Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Cold Sassy Tree  By  cover art

Cold Sassy Tree

By: Olive Ann Burns
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.90

Buy for $17.90

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

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)

What listeners say about Cold Sassy Tree

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,436
  • 4 Stars
    522
  • 3 Stars
    154
  • 2 Stars
    47
  • 1 Stars
    31
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,461
  • 4 Stars
    315
  • 3 Stars
    72
  • 2 Stars
    20
  • 1 Stars
    20
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,248
  • 4 Stars
    428
  • 3 Stars
    144
  • 2 Stars
    37
  • 1 Stars
    26

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A great listen!!

I really enjoyed Cold Sassy Tree! I liked the way Burns wove the themes of religion and judgement throughout the novel. I appreciated Grandpa's theology.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fabulous Story - Great Narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend, Cold Sassy Tree, to anyone who just wants to get lost in an entertaining story. One of my favorites!

What does Tom Parker bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

Tom Parker brings a sense of authenticity to the story that is enhanced by his accent.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narration Ruins Everything

I read this marvelous book at least twice several years ago, and bought the audible version to get me up to speed for delivering a review. The narration was done years ago (though that's not the problem)--the reader massacres an otherwise superb book. His voice is high and he reads so quickly that for a while I thought perhaps the speed of the original tape had been sped up (I'm still not sure it wasn't). The result is slightly chipmunk-style narration, and in addition, the narrator places the wrong sort of emphasis on the wrong selection of irony, witticism, drama and otherwise marvelous insight. I had so looked forward to hearing one of my all-time favorite books, having mistakingly thought that destroying it wasn't possible. I'm disappointed that no one has noticed this most disappointing delivery and undertaken a more appropriate production. I'm certain that with a quality narrator, COLD SASSY TREE would reembark as an Audible best-seller.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

You All....

Hey , if you want an annoying few hours listen to this book. If you can get beyond the pathetic accented reader, you will find it loaded with southern stereotypes. Very Shallow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful story!

This is the only novel written by journalist Olive Ann Burns which is a pity because it if beautiful. It brings laughter, tears, and reflection. The book was released 31 years ago and is set in 1906.

The narration is quite good, but is too slow; at 150% of recorded speed it is perfect.

Just listen to this novel; I promise you will love it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Such a fun listen

Many years ago, I read this book. It was fun listening to it again after so long. The story of a family (in the early 1900's south) who is shocked by the grandfather's rapid remarriage after the death of his wife, all told through the eyes of the grandson, who has the point of view of the observer-participant. The story is touching, as the family tries to cope with all the emotion and changes happening, the shock as Grandfather marries a woman much younger than he is, and is told with great (and often hilarious) attention to detail. I liked it a couple decades ago, and it retains it charm even now. Very good narration.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Most enjoyable...odd technical glitches

I probably would listen to it again in a few years. This version has several places where a sentence is repeated. That, and the galloping speed of the early chapters (which did not sound a bit like Georgia to this Georgia resident) put me off at first. Either he slowed down or my ears sped up, though, because I quite noticing about 2 hours in. The narrator's characters are excellent. Though the repeats continue to be annoying I love this story, and I've very much enjoyed listening to it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

I read this book years ago. I enjoyed it again through audible. A must read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Makes you think..

The story was better than I expected. The reader was easy to listen to. He made me fall in love with the main characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Life in Sassy Tree, GA, circa 1906

Charming story of the fictional town of Saasy Tree, GA. There are great characters, humor, tragedy, romance, and faith. Well narrated by Grover Gardner (NOT the listed narrator). A good choice for fans of Southern stories.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful