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Brokeback Mountain (Wyoming Stories)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 10,854 ratings · 767 reviews

WINNER OF THE VENICE FILM FESTIVAL GOLDEN LION AWARD

Annie Proulx has written some of the most original and brilliant short stories in contemporary literature, and for many, Brokeback Mountain is her masterpiece.

Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two ranch hands, come together when they're working as sheep herder and camp tender one summer on a range above the tree line. At fi...more

Audio, 0 pages

Published November 15th 2005 by Simon & Schuster Audio (first published 1997)

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Mar 04, 2013 Gavin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Normally, I would never read something like this. No, I am not homophobic (my older brother is gay); but I do get uncomfortable when reading about two men kissing. So, needless to say, I wasn't expecting much from this very short novella.

Let me be the first to say how utterly wrong I was. This novella is not merely about two men who fall in love; it is about love itself. The love story these men share is intense, stormy, beautiful, and heart-wrenching, and I found myself thankful that I have on...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Nancy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, lgbt, made-me-cry, short-stories, library-books, favorites

I picked this up at the library last night because it was a tiny book, perfect for today's lunch time read.

I'm ashamed to say that I attempted to watch the film, but fell asleep about 45 minutes in. Now that I've read this story, I'm going to revisit the film.

This is the first time I've read Annie Proulx. It is amazing how much story she covers in so few pages. Her spare prose, concise style and quiet intensity really worked for me.

An absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking love story! Makes me wan...more

44 likes · like · see review

Apr 30, 2008 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: recentreads

I enjoyed reading the short story two weeks ago and finally had the opportunity to see the movie. I was concerned about the film staying true to the short story in terms of characterization and atmosphere. The reading was enjoyable; I didn’t want to sour the memory of it by an unfulfilling movie. I was pleasantly surprised. Director Ang Lee and screen writers Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana did a brilliant job of interpreting and synchronizing the original text into a script. I honestly feel tha...more

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Sep 01, 2007 L.L. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own, lqbtiq-gender-etc

fragment
Opowiadanie jest takie surowe, można by powiedzieć, że źle napisane, ale moim zdaniem ten styl (zwłaszcza w tym przypadku) ma swój urok i mi pasuje. To dobre opowiadanie. Takie inne.

"W tej jednak chwili przepełnia go radość, ponieważ Jack Twist pojawił mu się we śnie."

"Ennis obudził się o purpurowym świcie, ze spodniami wokół kolan, z solidnym kacem i z przytulonym do siebie Jackiem; chociaż nie rozmawiali na ten temat, obaj dobrze wiedzieli, jaka będzie pozostała część lata, i niech szl...more fragment
Opowiadanie jest takie surowe, można by powiedzieć, że źle napisane, ale moim zdaniem ten styl (zwłaszcza w tym przypadku) ma swój urok i mi pasuje. To dobre opowiadanie. Takie inne.

"W tej jednak chwili przepełnia go radość, ponieważ Jack Twist pojawił mu się we śnie."

"Ennis obudził się o purpurowym świcie, ze spodniami wokół kolan, z solidnym kacem i z przytulonym do siebie Jackiem; chociaż nie rozmawiali na ten temat, obaj dobrze wiedzieli, jaka będzie pozostała część lata, i niech szlag trafi owce."

"Po ujechaniu mili Ennis czuł się, jakby ktoś co chwila, kawałek po kawałku, wyszarpywał mu wnętrzności."

"Jak oparzony wypadł z mieszkania na podest, zatrzaskując za sobą drzwi. Zbiegał na dół po dwa stopnie." Objęli się, uścisnęli z taką siłą, że zabrakło im tchu, powtarzając, ty draniu, draniu, po czym z równą łatwością, z jaką właściwy klucz przekręca mechanizm zamka, ich usta się spotkały (...) a oni tak trwali, stopieni piersiami, brzuchami, nogami, deptali sobie po palcach, aż wreszcie oderwali się od siebie, żeby nabrać powietrza, i Ennis, tak zawsze oszczędny w słowach, nie bawiący się w czułości, powiedział to, co mówił do swoich koni i córek, moje kochanie."

