The Last Girls

By: Lee Smith

Narrated by: Lee Smith

On a bright June day in 1965, a dozen girls - classmates at a Blue Ridge women's college - launch a ramshackle raft on a trip down the Mississippi. Their journey, inspired by Huckleberry Finn, is duly reported in the Paducah, Kentucky newspaper. Thirty-five years later, four of the "girls" reunite to cruise the river again. This time, it's on the luxury steamboat The Belle of Natchez and there's no publicity. This time, when they reach New Orleans, they'll give the River the ashes of a fifth rafter: beautiful Margaret ("Baby") Ballou.

Harriet Holding is a hesitant teacher who never married. Courtney Gray yearns to step away from her Southern Living-style life. Catherine Wilson, a sculptor, is a world-famous romance novelist who escapes her personal tragedies through her fiction. And finally, there's "Baby", the girl they have come to bury - along with their memories of her rebellions and betrayals.

Beloved throughout the South for her powerful female characters, author Lee Smith tells a rich, imaginative story about the nature of romance, the relationship between life and fiction, the relevance of the past to the present, and the unexpected course of women's lives.

©2002 Lee Smith (P)2002 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"A bittersweet comedy with a fine sharp edge." (Kirkus)
"An honest portrait of intelligent, well-rounded Southerners is always refreshing, and The Last Girls delivers." (USA Today)
"The Big Chill meets Huckleberry Finn in a moving novel inspired by a real-life episode." (Publishers Weekly)

Slow down!

I'd have enjoyed this more if the reader had paused for breath occasionally. You'd think she wrote with no punctuation at all, much less in chapters! Other than 12 hours of non-stop dialog, the story is light but enjoyable "chick-lit" for the boomer generation.

Read for yourself

While I usually enjoy everything written by Lee Smith (one of my favorite Southern authors), I was disappointed in her reading of this story. Her fast, almost breathless reading style, and voice detract from what should be a pleasant experience. The story is well written, however, would have been much more enjoyable read by someone else, or read myself.

Great Listen!!

Super woman's book--especially if one is from the south. Characters well-drawn, well-written and well-read by author. I loved every minute of it.

Ear candy book

I hated myself for liking this so much. It's pink cotton candy, puffy, full of air and too sweet, but enjoyable nonetheless. Sure the characters are caricatures. The cliches fly like bats out of a cave. But it's really a lot of fun and easy to follow.

very surprised

I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did. didn't compare to fair and tender lAdies. the author reading it was the absolute best