ANd even though there was no love interest at first, it was AMAZING when the guy first came in! Again, you could feel the characters' grief and happiness as they went through the ups and downs of a relationship. When smith delved into the characters past, you could feel their pain and happiness, I was laughing and crying along with them. But the characters weren't the only parts I loved, I also loved the whole concept of the story, and the beautiful way Smith told it. The back story of each woman Really enjoyed this book about 4 women returning to the Mississippi River in their fifties, a re-run (of sorts) of a trip they took. I could almost see the college campus and the 'suite' these 4 women shared in their first couple of years at college. She had confidence and felt beautiful and sexy, the way every girl wants to feel. Lee Smith has done an excellent job of bring the mid 1960's alive. And then there's Anna, the used-to-be aspiring writer, now gone big time. You could feel her pain and happiness, and even I, the reader, could feel her electricity. She was one of those feisty characters who seemed like they had the perfect 'whatever' attitude and didn't give a crap what anyone else said, yet she had feelings too. Smith writes her characters so strongly, I was intoxicated by the presence of Baby, just like the other characters were.

I have to say my favorite characters were Baby and Anna.

Lee Smith, I commend you, boy do you know how to right a strong female character! All of the characters I could distinctly connect with and feel exactly what they were feeling. This is now one of my favorite books ever! Lets start off with the characters, Ms. I have one word for you: shocker! Like I said, I did NOT have high expectations for this book! Boy was I WRONG.

The Last Girls by Lee Smith