Reviews

Patience & Sarah by Isabel Miller

adeledelion's review

Cute! Sweet. I liked it.

alh18's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I first read this when I was coming out in the late 1990s. So rereading it again probably 25 years later, I have just love for this story. I identify as more of a femme and the ways in which this book plays with gender roles and expectations was really helpful for me as a young queer woman. I can't believe it's been around for 60ish years and has aged relatively well.

foggy_rosamund's review against another edition

5.0

Oh. Oh I didn't expect this to be so perfect. It's the lesbian story I've been longing for -- where "The Well of Loneliness" was too chaste and too painful and "The Price of Salt" too prickly and too sad, "Patience and Sarah" heals and delights. I am not trying to dismiss those other lesbian classics when I mention them, but to say that "Patience and Sarah" is altogether a warmer, happier, more optimistic book than any either of them. Set in the 1810s, in puritan New England, the characters certainly face hardships, oppression, and loss, but they also find solace in one another and in building a life for themselves. Told in alternating first person POV, both characters, Patience and Sarah, have a unique and arresting voice, and thought they are well-matched, they are very different people. From the first, Miller absolutely captured me, and I was desperately rooting for their love. They are so kind to one another and so determined to be good to one another. Miller has a wonderful ear for dialogue, both internal and external, and creates fantastically believable conversations, quarrels and jokes between Patience and Sarah. She is also a very sensual writer, and her writing about erotic love is both moving and delightful. This book reminds me of the important of love -- of the determination of lesbian women everywhere, and how proud I am of the relationships we have had with one another, despite the adversity we face.

I did not read this book, though I knew of it, for a long time, because I was a story about lesbians set in 1810 would depress me. How wrong I was! This book is a solace and an affirmation, and I recommend it without question.

alex_paget's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

mollye1836's review

5.0

This is one of the sweetest books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I haven't read too much lgbt fiction, not until this actually, but this is for sure a gem. I am so charmed by their love, so warmed by Sarah's spirit and Patience's wit. I am so overjoyed that two centuries ago, two women fell in love in rural nineteenth century Connecticut and built a life together against all the odds. What a blessing this book was.

jenniekolakoski's review

hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

jamietherebelliousreader's review

4.0

4 stars. While this dealt with some tougher subjects, there was something very cozy and comforting about this book and I really liked it. I will admit that it did lose a bit of momentum for me towards the end but I loved both Sarah and Patience so much as characters and their romance that I didn’t mind. This was great and is considered a classic for a damn good reason. I’m glad that I’ve read it and it is definitely one that I can see myself re-reading again.

leeandoer's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

4.75

i love women and gender non confirming people this book was so fucking amazing like bro

wackymack's review

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sweet but written in a strange faux-old timey way that was hard to read

sonjbean's review against another edition

5.0

I LOVED THIS BOOK. a hidden gem of a novel. it's a good feeling when you finish a book and immediately want to go back to the beginning and start again.

the characters felt real and kind and maybe it wasn't as drama-filled as it could've been but i'm not going to fault the author for that. it's rare to find an earlier gay book with an actual happy ending!