"Całe lata tego wszystkiego, co nie zostało powiedziane i czego powiedzieć się nie da - wyznania, obietnice, wstyd, poczucie winy, lęki - uniosły się wokół nich niczym ogromne, zimowe obłoki pary z gorących źródeł. Ennis stał jak trafiony prosto w serce, twarz zszarzała i pobrużdżona, skrzywiona grymasem, oczy zamknięte, pięści zaciśnięte, wreszcie nogi ugięły się pod nim i padł na kolana."

"(...) kiedy to Ennis w ciszy podszedł do niego od tyłu, objął i przyciągnął do siebie, ten jego uścisk zaspokajał jakiś trawiący ich obu i nie mający nic wspólnego z seksem głód.
Stali tak długo w czerwonawym, migotliwym blasku ognia, ich ciała rzucały na skałę pojedynczy słup cienia. Minuty mijały, odmierzane tykaniem zegarka w kieszeni Ennisa, trzaskiem zwęglających się patyków. Przez warstwy gorącego powietrza falującego nad ogniskiem przebijały gwiazdy. Ennis oddychał powoli i spokojnie, pomrukiwał, kołysał się delikatnie pośród sypiących się iskier, a Jack, oparty o niego, czuł równy rytm jego serca, wibracje wywołane pomrukiwaniem niczym słabiutki prąd i tak, stojąc, zapadł w sen, który nie był prawdziwym snem, tylko jakimś niezwykłym stanem, pół snem, pół jawą (...)
Już później ów senny uścisk utrwalił się w jego pamięci jako ten jedyny moment prawdziwego czystego szczęścia, który łączył ich odrębne i pogmatwane losy. Nie mąciło tego nic, nawet świadomość, że Ennis nie objął go, stojąc z nim twarzą w twarz, bo nie chciał ani widzieć, ani czuć, że to właśnie jego trzyma w ramionach."

"Cofnął się i przez zły spoglądał na tę kolekcję.
- Jack, przysięgam... - zaczął, chociaż Jack nigdy nie prosił go o żadne przysięgi, a i sam też nie należał do tych, co je składają."

Od autorki:
"(...) dostawałam listy od mężczyzn (...) - którzy pisali: 'Opowiedziałaś moją historię" albo: "Teraz rozumiem, przez co przeszedł mój syn'."
...i to jest najbardziej smutne...(less)

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Jun 27, 2009 Adrienne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

this book was an impulse buy for me::i haven't seen the film::and must of missed all the hype surrounding the story when the film was made::aslo i haven't (on purpose) read any other reviews for this::so i went into blind so to speak::the first thing that surprised me was it is a short story::the second::the fact that it is set in the twentyith century::altho after reading it i can fully understand why::

what struck me about this story is that it isn't romantic::it isn't sexual::its about emotion...more this book was an impulse buy for me::i haven't seen the film::and must of missed all the hype surrounding the story when the film was made::aslo i haven't (on purpose) read any other reviews for this::so i went into blind so to speak::the first thing that surprised me was it is a short story::the second::the fact that it is set in the twentyith century::altho after reading it i can fully understand why::

what struck me about this story is that it isn't romantic::it isn't sexual::its about emotions::trust and the bizare way in which you can trust someone sexually but not emotionally::and having the balls/or not as is the case here to tell someone what you think::the part of the story that actually takes place on broke back mountain is very short and understated::jack and ennis both brush their relationship off as *just something that happened* well it wasn't and they should have had the balls to tell each other then::they next meet up 4 years later and the relationship::much to the surprise of both of them has remained as intense:: jack tries to get ennis to set up a ranch with him;;but basically ennis is scared::the relationship flitters along (both wives know what happening::and both these relationships fail)over a twenty period:: but still ennis will not budge he's full of excuses as to why not::it becomes too much for jack who stomps off after a mighty row::then comes the part that should be taken on board by all of us::if you love someone tell them:: b/c ennis only ever briefly touches on the subject to jack::even though jack has opened his heart to ennis:: anyway as it turns out ennis never gets the chance to tell jack anything again::the most emotional scence for me is at the end where ennis actually finds out that had he taken up with jack the promise jack always made to him would have been fulfilled::but he finds this out too late::the story is wriiten from the perspective of ennis::but jacks the one who's thwarted at every step::

i don't think i can say i loved/enjoyed this story b/c that implies *happy*::but::i think its a brilliant/intense/moving/emotional piece of writting and really should be read by everyone:: as lesson in how not to loose something you value dearly:: (less)

