a family and a town's adjustment to a respected widower's flashy younger wife. It's not particularly special, but entertaining and poignant at times. Good if you're looking for a quick read with a little bit of substance.
LibraryThing member CatieN
Cold Sassy is a small town in Georgia. The story is set in 1906. Bible-thumping and segregation are a given. The story is told in Will's voice. Will is 14, a hard-worker, loves his family (except for Aunt Loma and especially his grandparents). His Granny has just died, and things are grim. The
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family has to be in mourning for a year. Grandpa Blakeslee throws that tradition into the collective face of the townspeople and elopes with the milliner at his store, Love Simpson, three weeks after his wife's death. This is a story of small-town Southern life, seemingly simple but there is always more than meets the eye. The voices are authentic, with original characters, and Will is a charming and honest narrarator. Very enjoyable read. Show Less
LibraryThing member pictou
Good southern literature.
LibraryThing member shejake
An enjoyable read of small southern town lives. The culture of love and respect that was portrayed is sadly neglected in this day and age.
LibraryThing member speedy74
Written through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old boy, I found this book to be very entertaining. Shortly after his grandmother's death, Will finds out that his Grandfather, defiant of all local custom, has decided to remarry his younger, single employee. While the whole town gossips about the new
At times, I felt that the narrator’s voice did not ring true for a fourteen-year-old boy, but I was willing to set that aside as I read, much as one does while viewing an unbelievable part of an action packed movie. I almost laughed out loud while reading this novel and thinking about small town life and human nature. While set in the south, one certainly doesn’t have to be an aficionado of southern literature to enjoy this book!
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arrangement, Will has an insider’s view of his grandfather’s new marriage and finds that his loyalties to his mother, local custom, his grandfather and the new wife are tested. At times, I felt that the narrator’s voice did not ring true for a fourteen-year-old boy, but I was willing to set that aside as I read, much as one does while viewing an unbelievable part of an action packed movie. I almost laughed out loud while reading this novel and thinking about small town life and human nature. While set in the south, one certainly doesn’t have to be an aficionado of southern literature to enjoy this book!
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LibraryThing member Spiceca
To start off with- this is not my preferred genre for novels. With that out of the way - I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has the qualities of a classic and I'm sure will endure as such.
This novel deal with many different topics and does so with a bit of humor, truth-isms, emotions and gossip. It
I heartily recommend this one if you enjoy a historical fiction of southern life...and even if you don't. I felt this book really does have something for everyone and you will find a character to relate to - I know I did.
This novel deal with many different topics and does so with a bit of humor, truth-isms, emotions and gossip. It
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has a great pace and the story just draws the reader is as it progresses. There are aspects of love, loss, maturity, class and race differences and the nuances of a small town. I heartily recommend this one if you enjoy a historical fiction of southern life...and even if you don't. I felt this book really does have something for everyone and you will find a character to relate to - I know I did.
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LibraryThing member busyreadin
An okay read, just didn't see the point to it. I kept waiting for something definitive to happen, and then I was done with the book.
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
Blurbs for the book claimed it was "better than To Kill a Mockingbird and reminiscent of Alice Walker. I can't agree with either remark, although I did love this book and rated it a five. But not all fives are created equal. I recently reread To Kill a Mockingbird and that one is a classic on a
The story is told by Will Tweedy, who eight years later looks back to 1906 when he was fourteen years old and his grandfather, Enoch Rucker Blakeslee scandalized the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia by eloping with Miss Love Simpson--a woman young enough to be his daughter. Only three weeks after his wife died. And she's a suffragette. And a Yankee! Will may be the narrator, but his grandfather definitely is the heart of this tale. A Civil War veteran and owner of the town general store he's definitely one of the more memorable fictional characters I've encountered. And the young naive first person voice of Will and the setting of a small Southern town might remind some of Scout of To Kill a Mockingbird. Some blurbers even compared him to Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
The books mentioned above though all have pretty sharp social critiques, especially concerning racism. In Cold Sassy Tree there's really only one pointed passage on racial matters--coming from Miss Simpson, the one outsider. This isn't concerned with such weighty matters but is a rather gentle, nostalgic coming of age tale and mostly light in tone despite one dark secret. It has more than its share of humor, the funniest scenes I thought dealing with the first automobiles ever to hit Cold Sassy. Even if it's not a deathless classic, it's still an engrossing, charming read with unforgettable characters and a great portrait of its time and place.
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whole other level. The only Alice Walker novel I've read is The Color Purple. Some aspects of how Burns conveyed the Southern American dialect was reminiscent, as was the iconoclastic spirituality, although I don't feel it's as intense or original as Walker's epistolary novel. The story is told by Will Tweedy, who eight years later looks back to 1906 when he was fourteen years old and his grandfather, Enoch Rucker Blakeslee scandalized the small town of Cold Sassy, Georgia by eloping with Miss Love Simpson--a woman young enough to be his daughter. Only three weeks after his wife died. And she's a suffragette. And a Yankee! Will may be the narrator, but his grandfather definitely is the heart of this tale. A Civil War veteran and owner of the town general store he's definitely one of the more memorable fictional characters I've encountered. And the young naive first person voice of Will and the setting of a small Southern town might remind some of Scout of To Kill a Mockingbird. Some blurbers even compared him to Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
The books mentioned above though all have pretty sharp social critiques, especially concerning racism. In Cold Sassy Tree there's really only one pointed passage on racial matters--coming from Miss Simpson, the one outsider. This isn't concerned with such weighty matters but is a rather gentle, nostalgic coming of age tale and mostly light in tone despite one dark secret. It has more than its share of humor, the funniest scenes I thought dealing with the first automobiles ever to hit Cold Sassy. Even if it's not a deathless classic, it's still an engrossing, charming read with unforgettable characters and a great portrait of its time and place.
