This book was chosen for me in the 'pick it for me challenge' in the m/m romance group here on goodreads. It's a classic (or should be), I saw the movie years ago, and I was amazed how short the book is.

This is one of the most well written stories I have ever read. In places, it is more like a sketch than a painting. And yet it describes the main characters and their awful dilemma and, ultimately, suffering in such clear pictures that it broke my heart all over again.

This is one of the few "tragedies" that gets 5 stars from me. It is an amazing book which should be required reading for everyone.

I expected it to be great. It was. A great afternoon read.

Okay, so I haven't seen the movie but I've heard a lot about it, and I think that I would like the movie better.

The book felt kind of rushed to me, I couldn't invest any emotions towards the characters or the plot but I liked the storyline the meaning is so great.

This is another book that tells a story of two men who fell in love in the worst of conditions. I'm going to watch the movie and see if I'd really like it better than the book or not but in the meantime I recommend this fast read.

This ended up being by far the most depressing freaking story ever. It was sad through and through and Jack was gay and Ennis was just in love with Jack. It’s a complicated thing when you love someone you can’t. Someone who you know can never be yours. I also assumed that the very aggressive middle of the night sex scenes were added to the movie for the taboo aspect of these twos forbidden romance. Reading it was far more stressful and gave me a sense of dread. This is coming from someone who read a prison romance. That was a lot gentler and loving than these scenes.

The descriptions of everything were kind of yucky and even his sex life with his wife made you so depressed you couldn’t wait for all of it to end. I didn’t like Alma. I didn’t care for Jack. I spent ever page worried about Ennis and his insane depression and I loved every moment of this story but I also wanted it to end. It’s a crazy thing but it’s how these romances go for me sometimes. I love when things stay unrequited and unresolved. This ending took me out.

Around that time Jack began to appear in his dreams, Jack as he had first seen him, curly-headed and smiling and bucktoothed, talking about getting up off his pockets and into the control zone, but the can of beans with the spoon handle jutting out and balanced on the log was there as well, in a cartoon shape and lurid colors that gave the dreams a flavor of comic obscenity. The spoon handle was the kind that could be used as a tire iron. And he would wake sometimes in grief, sometimes with the old sense of joy and release; the pillow sometimes wet, sometimes the sheets.
There was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing could be done about it, and if you can’t fix it you’ve got to stand it.

Para além da melancolia e do sofrimento de uma paixão interrompida pela opressão e pelo preconceito da época, a escrita e as descrições do ambiente também se destacam nessa obra de arte. Annie Proulx faz um trabalho incrível ao mostrar o amor florescente entre dois cowboys enquanto retrata os costumes da vida rural, que embora difícil e rude, ainda pode possuir certa beleza.

This story is probably the perfect length for laying out in the yard on a Sunday afternoon. I'm thinking of a hammock...

But anyway, I guess we're supposed to talk about the "writing."
A real economy of language. Very sparse. It's like Proulx kept carving away down to just what was essential. And yet, this beautiful landscape and beautiful (and sad) love story comes through so sharply.

You almost can't not mention the film.
And I have to say, I was pretty impressed. Lots of detalil in the film. I saw it twice and picked up different details both times.
And maybe without intetion, this story was such a commentary on rural gay life, which is such a different vantage point we seldom view gay life. So much of the gay sensability, as portrayed by pop culture, is urban, smart, rich and image-driven. I don't think this story was any of those things.

And as someone who sees gay life from a rural perspective, many folks in my neck of the woods connected closely with this story.