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Jun 20, 2007 Skip rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Rural America

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...more

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Aug 15, 2010 Petra X rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This is the first audio book I've 'read'. It was much more akin to listening to a radio play than sitting reading a book. There was no effort involved and by the nuancing of the narrator the book was interpreted for me. It was fast-paced, no time to sit and ponder a paragraph, no natural break between chapters just a pause. I can't say I enjoyed it, it felt fake, it felt like cheating, it felt like the dumbed-down version - all the work done for me and no need to particularly concentrate either,...more This is the first audio book I've 'read'. It was much more akin to listening to a radio play than sitting reading a book. There was no effort involved and by the nuancing of the narrator the book was interpreted for me. It was fast-paced, no time to sit and ponder a paragraph, no natural break between chapters just a pause. I can't say I enjoyed it, it felt fake, it felt like cheating, it felt like the dumbed-down version - all the work done for me and no need to particularly concentrate either, in fact I played spider solitaire and tetris while I was 'reading' the book. I can only think I would use this format again for a book I had to read but couldn't get through.

I find that reading a book, I really concentrate on it, nothing else around me exists, I enter the world of the writer, I might stop and think about what I'm reading once in a while, reread a particularly difficult or beautifully-written paragraph and even enjoy the way book is laid-out, the font, the margins, the spacing, the look of paragraphs on the page, and of course the feel of the paper (I like thick, creamy hardback book pages).

Last year I kept a list on a Goodreads thread of a 100-book a year challenge. I could see with audio books, I could easily increase the number of books I've 'read', but it would feel to me the same as including children's books, too easy an option.

This is only my experience. Others think of audio books in quite different ways and thoroughly enjoy them. I had hoped I would, but nope, I just wasn't feelin' it at all. I would quite like to 'read' an audio book along with someone who enjoys them, a chapter at a time and see if I could get more from it than I had alone.

To move on to a review of the book itself - I found the prose, described by almost everyone to be 'spare' as the opposite, overly descriptive, but this could be the media, perhaps written it reads quite differently. I feel any review of the book is a review of the way the narrator chose to interpret it and not the book itself, so I'm going to end by saying, I enjoyed the book, but not a lot and I enjoyed the media not much at all. (less)

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Feb 13, 2013 Tina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

What makes Brokeback Mountain one of my favorite short stories is the fact that it is a perfect combination of simplicity and emotional charge. There's nothing fancy or exaggerated in it, but it will most definitely rip your heart out. I would recommend Brokeback Mountain to anyone who loves beautiful and affecting love stories.

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Mar 18, 2008 Maggie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-classic, most-highly-recommended, 2008, audiobooks

I know this story got a lot of hype because of it's "controversial" subject matter, but it's not about homosexuality at all. That's just a vehicle Proulx uses. It's about the things love has the power to do, and the things it doesn't. It's absolutely breathtaking.

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Jan 20, 2009 Endah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kapan sebenarnya sejarah homoseksual dimulai? Apakah sejak jaman Nabi Luth atau jauh sebelum itu, sama tuanya dengan dunia ini? Yang jelas, hingga kini fenomena cinta sesama jenis (biasanya di kalangan pria disebut homoseks; untuk wanita sebutannya lesbian) itu masih terus kita jumpai di sekitar kita, bahkan kian terang-terangan. Hal yang dahulu dianggap sebagai sesuatu yang tabu dan menyimpang (tidak normal), hari ini menuntut hak dan perlakuan yang sama dengan kaum heteroseksual, kelompok deng...more