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LibraryThing member Kathryn.Roach
Set in what is now, Commerce, Ga. A coming of age story about a young man and his relationship with his Grandfather and family...Love this book.
LibraryThing member susiesharp
I really enjoyed this book! It was told by Will Tweedy remembering his 14 year old self and all that went on during that time including his granny death and his granddaddy remarrying very soon after, which started the biddies to talking, because Miss Love is much younger than granddaddy. But there
This is a very southern novel and the writing plops you right down into the summer of 1906 when the first automobiles are making their appearance. I love Will’s granddaddy he is quite a character. This book will make you laugh and make you cry, it is a coming of age story but so much more because it is not just a story of Will’s family but about the whole town of Cold Sassy.
I highly recommend listening to this book on audio Tom Parker’s narration is wonderful he really brought this book to life for me!
I know I’m not doing this justice I did really love it and recommend this to all southern fiction lovers and if you aren’t a fan of southern fiction give this one a try it just might convert you!
4 1/2 Stars
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was more to this relationship than anyone in Cold Sassy would ever know, that is except Will he is closest to his granddaddy and sees this relationship different than anyone else.This is a very southern novel and the writing plops you right down into the summer of 1906 when the first automobiles are making their appearance. I love Will’s granddaddy he is quite a character. This book will make you laugh and make you cry, it is a coming of age story but so much more because it is not just a story of Will’s family but about the whole town of Cold Sassy.
I highly recommend listening to this book on audio Tom Parker’s narration is wonderful he really brought this book to life for me!
I know I’m not doing this justice I did really love it and recommend this to all southern fiction lovers and if you aren’t a fan of southern fiction give this one a try it just might convert you!
4 1/2 Stars
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LibraryThing member librarygeek33
This was a great read, kind of like Fanny Flagg meets Mark Twain.
LibraryThing member bookworm12
It’s 1906 and Will Tweedy, a 14-year-old boy in a small Georgia town, tells us stories about his family. His tales mainly focus on this stubborn grandfather Rucker Blakeslee, who decides to remarry a very young woman only three weeks after his wife dies.
His adult daughters are scandalized and
The book focuses on Will’s whole family, from his bossy Aunt Loma to his quiet, devoted father Hoyt. It’s written almost like a collection of short stories, weaving from one adventure to the next. The chapter that takes place on a train trestle was so intense it had a heart racing! I also loved the scenes with the Rucker and his wife Mattie Lou before she died. He’s a tough old bird, but when it comes to love he’s a complete softie.
The point-of-view did remind me of To Kill a Mockingbird, not just because it’s a child of a similar age, but also because it's set during a similar time period in the south. There's an observational honesty that comes from choosing a narrator like that. The story never reaches the same depth as To Kill a Mockingbird, but it has a similar tone.
BOTTOM LINE: I really loved reading about Will’s adventures and I was surprised and touched by the serious tone the book took on towards the end. I’d highly recommend this one for anyone who enjoys coming-of-age stories, turn-of-the-century fiction or Southern novels.
“To me they were like a book, a book with the last chapter missing. And I couldn’t wait to know how it ended.”
“To mourn is not the same as to be in mourning, which means wearing a black armband and sitting in the parlor talking to people who call on the bereaved. At first you feel important, the armband makes you special like having on a badge, but after a day or two it stops meaning anything. But to mourn, that’s different. To mourn is to be eaten alive with homesickness for the person.”
“My mother always said, ‘Never expect church members to be perfect, Christians are still people.’”
His adult daughters are scandalized and
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the town of Cold Sassy is shocked. Rucker’s new wife, Miss Love Simpson, is a strong woman, but she still wants to be accepted by the traditional town. Rucker runs the local grocery store, so everyone in town knows his business. The novel captures the core of small town life. Everything you do is under a microscope and people are so concerned about what their nosy neighbors will think of their every decision.The book focuses on Will’s whole family, from his bossy Aunt Loma to his quiet, devoted father Hoyt. It’s written almost like a collection of short stories, weaving from one adventure to the next. The chapter that takes place on a train trestle was so intense it had a heart racing! I also loved the scenes with the Rucker and his wife Mattie Lou before she died. He’s a tough old bird, but when it comes to love he’s a complete softie.
The point-of-view did remind me of To Kill a Mockingbird, not just because it’s a child of a similar age, but also because it's set during a similar time period in the south. There's an observational honesty that comes from choosing a narrator like that. The story never reaches the same depth as To Kill a Mockingbird, but it has a similar tone.
BOTTOM LINE: I really loved reading about Will’s adventures and I was surprised and touched by the serious tone the book took on towards the end. I’d highly recommend this one for anyone who enjoys coming-of-age stories, turn-of-the-century fiction or Southern novels.
“To me they were like a book, a book with the last chapter missing. And I couldn’t wait to know how it ended.”
“To mourn is not the same as to be in mourning, which means wearing a black armband and sitting in the parlor talking to people who call on the bereaved. At first you feel important, the armband makes you special like having on a badge, but after a day or two it stops meaning anything. But to mourn, that’s different. To mourn is to be eaten alive with homesickness for the person.”
“My mother always said, ‘Never expect church members to be perfect, Christians are still people.’”
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Subjects
Awards
Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award (Nominee — 2000)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 1985)
Georgia Top 25 Reading List (2002)
Language
Original publication date
1984
Physical description
391 p.; 8.43 inches
ISBN
0440514428 / 9780440514428
Local notes
Fiction