Critical Praise

"SMITH'S COMIC GENIUS SPARKLES . . . Under Smith's deft hand, these woman bloom exceptionally authentic."

——Winston-Salem Journal

"[SMITH IS] NOTHING LESS THAN MASTERLY."

——The New York Times Book Review

"Rich, personal, charming, and compassionate . . . Using the premise that both a reunion and a riverboat provide good lookouts on the past, she details the passing terrain as she details each woman's emotional history, from child to adult, from dates to love affairs, from silly shenanigans to tragic accidents. And what details! The book is filled with memorable scenes. . . . Smith adds a purely feminine, deeply southern twist to the Mark Twain tradition of humor and precision applied generously to the subject of human weakness."

——Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Lee Smith's genius is in her seamless weaving of the two stories, past and present, so that we realize what the stakes are for these women, and how they have arrived at the reunion as footsore pilgrims–a bit battered and bruised, but sailing on nevertheless. . . . Smith has that talent that all storytellers envy: the ability to dive deeply into the lives of her characters, to bring them to life in their rich fullness, warts and all. Each of these women could energize an entire book. Each brings something unique and captivating to a superb tale that will stay with you long after the reading is done. Together they compel each of us to ask what has brought us to the near shore, and how we set sail from here."

——The Boston Globe

"[A] GENIAL, THOUGHTFUL, FUNNY NOVEL, WRITTEN WITH THE WIT AND ASSURANCE OF A BORN STORYTELLER."

——The Hartford Courant

"AN HONEST PORTRAIT OF INTELLIGENT, WELL-ROUNDED SOUTHERNERS is always refreshing, and The Last Girls delivers. The book may be influenced by Twain, but Smith proves she has a voice all her own."

——USA Today

"BREEZILY WRITTEN AND DISPLAYING SMITH'S TRADEMARK PITCH-PERFECT EAR FOR DIALOGUE, funny but with the dark touches of all good comedy, the novel charts the course by which the 'girls' . . . seek love and self-fulfillment during the three decades approaching the end of the century. Call it Huckleberry Fin de Siècle."

——Time Out New York

"Wise and insightful . . . The Last Girls deserves to be shared, pondered, and treasured."

——The Dallas Morning News