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Jul 20, 2010 Serena Yates rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m

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 "trag...more

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Jun 14, 2007 Nate rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone

I read this in Israel of all places, years before the movie was made... If you haven't seen the movie, I would strongly recommend you read the short story first. It is excellent and gives me some new insight every time I read it. It is very short, but every phrase was purposely written. You have to read it very slowly, or an important detail is missed - this is an amazing feature of Proulx's writing that I greatly appreciate. Also, you will appreciate the movie more if you read the story first -...more

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May 19, 2007 Anne added it · review of another edition

Disclaimer: I'd give the *movie* four enthusiastic stars, and I saw it on antidepressants. But the story is much less complex and compelling, and the moment of, erm, entry is one of the most clinical descriptions of coitus ever rendered. I should admit that I'm not really an Annie Proulx fan. When I read *The Shipping News,* I was not yet twenty and easily seduced by lush language and depressing characters. But a re-read several years later left me disappointed, annoyed, and worried about prose...more

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Dec 14, 2008 Tracy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-made-into-movies, boy-man-masculine-tales, tear-jerkers, short-stories, love-tales, drama-fiction

The beautiful love story almost identical to the movie about Ennos and Jack. The two men fall into forbidden love one summer while working as sheep herders on a ranch. They both claim they aren't "queer" and both marry and have children. But they get away from their families once or twice every year to see each other. Jack wants them to abandon their charade and be together despite all the negativity and static they will get from other people. Ennos doesn't want to risk it because he cares for J...more

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May 01, 2013 J rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: put-me-back-on-antidepressants

After reading the Shipping News, I checked out this from the local library. It was the only Proulx available, and I had no real idea what I was getting into- I read it long before the movie was thought of, and have not seen the movie. I made it through the entire book (it really isn't very big), without piking out- Aside from the themes, I did get the distinct impression that the author had a story that she had to tell- whether it be something that had been recounted to her by a friend or family...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Bk70lvr rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

The audio I grabbed was only an hour long, but HOLY WOW did I giggle, awe, gasp and tear up all within that eventful hour!

Two young men, sent up into Brokeback Mountain to tend sheep...and soon enough, each other..

And when the summer ends, they seperate, go on with their lives. Families, children...

Until Jack comes for a visit four years later, and old feelings left behind, are rekindled...

AND THEN A WHOLE "MESS" OF THINGS HAPPEN with family and secret get aways they take. But Ennis can't admit...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Adrian rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, gay, romance, shorts

The first time I read Brokeback Mountain was before the movie came out. In the years since that moment, I've watched the film many times and haven't read the story again until just now. I hadn't realized just how literal of an adaptation it was. The brilliance of the film isn't found in the screenplay adaptation as that simply comprises almost every line of dialogue lifted directly from the story. It is found in the performances of the actors and the wonderful direction of Aang Lee.

While the la...more

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Jan 29, 2013 MsSadie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ripped-my-freakin-heart-out, 2013, mm-that-i-loved-to-bits

I don't even know where to start on this one. I read it almost 24 hours ago and it has played on a loop in my brain since then.
Another reviewer used the word 'bereft' when describing how this book made them feel. I think that's a pretty accurate emotional description.

Proulx's writing is sublime. I'm certain I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to describe how intensely, eerily beautiful her prose is. From the first paragraph I couldn't look away. I kept re-reading sections because her wr...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Jake Kilroy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adapted, short-stories

This was such a heavy story. Jesus, the weight of the world slowly and carefully swallowing up two semi-urban cowboys in the 1960s. Time rolls over them, society waits in the shadows for them, and all you can do is try to hope everything will be ok when you know that it probably won't. There's no humor, no optimism. It's just brutal reality creeping into the souls of two good dudes trying make lives together and separately. The only problem I have was that how it started off was too quick and wi...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Rose rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I never knew the movie was based on a short story. So while on vacation I saw this at a bookstore & was curious to see how it compared to the film. Being an Ang Lee fan I wondered how he'd interpreted what was on 55 pages onto the screen. I don't know how my opinion would differ if I hadn't seen the movie first only that I know it would be different. As it is I think this was a fantastic short story. Though I must admit I did see the movie's images in my head as I read certain things, the pi...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Ira Mustika rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kasian dua tokoh utamanya. Mereka tertarik satu sama lain secara seksual, padahal dua-duanya cowok. Bukan cowok sembarangan pula, yang satu cowok pengembala, satunya lagi pemain rodeo. Nah lo kurang jantan apalagi coba.

