Rating: 
Summary: Reminescent of the book, Patience and Sarah
Review: The pioneer setting and the hard-scrabble life described in Bittersweet, reminded me of Isobel Miller's now-classic lesbian novel, Patience and Sarah. Barr's book, even with a few first-novel flaws, is a far better book than Miller's and well worth reading for its very authentic picture of life in the mid-19th century for two women who love each other. Also, I encourage any reader interested in researching these so-called Boston marriages to read one or another of Lillian Faderman nonfiction books.
Rating: 
Summary: A must read
Review: The story of an old maid schoolteacher and a young farm girl who became very close, in fact in love, which at that time was unheard of. They moved cross country out west making a living teaching and what ever they could find, hiding their true identity and feelings. A very enjoyable wild west story, full of description of the land and the people. A very personal story for the two women. This is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet
Review: This book is an insightful and sensitive look at the isolation of individuals and the comfort of companionship. A charming alternative to the typical hstorical romance, written with wit and understanding of the relationships of women. I was surprised by its poignancy and honesty.
Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet
Review: This book is an insightful and sensitive look at the isolation of individuals and the comfort of companionship. A charming alternative to the typical hstorical romance, written with wit and understanding of the relationships of women. I was surprised by its poignancy and honesty.
Rating:
Summary: pretty good if you ignore the unconvincing parts
Review: This is a historical tale of domestic violence, hatred, intolerance, ignorance, survival and love in the 1870s. Essentially "chased" from Philadelphia after a mysterious incident with a female student which is not explained to the reader until much later in the book, teacher Imogene Grezlnick moves to a small farming town in rural Pennsylvania to take up a teaching position there. She befriends one of her oldest students, Sarah, who takes a liking to her new teacher. Their relationship blossoms, even more so as Sarah struggles to survive her marriage with her abusive husband, Sam. Eventually, Imogene's past catches up her and Sarah becomes inadvertently involved, so the two women are forced to leave Pennsylvania. They move to Reno, Nevada, and later still, to a stage stop in the desert, Round Hole. The often bizarre relationship between the strong-willed, strong-spirited Imogene and the exceedingly weak, frail and shy Sarah (often annoyingly delicate and feeble to the point of pure exasperation) develops slowly throughout the novel, ending in a rather unconvincing partnership. It took too long for the story to get going, but once it did, it moved right along and kept my attention. During the time in Caliope and Reno, the story was pretty good and well-written, containing all the best elements of an adventurous life in the West. But after the girls moved out to Round Hole, it started going downhill, all the way to the terrible ending, which was swift and abrupt and lame. The charade that they try to maintain throughout the last third of the book is completely unbelievable and more than a little ridiculous. I thought it was a very poor way to get the two women out of a difficult situation and it just didn't work at all. Still, except for the last part of the book and the unconvincing relationship that develops between the two friends, I thought this was a pretty good story.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so good
Review: This is the first Nevada Barr novel that I have read. I found it quite awful. It is hard to believe that she consulted women's journals from the old west help construct this book. The characters were non-believable and lackluster, as were the situations.
My bookclub read this book and we all pretty much agree that it stinks.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This was a great portrayal of two women who struggled to make a life together during a very difficult time period. The plot was riveting and kept my interest. The characters were not portrayed as stereotypical lesbians, which was a nice change from other novels that I have read. This is a definite change of pace from the Anna Pigeon mysteries I have become used to reading by this author. Sarah and Imogene were great characters. I only have one criticism. Toward the end of the novel, I was flipping to see if I had read something wrong, due to the author's use of pronouns and the name switch that occurred. Overall a great depiction of two women who knew their own strength and used it to their advantage! The scenery was vividly described and the characters well-read.
Rating:
Summary: The Wild West With A Feminist Point Of View
Review: Unlike mystery writer Nevada Barr's other novels, her first novel Bittersweet is a historic novel set in the 1870s United States. I fell in love with the two heroines, Imogene, a teacher, and Sarah, her student, who ends up in a loveless and brutal marriage. They love each other and are persecuted by narrow-minded people who claim their love is unnatural and sinful. This hostility forces them to bond together, to hide their true feelings, and to move from place to place. The author does a great job of presenting this relationship in the context of the 19th Century, and yet provides a deeper look into the daily lives of these women than would be possible from historic sources of the time. Truly an inspiring story of the power of love and the strength that comes from a loving relationship.
Rating:
Summary: The Wild West With A Feminist Point Of View
Review: Unlike mystery writer Nevada Barr's other novels, her first novel Bittersweet is a historic novel set in the 1870s United States. I fell in love with the two heroines, Imogene, a teacher, and Sarah, her student, who ends up in a loveless and brutal marriage. They love each other and are persecuted by narrow-minded people who claim their love is unnatural and sinful. This hostility forces them to bond together, to hide their true feelings, and to move from place to place. The author does a great job of presenting this relationship in the context of the 19th Century, and yet provides a deeper look into the daily lives of these women than would be possible from historic sources of the time. Truly an inspiring story of the power of love and the strength that comes from a loving relationship.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool Journey
Review: Wow! This book was a continual surprise for me. It's really good on so many levels: well-written, great character development, beautifully crafted scenery, and a tricky plot. Two women move west to escape persecution from their lifestyle. Unfortunately when they first move, they haven't actually done anything, but the one woman becomes entangled in the other's affairs. Though this is a novel about the love two women have for eachother the sexual feelings are secondary to simple, mutual caring. Intrigued by the life these women "lived," I several times read the book into the wee hours of morning. It was quite a wonderful journey. I do have one criticism, which is that the end of the book was confusing. I don't want to give anything away, but what the women did to keep the ranch was one thing, the fact that the "person" changed names in the narrative was (to me at least) cumbersome reading.
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