Cows and Horses

by Barbara Wilson, Barbara Sjoholm

An engaging portrait of a women's community looking for love. Wilson charts that little known territory--the time before mourning begins, numbness in the face of loss--and she does so with a gently ironic eye. "A sharply observed, cleanly written story of lost love....Wilson nearly faultlessly limns one woman's passage through one of life's commonest momentous events."-- Booklist

Genres: Fiction, Novels

200 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1988

About the author

Barbara Wilson is the pen name of author and translator Barbara Sjoholm. Her mysteries, written under the name Barbara Wilson, include two series, one with printer Pam Nilsen (Murder in the Collective) and one with translator-sleuth Cassandra Reilly. Her mysteries include the Lambda-award-winning Gaudi Afternoon, made into a film of the same name. She was a co-founder of Seal Press and in 2020 received the annual Trailblazer Award from the Golden Crown Literary Society for her contributions to lesbian literature. Her books have been published in England and translated into Spanish, Finnish, German, and Japanese.

Reviews

[Maebh · Rating 4 out of 5]

rip lesbians of cows and horses you would have loved situationships and anxious vs avoidant attachment style relationships

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was somewhat frustrating, but I believe you are meant to feel that, as the main character, Bet, tries to work out exactly what she wants and needs in a relationship in her life, and how to deal with the grief of the end of a 10 year relationship that was not a clean break and struggling to deal with a new relationship that is only meets her needs in one area where she wants it to work every where. Again, it feels frustrating to read as Bet works through her issues, but does show the weird complexities of narrow lesbian dating pools. Probably won't be a reread, though.

[Bella Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I KEPT HAVING TO STOP AND RESTART READING BECAUSE THIS WOMAN WAS SO FRUSTRATING. I’m not even sure what my final takeaway would be truly. It was definitely sad and the grief was well manifested. There was that one R rated scene that was like 🤨🤨ummmmmm….. but I do love lesbian literature and the butch/femme compared to apples/oranges was oddly provocative. I would say that a good word to sum it up is just FRUSTRATING. Bet kept repeating the same mistakes and narratives like LEAVE THAT HORSE BITCH ALONE

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed this author's books !

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up

I stumbled across this at Powell's and it was a nice read. It is very much a product of its time. It was fun to read about the lesbian drama.

[Nairne Holtz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific story about post-break-up spin and sexual awakening. The main characters, Bet and Norah, are lovers and business partners who run a futon shop. Unfortunately, they are better at selling beds and the promise of a happy life than they are at sleeping together and living that life. When Bet gets fed up with Norah’s latest extramarital adventure, she stumbles into one of her own with Kelly, a role-playing butch. Kelly has the decided whiff of burned bridges, and Bet can’t decide if she’s embarrassing or hot, or what it means when passion and love are poles apart. Sjoholm uses dialogue and description in an assured manner and perfectly captures 1980s lesbian feminist culture (replete with a painfully earnest character named Judy Journeywomon), but this novel isn’t just for lesbians of a certain age. Any queer generation should be able to relate to this wry tale of dyke drama, exes, and non-monogamy.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mainly dealing with relationships,r omantic and family, but not really the best novel ever.