Ennis harus kehilangan Jack karena Jack meninggal dunia secara mendadak. Meskipun orang-orang bilang Jack meninggal karena kecelakaan. Namun Ennis yakin kalau Jack sebenarnya dibunuh. Dan penyebabnya adalah hubungan mereka.

Ennis bersumpah untuk tetap setia pada Jack. Sejak saat it...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had to read this for one of my scholar's classes and...well...otherwise I wouldn't have.
Before I get accused of homophobia, let me be clear: I don't have a problem with gay people, or reading gay literature. HOWEVER, I did not enjoy this because I don't read sex scenes: not if they're gay, not if they're straight. I'm not into that. It's gross. It's not my business what other people do.
But because this is for class, I felt like I had to read it. Not that they were overly descriptive, but I rea...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Rachel Eliason rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-because-of-hype

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...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Carolyn F. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, contemporary, western-romance, short-story

Audiobook. I did not realize this was a short story. This is an unabridged CD with Campbell Scott as the narrator. I should have known it was a short story because usually if its a celebrity narrating the book, it's the unabridged version.

I have never watched the movie, although I've wanted to. I wish the relationship between Ennis and Jack would have been expanded upon. They just sit by the fire, one touches the other's penis and then they're going at it. It doesn't talk about how they got to...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Ismail Elshareef rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's astounding how much story is packed into this 55-page epic of love found, squandered, salvaged and ultimately lost forever. From the vivid scenery of the West to the intimate relations between two lovers, this very quick read (took me an hour to read with interruptions) proves to be a force of nature and an exemplary lesson on succinct writing.

I think my imagination to fill in the details has been polluted by having seen the movie first. With that, though, I still very much enjoyed reading...more

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Aug 24, 2011 Dana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-contemporary, controversy

*I am a member of a family of ranchers and rodeo cowboys so I do honestly understand this lifestyle and its social norms.

I listened to the audio version of this and frankly, I was blown away.

I am traditionally not a fan of short stories. Epic fantasy is my favorite and is at the opposite end of the spectrum so to speak. I have always felt that short stories are the 'commercials' of writing. don't get me wrong, some commercials are better than the show you are watching, so this is not a statement...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Steph rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-current-owned-books

I read this short story after seeing the movie and both are heartbreakingly beautiful in their own way. The book is straight to the point and grabs you with the dialog and prose. It was written in a way stories are sometimes told orally yet this creates a fast read. The movie has amazing open lonely cold landscape of Brokeback Mountain that parallels with the boys own loneliness and emptiness. Both capture the raw emotion that these boys fight with when trying to hold onto what they have in each...more

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Feb 23, 2011 Christine rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Gender advocacy has been a part of my system since I got inducted into the world of GABRIELA. We were partners with a group called Pro-Gay/LesboND so I was also pretty much exposed to homosexual stories of all types.

When the movie Brokeback Mountain came out, pun intended, I heard too many times the comments Yuck and Eeew regarding the love scenes, especially that first encounter between Jack and Ennis. Maybe people still weren't used to homosexual or gay intimate scenes in mainstream movies, si...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Travis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2006

Although I found the dialect a bit hard to manage (there were a few places where I honestly didn't know what they meant), I thought it worked really well. In a full-length story I probably would have gotten sick of it, but it was okay for something this length.[return][return]I would have preferred a tighter third person POV. I don't really like omniscient. Sometimes there would have been no other way to get in some of the info she obviously wanted in, but then sometimes there was stuff that was...more

