Beautiful and heartbreaking.

The thing that strikes me the most about this story is how simple and straightforward it is but underneath that simplicity lies complexity and nuance.

Jack and Ennis are two simple men who came from nothing and in another time, in another place could've had something infinitely more satisfying in its simplicity than the hand they were dealt in this one. Something they deserved. The fact that they had to make due with stolen moments, semi-clandestine trysts and were forced to conform to an arbitrary societal construct is precisely what makes it memorable.



And depressing.

Proulx's prose is worthy of all the approbation it's received. There's nothing arcane or flowery about it which is befitting Jack and Ennis. Were it any other way it would be disingenuous to their characterizations. She conveys the ephemeral nature of their relationship as it unfolds over their lifespan and that may lead some to discount their connection, but through those furtive liaisons it became the most important thing in each of their lives.

Nothing drove that point home more than the plangent sound of Ennis' phone call going unanswered and his steadfast belief that Jack would eventually answer.



Campbell Scott delivered a powerful performance worthy of Proulx's writing and these characters.

Not a particularly easy read/listen but one that sticks with you.

If you can't fix it you've got to stand it absolutely beautiful

5 Stars

Brokeback Mountain is a beautifully heartbreaking short story about two lonely cowboys falling in love.

Author Annie Proulx is one of the few impressively skilled and deftly capable writers who are able to convey an entire lifetime of joy and sorrow in so few pages. Her prose is lyrical, poignant, and so very precise, with each scarce word used to full effect. Her words moved me, plain and simple.

Regardless of how many times I’ve seen the film adaptation, reading about Ennis and Jack’s tragic love still knocked the wind out of me, much like it did the very first time I experienced their story on screen. The good news is the film is practically a scene for scene depiction of what is written here, which is such a rare occurrence where adaptations are concerned.

There is just something so sad about this one; it always makes me ache for what Ennis and Jack could have had. Although tragic in nature, I still adored this story and I definitely understand the praise and accolades this award-winning tale has received over the years. I’m just so glad I finally sat down and read it for myself.

This story is every bit as compelling, heart wrenching and beautiful as everyone claims. A true masterpiece of short fiction.

Update 8/10/16

My mind is still reeling with thoughts of Ennis and Jack; the story was simply intimate and heart breaking. It's amazing how much power and weight words can carry with them. Works like Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton and "Brokeback Mountain" by Annie Proulx have taught me that it's about quality, not quantity. Frankly, any author that can move me to tears in less than 100 pages is a supreme writer and artist.

I have to admit that when I first read this story, I had difficulty understanding a few scenes or passages, since it was written in the vernacular of the back country. But regret and fear of discovery are languages we can all understand.

We live in a global community where tolerance and acceptance are not always uniform. Many people who make lifestyle choices that may not be acceptable to their respective communities still suffer both physical and mental retaliation and ostracism. Although we have come a fair distance in North America, and in many other parts of the world, we still have a long way to go.

This story, and The Hours by Michael Cunningham, helped me understand that we have to stop succumbing to society's views of "normal, acceptable and popular." Years ago, I made it a point never to follow fads - it is just too easy to "follow the herd" and adopt the current thinking or mode. The first time I heard the phrase "march to the beat of your own drum," I liked it. It hasn't been easy, and very often I still err on the side of caution, but for the most part, I try.

Such a heartbreaking story, but worth the read. (The movie was a fairly decent adaptation, but a few key elements were changed. Broke my heart, too.)

I read this recently for an LGBT book club. What can I say, I didn't like it. (I have seen the movie and didn't like that either.)

This is the story of two young men in the west in the sixties who have a love affair while tending sheep one summer. This affair continues for many years, until one of the characters is brutally killed.

According to one of the blurbs on the back of the book Brokeback Mountain "Abolishes the Old West cliches". Perhaps, but it does nothing to abolish the tired old gay cliches. When Ann Bannon wrote the Beebo Brinker chronicles in the late fifties there was one simple rule for gay literature, no matter what good things happen during the book it's got to end badly. Beebo Brinker, Jiovanni's Room, The Well of loneliness...Do we really need another story about how it sucks to be gay and it will, of course, end badly?

