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A review by kathleenitpdx
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
4.0
A sweet, warm story. This book is set in a small Georgia town in the early 20th century. The narrator is 14 year old Will Tweedy. The main character is his Grandpa Blakesly, the cantankerous, stingy owner of the town general store. Will tells the story of his family and the town in the year after the death of his grandmother.
Burns does a wonderful job of portraying the era when some homes had indoor plumbing and electric lights and others did not and of the appearance of the first automobiles in the area. She lets us see the class divisions of the relatively well-off established whites, the blacks and the poor mill worker families. With humor and through Will Tweedy's eyes, we see the rigid social structure reinforced by the various town churches. Through his eyes we also see the internal conflict that young people faced in small towns--the comfort and shelter of family and neighbors with the claustrophobia of having your every move watched and judged.
Burns does a wonderful job of portraying the era when some homes had indoor plumbing and electric lights and others did not and of the appearance of the first automobiles in the area. She lets us see the class divisions of the relatively well-off established whites, the blacks and the poor mill worker families. With humor and through Will Tweedy's eyes, we see the rigid social structure reinforced by the various town churches. Through his eyes we also see the internal conflict that young people faced in small towns--the comfort and shelter of family and neighbors with the claustrophobia of having your every move watched and judged.