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 a better appreciation for the merits of spirited perseverance, right or wrong, in the face of modern adversity. They are everyday...