I also couldn't ultimately buy into the whole relationship. It seems to happen so fast and with so little discussion. I would never in a million years let some guy screw me when he won't talk about what's going on, or for that matter, look me in the face. As a result I can't put myself into either character's shoes or accept them as anything other than fictional.

The third and final thing I didn't like has to do with the fact that Annie Proulx is a straight woman. It's not that straight writers can't write gay characters, or for that matter that gay writers can't write straight characters. It's just that she has received so many accolades for this story pisses me off.

The movie, directed by a straight man and people with mostly straight cast members, pisses me off even more. This is a story told by straight people about how they perceive the LGBT community. Then they want to pat themselves on the back about what a great thing they've done for us. All the while they are ignoring some many great LGBT authors who are writing and painting a much more diverse, vibrant and accurate picture of what our lives are really like.

Brokeback Mountain is such a short read that you can read it in one sitting. Despite its length though and how quickly you can get through it, there were many flaws about this short story that hindered me from really enjoying it.

I couldn't stand the writing style. Far too many run-on sentences that I found so distracting and annoying. Scenes seem to begin and end so quickly that it is as if it didn't happen at all. Though the characters are somewhat interesting, there is no depth...the dialogue is way too forced and corny...it's hard for me to care about characters that are hardly given any life and personality. The love affair between Jack and Ennis i think was better portrayed in the movie...in the short story, I didn't find it believable, touching, or endearing at all.

The story overall has a hasty feel and tone to it. I could maybe blame it on the length, because it is under 60 pages, but honestly, I don't think the author is that great of a writer. The plot is original but the way it's executed is lackluster and boring to say the least.

This is one of those cases where the movie is far better than the book. At least it was a very quick read...so it's not as if you'd be wasting that much time reading it. Still, nonetheless, I'd rather stick with the movie instead.

This is another of those love stories that are both beautiful and tragic. This particular copy was one the first four Novellix short stories published this year (in Swedish). I’d like maybe someday to read the English original.

i don't understand why authors back then had a hard time writing love stories that ends happily. who hurt you?!?!?!?

n  n    I wish I knew how to quit you.n  n

This is the worst kind of love story, I hate the fact that people were actually kept in the closet because of bigoted assholes. Our generation is still fucked up but boy am I glad it's not as close minded as it used to.

I decided I wanted to make my depressed ass cry even more so I picked this up, then watched the movie for the first time afterwards.

See, Jake Gyllenhaal is an ass, but the movie was great. The movie was good and I've got to applaud the ability of such a short book to make me cry...

n  n    sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand itn  n

I've been meaning to read this short-story ever since I fell in love with the film years ago. Well, I finally read it 13 years later. The movie incorporated every piece of this story, even the dialogue and noteworthy quotes. Having experienced the film first, I didn't gain anything further from the reading experience. The film actually fleshed out the characters more which was needed in my opinion. However, this beautiful film wouldn't exist if not for this tiny story and for that I am forever grateful to Annie Proulx. ♥



My favorite quote:
“If you can't fix it you have to stand it.”

"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."

Beautiful. From beginning to end. Definitely better than the film (even though I enjoyed the film too).

"Brokeback Mountain" is about Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two cowboys that come together one summer while they're completing their seperate jobs as a sheepherder and a camp mantainer. They have to share a small tent together, so of course they start to fall in love. At first it's just a lusty attraction, but then their feelings for each other deepen by the time the summer is over. However, by fall they have gone back to their seperate lives under the pretense that they never met each other. Basically, they get married and have kids and stuff. Throughout the next many years they try to communicate but end up seperating every single time, but eventually their relationship together overtakes their lives even though neither of them can overcome the physical and emotional barriers that come with it.

I really wanted to love this book. Sadly, I did not feel the same way that a lot of other people did. It was a good book, although most of the feelings I got were from what was not said, and not from what was. I wish that the story was prolonged just a bit longer so that the depth of Ennis and Jack's relationship could've been described in more detail. Maybe that was a part of the solitude theme that practically radiated from this book. The prose was concise and just a little too concise for me, but I still found it readable. It was a good short story, good for a nap in the backyard, or something like that.