Cakewalk [Paperback]

Lee Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 1996

In these dazzling stories, acclaimed author Lee Smith wants you to meet:

Mrs. Joline B. Newhouse, who writes a "fortnightly" newspaper column called "Between the Lines."

Georgia Rose, the girl whose life is more like a soap opera than the TV serial she's addicted to.

Martha Rasnick, the young housewife in "Dear Phil Donahue" who writes all her troubles to the TV personality.

Florrie, the cake lady in "Cakewalk" who causes her prissy sister no end of embarrassment by "wearing running shoes, at her age, and wooly white athletic socks that fall in crinkles down around her ankles."


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

"The South has always been a special domain for women writers. Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty, Carson McCullers, Harper Lee, and Katherine Ann Porter come immediately to mind....Lee Smith, in this fine collection of short stories, joins in this tradition." -- San Diego Union

"Excellent...Beautiful portrayals...Dazzling." -- Chicago Tribune

"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

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

From the Inside Flap

In these dazzling stories, acclaimed author Lee Smith wants you to meet:

Mrs. Joline B. Newhouse, who writes a "fortnightly" newspaper column called "Between the Lines."

Georgia Rose, the girl whose life is more like a soap opera than the TV serial she's addicted to.

Martha Rasnick, the young housewife in "Dear Phil Donahue" who writes all her troubles to the TV personality.

Florrie, the cake lady in "Cakewalk" who causes her prissy sister no end of embarrassment by "wearing running shoes, at her age, and wooly white athletic socks that fall in crinkles down around her ankles."


From the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 27, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345410424
• ISBN-13: 978-0345410429
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #707,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Listening to wonderful southern voices, June 2, 2002

By 

Mary G. Longorio "Texasbookgirl" (Eagle Mountain, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cakewalk (Paperback)

Lee Smith continues to be a unique voice of the south. Cakewalk is a collection of short stories that bring together a diverse group of people that only Lee could create. Debbi has left her old life behind and has started a life with Bobby who has a job with dolphins at hte Seaquarium. It is just a matter of time before Debbi and Bobby are able to get things on track. Lauren and her friend georgia Rose and the terible gift Georgia Rose had...the gift of foresight. Florrie, the cake lady who is married to Earl Mingo and their unconventional marriage. Florrie's cakes keep her family together and her home safe. Martha Resnick is writing a letter to Phil Donahue, the only adult she feels she has a constant connection with in her life, at least she can count on him to show up every morning. All these people and many more are like the people you may know and Lee Smith is able to bring each of their stories and many more to the page with humor and a keen ear to the south.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tantalizing but Unfulfilling, December 26, 2000

By 

Tracey A. Nettell (Houston, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cakewalk (Paperback)

Almost without exception, I loved every character and every story Lee Smith introduced me to in "Cakewalk". From Joline Newhouse and her dark secrets, to Georgia Rose and her hidden powers, and to Martha Rasnick and the stranger she kept hidden in her garage, Ms Smith kept me entertained. But for the very reason that I am not a fan of short stories, I felt cheated by the time each story ended. Just as I grew to know each new character and to be baited with each new plot, it was over. In every story, Ms Smith has the groundwork to write an entire book - complete with plots full of potential and a cast of new and diverse characters. I have read several of her novels and look forward to reading those I have not managed to get to yet, but I'm simply not into short stories.

If you are a fan of short stories and a fan of fiction set in the Deep South, then I do recommend "Cakewalk". But if you are like me and like to really settle in for a while with a novel, then try one of Lee Smith's full-length works instead.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great collection that does not disappoint!, September 25, 2005

By 

Manola Sommerfeld (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cakewalk (Paperback)

One of the best short stories i have ever read is by Lee Smith (Live Bottomless, in News of the Spirit). So i was really looking forward to this book. I have to admit that short stories are not for everyone. Sometimes, especially if they are too good, you may feel let down when they finish. But the stories in this collection are great. Each one of them, though, would make great preludes to a novel.

Lee Smith writes about Southern characters without the common fallback of making them seem lovable hicks. There's many an author (and especially movie writers) who love to portray Southerners as a bunch of illiterate adorable rednecks. This is not the case with her. The stories could be set anywhere, except that there is always an air, a scent of all things Southern, percolating the narratives.

Some of the common themes throughout the stories are the ability to see the future, the stigma of being a "fast" woman, and the curse of being artistic.

I'd recommend this collection to anyone!