Ήταν Μάιος του 2006. Μέχρι τότε είχα δανειστεί βιβλία μόνο από την κινητή βιβλιοθήκη ή την βιβλιοθήκη του γυμνασίου. Έλα που, όμως, εγώ το 2006 ήμουν λύκειο. Το, εν λόγω, λύκειο, δεν είχε βιβλιοθήκη. Σαν να μην έφτανε αυτό, η περιοχή της βόρειας Κέρκυρας δεν είχε και δεν έχει δημοτική βιβλιοθήκη. Μου είχε καταστεί σαφές, λοιπόν, αρκετά νωρίς, πως το κράτος δεν θεωρεί χρήσιμο να έχει, ο κοινωνικός ιστός, βιβλιοθήκες. Ήταν και είναι, μάλλον, περιττό. Αλλά αυτή είναι άλλη συζήτηση, ή, μάλλον, καλύτερα, άλλος πόνος.
Έτσι, όταν δεν έβρισκα αυτό που έψαχνα στην κινητή βιβλιοθήκη, αναγκαζόμουν να το αγοράσω. Αλλά, πως να αγοράσεις κάτι τέτοιο, σε μια μικρή επαρχία; Είχα εναποθέσει τις ελπίδες μου στο ίδιο το πόνημα της Άννυ Πρου. Πολλά τα διηγήματα μέσα στο βιβλίο. Μπορεί ο τοπικός βιβλιοπώλης να μην ξέρει, τι πουλάει. Όντως δεν ήξερε. Βλέπετε, δεν ήταν Δημουλίδου. ΤΕΛΟΣ ΠΑΝΤΩΝ. Αγοράζω το βιβλίο, το κρύβω, βιαστικά, μέσα στην σχολική μου τσάντα, λες και ήταν ναρκωτικά. Το απογευματάκι της ίδιας ημέρας, στρώνομαι στο διάβασμα, μιας και η πρώτη λυκείου μου άφηνε αρκετό ελεύθερο χρόνο.
Διαβάζοντας την πρώτη σελίδα κατάλαβα πως εδώ δεν μιλάμε για κάποια love stories, αλλά για μια συνεχή αναζήτηση. Συναντώ, λοιπόν, έναν πικραμένο γέρο σε μια πορεία αναζήτησης της πεισματικά ξεχασμένης νιότης του. Έναν νέο που βλέπει τον κόσμο γύρω του να γκρεμίζεται, μαζί με τα όνειρά του. Παλιούς θρύλους και οικογενειακά μυστικά. Έρωτες που δε χωράνε στα μέτρα των ανθρώπων. Φιγούρες άλλοτε φαιδρές κι άλλοτε τραγικές, φιγούρες ανυπόφορα μόνες, αντιμέτωπες με την αγριότητα της ψυχής αλλά και της φύσης. Όλα αυτά με φόντο τις ερημιές του κάντρι Γουαϊόμινγκ στην Αμερική του 1963.
Τα διηγήματα είχαν όλα κοινό παρονομαστή. Το αδιέξοδο. Οι επιλογές που στερεύουν. Άνθρωποι εγκλωβισμένοι, άλλοτε σε ορατά και άλλοτε σε αόρατα κελιά. Κελιά είπα; Όχι. Κλουβιά, όχι κελιά. Τα κελιά έχουν, παραδόξως, κάτι στην χροιά τους που τα κάνει ευάερα. Τα κλουβιά, όμως, είναι στενά και κλειστοφοβικά. Όσοι βρίσκονται μέσα σε κλουβιά αναπνέουν με το ζόρι. Αυτοί είναι οι χαρακτήρες της Άννυ Πρου. Ήρωες, οι οποίοι προσπαθούν ή προσπάθησαν να ευτυχίσουν και δεν τα κατάφεραν. Ήρωες, των οποίων η ζωή, σε κάποιο άλλο, ποιο σύγχρονο, πλαίσιο θα ήταν ευτυχέστερη. Ήρωες, των οποίων η ζωή ξεγλιστρά από τα χέρια τους, σαν να ήταν νερό. Ήρωες καφκικοί.

Read More Here: https://nikolasinbookland.wordpress.c...

Very much like the film but one of those rare instances where I liked the film better than the book. Perhaps that's because I saw the movie before reading the book.

That's not to say the book wasn't stunningly good because it was. That poignant atmosphere is there. The characters are complex and interesting. But because I knew the ending I read with a kind of dread. Absolutely recomended for open-minded and intellectually curious individuals which likely would not include Elon Musk. Very good reading indeed.

Read this short story a few times now, but having just seen the movie again, and watched the extras, I wanted to see how much was in the original and how much was interpolated by the screenwriters.

In fact, a lot of it is in this amazing piece of writing, especially from Ennis' point of view. He doesn't know what is going on with Jack in Texas and Mexico and that is the portion which was fleshed out for the moviegoers.

Beautiful poetic language, and a sad story.

[On a writing note, this is a work I often point to when people claim writers should not be allowed to write about characters who are outside their own demographic.]

[The movie is famous and I’ll soon leave a review for the book. All I’ll say at this point is the movie was filmed where I live, I accidentally walked on set during shooting, and we all loved Heath, everyone loved Heath. It broke our hearts to lose him

I don't know how I never knew this was just a very short story. I wish I'd read this years ago. The movie was good, but this was even better. It always amazes me how even a very short story can pull so strongly at your emotions. Thanks so much for the suggestion, Jessica :)

4,5 ⭐

Annie Proulx nos describe en pocas páginas una historia de amor homosexual en la Norteamérica profunda de la segunda mitad del siglo XX. Lo hace de forma magistral. No necesita más que dos pinceladas para definir los personajes. Dos vaqueros y veinte años de una relación nunca vivida abiertamente por temor a los condicionantes del lugar y de la época.

Sentimientos y emociones a flor de piel, deseo, pasión, miedo y frustración. El miedo de Ennis, la frustración de Jack y, ante todo, la pena por dos vidas malgastadas. Todo ello narrado con una prosa bonita y directa sin caer en el sentimentalismo fácil. La historia ya es bastante amarga así sin necesidad de revolver más al lector. La película basada en este relato, también muy buena, me dejó hecha polvo cuando la vi.

En conclusión. Una historia amarga condensada en pocas páginas. Una prosa magnífica y una autora a la que seguiré leyendo. Recomendable.