Olive Ann Burns (1984)
(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)
This book was a Pandemic Book Club selection.
I started listening to this book before I started reading, but I eventually caught up and finished the ebook first (which my the audio less important to finish). I listened to the first chapter twice just so I had an idea what was going on.
Cold Sassy Tree refers to the sassafras trees that the town of Cold Sassy were named after even though there's only one tree left by 1906. The rest are all gone. Cold Sassy is a fictional town in Georgia.
The story is narrated by a 14-year old named Will Tweedy. It has a definite beginning but it just sort of ends. At least it wasn't open-ended (although there is a sequel where I guess the boy is grown some more.)
What stands out about this book is the folksy tone with which it's narrated, and I didn't mind the spellings that were used. (This was much better than the "stylistic choices" made in The Bee Sting). It took a moment to figure out a few words, but after that, they were familiar with repetition. "Cudn" was an amusing one for "cousin". I never did figure out why they'd sometimes end sentences with "one".
The story starts a few weeks after Will's grandmother has died with his grandfather's announcement that he's getting remarried to a woman who works in his store. Scandalous is this seems (and unseemly, too), he doesn't want to be a burden on his two daughters, so he either has to get a new wife or hire a Negro housekeeper, and he figures a wife is cheaper. Will will later learn that it isn't a "real" marriage, but an arrangement to make Miss Love Simspon his new housekeeper and not the new Mrs. E. Tucker Ruckslee.
Their story is the backdrop of learning about Will working in the store, going to school, and getting into fights. Along the way, he learns to drive the only two cars in town, and almost gets run over by a train. He is helped off the tracks by a mill girl he likes (and eventually kisses).
My one problem with this lighthearted tale is that it eventually takes a dark turn, and then gets absolutely brutal.
I could also complain that they never mention driving to another town to get gasoline for the cars since there isn't a gas station in Cold Sassy as there are only two cars before Mr. Ruckslee starts selling them.
Other than the dark parts, you could imagine that this was any boy's misadventures growing up at a particular time in history. (I won't compare it to Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn because I haven't read those in a long time and I'm sure there was more and sharper commentary on society than here.) And the book could've gone on for a few more chapters before the events that bring on the ending of the book. I didn't pay attention to the timeline, but it could've been that it was a full year or a complete school year over which the book takes place.
This was an enjoyable book, and a nice change of pace from recent reads. Now I have to wait nearly a month for the meeting!
If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.
