Bittersweet (edition 1999)

A tale of two women trying to live on a farm in the 19th century. ( )

Not well written. I was going to say that it wasn't badly written, either, although that isn't exactly true - but it's written in such a way that I can go for several pages at a time without seeing a piece of writing that I would have done differently.

Similarly, I didn't really like either of the main characters, but I didn't dislike them, either. I didn't care about them a whole lot one way or the other.

The pacing of the book also seemed weird and disconnected to me. It ended very suddenly. The storyline went on for a long time and covered a long period (despite being only ~360 pages) but a lot of scenes seemed like they could be taken out without having any effect whatsoever on the overall story.

On the other hand, it had some nice descriptions - and I haven't really read Western-type novels before, so maybe part of what I didn't like was the genre itself. I'd probably give it 2.5 stars overall. ( )

Whew.

I can’t say I enjoyed this novel, exactly. Although I don’t regret reading it either. But I do feel as if I've been put through the ringer a bit.

Mystery writer Nevada Barr’s foray into historical fiction is so convincing in its depiction of the hardships of the Old West, I could practically feel my skin leathering in the relentless desert sun and taste the dust rising off the stagecoach trail. It tells the story of Imogene Grelznik, a "spinster" schoolteacher forced by a scandal [involving a female student] to leave her lifelong home in Philadelphia and move to the untamed West in order to start over anonymously. Like many contemporary LGBT novelists, Barr has a bit of an axe to grind with modern society and the weakest aspect of the story is when she attempts to force Twentieth Century stereotypes onto people of the Nineteenth Century. For example, the autocratic father who insists on keeping a thoroughbred horse that costs the family money they don’t have, even though he hardly ever rides it. The passage is a thinly veiled version of the modern day redneck with his beloved vintage muscle car. Or the promiscuous best friend of Sarah, Imogene’s star pupil, gloating while her bohunk boyfriend gets to second base on a very public hayride. These episodes, among others, simply don't ring true and detract from the authentic atmosphere the author has otherwise successfully conjured.

But that all comes to an abrupt halt in the third and final section of the story. When yet another scandal forces Imogene and young Sarah to move to a remote stage coach stop in the Nevada desert, the book really comes to life. Every aspect of the hardscrabble life they live - from the parched, silty landscape and sulphuric taste of the drinking water to the subterfuge necessary for two women running a business without a man, is brought startingly to life. Barr spares the reader nothing. And if you think two lesbians had it bad in the Old West, wait until you see what the animals had to endure.

I’ll grant, this book is only for the stout of heart. If you’re looking for a classic love story with a neat little happy ending, give this one a wide berth. Each time the reader thinks Imogene has settled into a comfortable, workaday existence, something catastrophic happens forcing her to remake her life from scratch. This character is nothing if not resourceful. So, for any open-mind readers with an interest in the Old West, fans of historical LGBT fiction or maybe even folks who enjoyed "Albert Nobbs," this might be the one for you. ( )

Lesbian historical fiction Western. Reminded me a lot of Jan Karon in style.... but gay. ( )

I wasn't sure what to expect when I decided to read this. There are oh so many things that can go wrong near the end of books where there are women who love other women.

Still, it wasn't the happiest of novels either. It was very much like Jane Eyre, and other books from that era. There's an older guiding character and a young innocent here they just happen to both be women.

It was Barr's first novel and in places you can tell that. The end kinda drops off a cliff, the reader is chugging along and. Done. Also, sometimes the transitions between the parts are a bit rocky. But, the characters, both the main ones and the supporting cast are for the most part very good. (Though here and there some of them aren't always written totally consistently).

But it was a great book, especially for a first novel, and it's sort of sad that she went from th is to her mystery series and hasn't gone back, but, at least the world has Bittersweet.

As an aside, it's sort of freaky how alike the Imogene/Sarah story is to the Xena/Gabrielle story from Xena: Warrior Princess, considering that Bittersweet was first, by a lotta years. (A whole lotta years). ( )