Cold Sassy Tree

By: Olive Ann Burns

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

The one thing you can depend on in Cold Sassy, Georgia, is that word gets around fast. If the preacher's wife's petticoat shows, the ladies will make the talk last a week. But on July 5, 1906, things take a scandalous turn. That is the day E. Rucker Blakeslee, proprietor of the general store and barely three weeks a widower, elopes with Miss Love Simpson, a woman half his age and, worse yet, a Yankee! On that day, 14-year-old Will Tweedy's adventures begin and an unimpeachably pious, deliciously irreverent town comes to life.

Olive Ann Burns's classic best seller brings to vivid life an era that will never exist again, exploring timeless issues of love, death, coming-of-age, and the ties that bind families and generations.

©1984 Olive Ann Burn (P)1993 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Rich in characterization and dialogue, this novel is well-suited to the audio format; Tom Parker superbly conveys this great wealth." (AudioFile)

EXCELLENT

I enjoyed every minute of the story and the narrative made it even more enjoyable. I highly recommend "Cold Sassy Tree".

Good southern story

Abrupt ending, but a good, southern story with interesting characters and a delightfully meandering plot.

Reduced speed of playback definitely helped

This was a fantastic book that I almost quit due to Grover Gardener’s narration. I love his narration of Lois McMaster Bujold’s books but his attempted southern accent was atrocious and jarring. I almost gave up listening but tried reducing the playback speed to 0.9x and that did the trick. I’m so glad the workaround helped, otherwise I would have missed out on a wonderful story.

Unforgettable, heart-warming story

I have read the print copy of this book multiple times. This narator is exceptional, and I treasured my half-hour of escape to Cold Sassy Tree during my commute every day.
This book holds a special place in my heart, along with very few others.

You will never be able to forget these characters, once you have met them. They are so real that they truly do leap off of the page. The author's special blend of humor and poignancy will make you want to go back to read this again and again. Once you've read this, you should try Summer Lightening

Outstanding all the way around!

What made the experience of listening to Cold Sassy Tree the most enjoyable?

The characters were very real and although the story is just one year of a small town in Georgia at the turn of the last century, the story was captivating. A wonderful blend of real life humor and strife. The narrator did a wonderful job bringing these characters to life.

What other book might you compare Cold Sassy Tree to and why?

It's been compared to 'To Kill a Mockingbird', but that may just be it's southern roots. I don't know another book that I would compare it to.

What about Grover Gardner’s performance did you like?

Without forcing different pitches to indicate a male or female voice, the narrator used tone to indicate the various characters and their gender and age.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both! This book covered the gamut of human emotion without dwelling on any one situation, good or bad. That was part of what made this story so real.

Any additional comments?

One of the best books I've listened to in a long time. Wish it could have gone on and on.

Wonderful.

I enjoyed every moment of this audio book, both the story and the narration. Highly recommended for any age.

So so

The book was read well but wasn't much of a story. It was ok. I would recommend.

I laughed, I cried, I empathized, loved it

The performance was spot on for the venue and time written. A very enjoyable tead.

The Audio is a Must

I couldn’t get through the first couple of chapters of the book, but really wanted to...then, the magic of audio. Fantastic narrator brought this story to life and quickly became one of my favorite books.

Narration really and story perfectly matched

BRAVO! Grover Gardner was so authentic in potraying the voice of the subjects, I forgot there was only one person narrating. This story paints a beautiful picture of a time almost forgotten.