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Oct 08, 2010 htanzil rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

ack Twist dan Ennis del Mar, dua pria yang bersahabat dan saling mencintai. Secara terpisah mereka tumbuh dewasa di peternakan-peternakan kecil yang miskin di kawasan Utara Amerika Serikat. Mereka berdua pemuda desa yang tidak lulus dalam sekolahnya , tanpa masa depan, serta dibesarkan dalam kerja keras dan kemiskinan. Kehidupan yang keras dan serba kekurangan membentuk karakter kedua pemuda ini menjadi pemuda yang sering bertingkah dan berbicara kasar

Mereka bertemu pertama kali pada di musim pa...more ack Twist dan Ennis del Mar, dua pria yang bersahabat dan saling mencintai. Secara terpisah mereka tumbuh dewasa di peternakan-peternakan kecil yang miskin di kawasan Utara Amerika Serikat. Mereka berdua pemuda desa yang tidak lulus dalam sekolahnya , tanpa masa depan, serta dibesarkan dalam kerja keras dan kemiskinan. Kehidupan yang keras dan serba kekurangan membentuk karakter kedua pemuda ini menjadi pemuda yang sering bertingkah dan berbicara kasar

Mereka bertemu pertama kali pada di musim panas 1963 pada saat melamar bekerja untuk menggembalakan domba di peternakan milik Joe Aquirre di lereng gunung Brokeback, di Wyoming Amerika Serikat. Saat itu usia mereka belum berusia dua puluh tahun. Awalnya hubungan mereka layaknya persahabatan antara teman sekerja. Pekerjaan yang keras dan terpencil di lereng gunung seperti menjaga domba dari serbuan coyote, mendirikan tenda, memasak, minum wiski, bahkan tidur dalam satu tenda membuat hubungan mereka semakin dekat. Tak ada yang salah dalam persahabatan mereka hingga akhirnya disebuah malam yang dingin Jack dan Ennis harus tidur dalam satu kasur yang hangat, keintiman diantara mereka tiba-tiba meningkat pesat. Ennis ‘memasuki’ Jack. Walaupun keduanya belum pernah melakukan ini, mereka melakukakannya dengan cepat. Hari-hari berikutnya hubungan intim ini terjadi dengan begitu saja. Mereka tidak pernah bicara tentang seks, namun hubungan ini terus berlanjut, di kemah, siang hari dibawah terik matahari, dan pada malam hari di dekat api ungun. Cepat, kasar, diiringi tawa dan dengus, berisik tapi tak pernah mengucapkan sepatah kata apapun. Pekerjaanpun jadi terbengkalai. Tanpa mereka duga hubungan ini diketahui oleh majikan mereka. Musim panas berlalu, Jon Aquirre membayar mereka dengan kekecewaan karena pekerjaan mereka dianggap tak memuaskannya.

Dengan berakhirnya pekerjaan mereka sebagai gembala di lereng gunung Brokeback, berakhir pula hubungan keduanya. Keduanya mengira itulah akhir dari hubungan mereka. Empat tahun berlalu, Jack pergi mengejar cita-citanya sebagai pemain rodeo dan memiliki satu anak dari pernikahannya dengan Lureen. Ennis menikahi kekasihnya Alma dan memiliki dua orang anak. Kehidupan perkawinannya normal-normal saja hingga datangnya sebuah kartu pos dari Jack yang bermaksud mengunjungi Ennis dan keluarganya. Dua sahabat sekaligus kekasih kembali bertemu, keduanya menyadari mereka tetap tertarik satu sama lain, hubungan mereka di lereng gunung Brokeback tak pernah terhapus dalam ingatan mereka. Merekapun mengungkapkan kerinduan mereka dalam cara mereka. Tanpa disadari Alma memergoki keduanya dan konflikpun terjadi.

Ennis diperhadapkan pada pilihan antara cinta dan keutuhan keluarganya, akhirnya Ennis memilih hidup bersama Jack, pandangan masyarakat tak juga dihiraukannya. Mereka hidup bersama hingga suatu badai kehidupan datang untuk menguji tulusnya kisah cinta mereka.

