Brokeback Mountain
by E. Annie Proulx
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1558)
Read in August, 2008
I saw the movie when it came out but was far too young to truly understand its powerful beauty. I watched it again a week ago and immediately bought the short story.
The way Proulx writes is in perfect harmony with the cruel Wyoming nature. She economises her words, writing only what is absolutely essential. Still Brokeback Mountain is one of the most emotional stories I've ever read.
Having seen the movie (which was wonderfully faithful to Proulx's text), I could visualise the bea...more
The way Proulx writes is in perfect harmony with the cruel Wyoming nature. She economises her words, writing only what is absolutely essential. Still Brokeback Mountain is one of the most emotional stories I've ever read.
Having seen the movie (which was wonderfully faithful to Proulx's text), I could visualise the bea...more
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Read in April, 2008
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 f...more
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At first blush, I was floored by the size of the book which was a foil for the resounding success of both the author and the film (and, needless to say, its makers)- it's all of scarcely fifty five pages.
But when I began to read the book, though, the story gripped my heart with every page I traversed by its sheer complexity of deep emotional nuances that stretched all along the narrative much like the lavish and delectable descriptions of the vast North American landscape which could only ha...more
But when I began to read the book, though, the story gripped my heart with every page I traversed by its sheer complexity of deep emotional nuances that stretched all along the narrative much like the lavish and delectable descriptions of the vast North American landscape which could only ha...more
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Read in January, 2007
When the film came out, I was mildly interested. When I suggested seeing the film to a friend and was met by disdainful scorn for even suggesting it, I knew I HAD to see it as a gesture of solidarity to the "other." This "otherness" is something that I am so committed to abolishing in our cultural mind, that I knew I needed to see and share the story, if indeed it was worth sharing.
It was so worth sharing that I ran out and (ordered because no copies were available locall...more
It was so worth sharing that I ran out and (ordered because no copies were available locall...more
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Read in February, 2006
recommends it for:
Wait for it... wait for it... wait for it... Gay Cowboys.
Brokeback Mountain was originally published as a short story in the New Yorker several years ago, but recent attention given to Ang Lee's remarkable film adaptation has resulted in the short story being re-released in book form. It is worth the revisit. Proulx's writing has never been more on target, her voice never more in control. Brokeback Mountain is a deeply real, affecting story about two ranch hands, Jack and Ennis, and the romance that develops between them one season in 1963. The work i...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
um. Yes.
I can't find a bad sentence in here. It's damn clever, and each line is whittled down to it's underwear. Very bare. I'm surprised at how well is works though, and also at how slender it is (55 pages), considering it became a feature length film; I was anticipating a novel, not a short story. The "magic" is based on inferences, on the economy of adjectives and verbs that allude to a developed character, no internal monologues are provided (thankfully), because it's not necessary. It...more
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True story: I first read this in an anthology of short stories when I was thirteen. I read the first few pages and settled in for a nice gritty cowboy story.
I still smile at the memory of my utter shock and amazement when the two main characters started to have sex. It shook up my little world.
This is a lyrical, stripped-out, sparse story of masculinity and passion. Ennis and Jack's multi-decade affair plays out against landscapes of simultaneous loneliness and possibility, while calling...more
I still smile at the memory of my utter shock and amazement when the two main characters started to have sex. It shook up my little world.
This is a lyrical, stripped-out, sparse story of masculinity and passion. Ennis and Jack's multi-decade affair plays out against landscapes of simultaneous loneliness and possibility, while calling...more
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Read in October, 1998
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 fi...more
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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 p...more
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Read in July, 2008
The article (on which the Oscar winning movie is based) is pretty good... probably three stars worthy. The "book" is not. I understand the market demands that forced this slim volume into existence but I couldn't shake feeling as I was reading this that there were a lot of folks who were... well, cheated is what I want to say. I don't know, it's pretty easy to realize that this is one article taken from a longer book and any reader who doesn't find that out can do so easily... but yeah...more
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Read in April, 2007
recommends it for:
Those Who Love Love
Okay, so I missed the film bandwagon...but I decided to finally sit down and watch the film this past April...I watched it on a Saturday, Sunday I went and purchased the short story...and fell in love with the story all over again...
