Cakewalk

By: Lee Smith

Narrated by: Linda Stephens, Tom Stechschulte, Kate Forbes

First published in 1982, Cakewalk was the first short story collection by iconic Southern writer Lee Smith. Comic and observant, Smith's fourteen tales in Cakewalk introduce readers to a host of memorable Southern characters. Her protagonists include aging gossips, a soap opera–hooked housewife, a runaway teenager, and divergent sisters in various combinations. Smith's gutsy Southern women don't always triumph, but, with her sympathetic portrayals, readers gain appreciation for the merits of spirited perseverance, right or wrong, in the face of modern adversity. The characters are everyday folks with everyday problems, particularly the tensions of home and family and loneliness and connection. Smith is keenly aware of the foibles that make people so maddeningly funny but also deeply sensitive to their pain and sorrow.

"Cakewalk is great fun, its tales shrewdly observant of segments of North Carolina life."—Wall Street Journal

©1970, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 Lee Smith (P)2000 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Smith has a perfect voice, incorporating hints of both refinement and shabbiness. Quite simply, excellent writing." (Booklist)

"Lee Smith strikes dead center the nerves of women's lives and does it with a grace and style that make her one of the writers to watch most closely." (The Houston Post)

Funny and real life southern ladies of the50’s

This is real life storytelling… I got this as a free book and actually never heard of Lee Smith… Now I’m a big fan of hers and I’m looking forward to reading more of her books… Her voice was music to my ears!