Novela karya Annie Proulx ini memang bertutur mengenai kisah cinta antar dua manusia yang kebetulan berjenis kelamin sama. Karena tesaji dalam sebuah novela kisah ini tersaji secara cepat dan menarik, kisah ini dapat dibaca dalam sekali duduk, Annie menyajikan kisah cintanya secara realistis tanpa bumbu romantisme yang berlebihan, beberapa detail cerita mungkin membuat pembaca jenggah, terutama dalam mengungkap hubungan intim sesama jenis antara Jack dan Annis , namun bukan berarti kisah ini sarat dengan kisah yang vulgar, dengan baik pula Annie mengungkap potret kehidupan sosial masyarakat kelas pekerja Amerika Utara lewat karakter Jack dan Ennis yang sebelumnya hidup normal dan tiba-tiba saja terseret dalam kisah cinta sesama jenis, cinta terlarang yang pada saat itu masih merupakan hal tabu dan
memalukan bagi masyarakat Amerika. Konflik-konflik antara Ennis dan Alma dan konflik batin pribadi Jack dan Ennis tersaji secara menarik. Ending cerita berakhir dengan menyentuh pembacanya. Lewat kisah yang getir dan pahit namun tak cengeng ini Annie tak mencoba menggurui siapapun, nampaknya Annie hanya mengungkap kisah cinta sesama jenis yang masih dianggap ‘tak wajar’ oleh masyarakat dunia hingga kini plus konflik-konflik yang menyertainya. Kisah Gunung Brokeback seolah memberi pesan universal bahwa ada jurang yang membentang lebar antara keyakinan masyarakat dan keyakinan hidup seseorang, dan kalau tak bisa menjembataninya kita harus bisa menghadapinya.

Sekilas tentang Broback Mountain

Brokeback Mountain / Gunung Brokeback merupakan novela yang terdapat dalam kumpulan cerita pendek karya Annie Proulx berjudul Close Range : Wyoming Stories (1999). Brokeback Mountain pernah dimuat di majalah The New Yorker dan mendapat pengahargaan O. Henry Award Short Story serta National Magazine Award. The New Yorker Book Award juga memberikan penghargaan Best Fiction 1999 untuk Close Range, Wyoming Stories. Para pengamat sastra berpendapat bahwa Brokeback Mountain adalah masterpiece dari Annie Proulx.

Walau Broback Mountain diambil dari buku kumpulan cerita Close Range :Wyoming Stories, Gramedia nampaknya berinisiatif untuk menerjemahkan dan menerbitkan karya ini menjadi sebuah buku tersendiri. Mungkin terbitnya buku ini hendak mengambil momen kehadiran film Brokeback Mountain arahan sutradara kenamaan Ang Lee yang oleh Golden Globe Award diganjar sebagai Film dan sturadara terbaik dan mendapat delapan pecalonan Oscar untuk berbagai kategori termasuk film terbaik. Hal ini juga dilakukan oleh penerbit Amerika yang menerbitkan Brokeback Mountain dalam sebuah buku tersendiri yang diberi judul ‘Brokeback Mountain : Now a Major Motion Picture’ (Scribner, Nov 2005)

Sebenarnya akan lebih menarik jika yang diterbitkan adalah buku Close Range : Wyoming Stories dimana Brokeback Mountain terdapat didalamnya, namun sebagai jembatan untuk mengenal karya-karya Annie Proulx lainnya dan sebagai pengantar menonton filmnya yang tampaknya tak lama lagi akan beredar, buku ini sangat tepat kehadirannya ditengah-tengah kita.
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About E. Annie Proulx

Also published as E. Annie Proulx
Edna Annie Proulx is an American journalist and author. Her second novel, The Shipping News (1993), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for fiction in 1994. Her short story "Brokeback Mountain" was adapted as an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe Award-winning major motion picture released in 2005. Brokeback Mountain received massive c...more

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Quotes from Brokeback Mountain

“I wish I knew how to quit you.” — 149 people liked 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.” — 46 people liked it

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