To see it was one thing, the actors did a fantastic job bringing the story to life, but to read the words was the best...I cried as I watched as the love began and when the end result came...
A quick read, one you won't soon forget...
Reminds us to never su...more
To see it was one thing, the actors did a fantastic job bringing the story to life, but to read the words was the best...I cried as I watched as the love began and when the end result came...
A quick read, one you won't soon forget...
Reminds us to never su...more
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Read in August, 2006
I read Annie Proulx's short story, Brokeback Mountain, after seeing the movie. I find it incredible that Proulx could convey such depth of emotion in a 55-page short story. Her words are haunting and the story paints a beautiful portrait even though it is kind of hard to shake the images of Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger and instead see the characters as just Ennis and Jack. If you liked the movie, you'll love the short story. It's such a quick and fulfilling read, I don't think you'll be disa...more
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Read in January, 2003
Funny story about this one. I had a reading club at a senior center. We would take turns reading aloud from a collection of short stories. Usually I would read the story ahead of time, but I was fairly confident from the other two books of hers I had read that it would go over well. Well, when we got to the part where the cowboys start fellating each other--in the most vivid language I've ever encountered, it was unanimously decided that it was poorly suited to the crowd at the center.
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Read in April, 2006
Normally I read the book first and view the movie later. This one went the other way around, but is probably the single case when it really doesn't matter that much. The novel is so much sharper, plainer and shorter, it leaves you on a spot, without a breath, and you can't seem to properly think of "why". I would strongly recommend the movie - no way to be the same after seeing it. And reading the book post-watching? An entirely different experience, in any sense of the word.
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Read in July, 2006
I will admit that I saw the film first, which clearly biased my reading of the story. I actually think in this case it wasn't bad to see the film first. The story (being a short story) doesn't have a lot of character development, but I felt like what I'd seen in the film filled in what there wasn't room in the story to describe. That said, I thought the story could stand on its own. The sparseness of the language was powerful. The story was brutal and absorbing.
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Read in October, 2007
For once in my life I think the movie was much better than the book. I still enjoyed the story but it definitely just highlights the main points. No sooner do you begin the book and you are already at the end. What happened to the middle? The movie did a much better job of portraying the personalities of the charcaters and the emotions which lends to defining the situation they find themselves caught up in.
Definitely opt for the movie on this one.
Definitely opt for the movie on this one.
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Read in January, 2006
I read this after I saw the movie. I was struck by how much the movie stuck to the book. Even though it was only an extensive short story, or novella, I felt like I was reading the movie script. It was interesting to see how Ang Lee took the descriptions from the book and directed everything accordingly. If I wrote a book that was going to be made into a movie, I'd want Ang to direct it.
P.S. Ang and I are on a first name basis.
P.S. Ang and I are on a first name basis.
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Read in October, 2005
Read this before you watch the movie. If that's too late, then try to put the movie firmly out of your mind when you read the short story. Its a beautiful thing, but then so are all the other short stories in the collection. Atmosphere is created with a few well-placed words, and the language is as sparse as the countryside it often depicts.
Personally I really enjoyed this collection, and I tend to shy away from western-type novels.
Personally I really enjoyed this collection, and I tend to shy away from western-type novels.
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Read in November, 2005
This was a short story aobut two cowboys who are gay. The story won the National Magazine Award (New Yorker) and was included in the O. Henry Stories 1998.
This short story was later adapted into a film version and I wondered how they were going to make a full length movie from a short story. They seemed to do fine with making the movie, but I thought there was too much hype.
For a short story it was okay.
This short story was later adapted into a film version and I wondered how they were going to make a full length movie from a short story. They seemed to do fine with making the movie, but I thought there was too much hype.
For a short story it was okay.
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A fast, beautiful read. I was really floored by the story and passed it around to friends to read before the film opened. Ang Lee did a nice job with the adaptation, but Proulx's story is really superb.
Proulx's descriptions are vivid and poignant, and the characters are impressively detailed and deep considering the story's length. Very impressed with the structure, pacing, and tone.
Proulx's descriptions are vivid and poignant, and the characters are impressively detailed and deep considering the story's length. Very impressed with the structure, pacing, and tone.
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