Brokeback Mountain: Now a Major Motion Picture (Annie Proulx)

An interesting short story portraying the aspects of love (of any kind) most of us will never be given a chance to experience. The book allows readers to understand the complex relation of unexpected (gay) love, and the social misunderstanding of it based on their false beliefs and fear. A coarse language emphasizes the fact that it is the story about two real men who "wish they knew how to quit themselves", but struggle with a real feeling they have for each other.

As far as short stories go BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, at 64 pages, is one of the best. Not a traditional Western, but rather a more modern (1960s through 1980s) story of two young rodeo cowboys who fall in love one summer while working as sheepherders on the title mountain. The characterizations are deep and very true to the era and one can really feel the pain of yearning that young gay men of that era would truly feel, and understand the circumstances of how one of them at least, felt it was impossible to make a life together; so they would meet up at different periods in their lives to rekindle their romance. While it is a tragic story, it is expertly written and Annie Proulx's prose is meticulous in its intent. The characters are so concrete they will stay with you for a long time.

Mark R. Probst
The Filly

AS YOU SEE MY TITLE IS MY LICENSE PLATE. YOU COULD I HAVE TOTALLY IMMERSED IN THE THEME OF THE MOVIE.
SAY IT 12 TIMES, CRIED AT EVERY ONE. I HAVE TAKEN THE MONIKER OF ENNIS AS MY EMAIL, HAVE HUNDREDS OF THE MOVIE STILLS, SIGNED POSTERS,SIGNED PHOTOS.
I RANK IT AS ONE OF THE CLASSICS FOR ALL TIMES UP THERE WITH "GONE WITH THE WIND", TITANIC, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN. I HAVE ADDRESS LABELS, STATIONERY,ALL WITH THE "HUGGING" PHOTO. I STILL CAN'T WATCH THE MOVIE I AM TOO MUCH LIKE ENNIS, IN FACT MY STORY IS AN IMAGE OF HIS.
GOING TO TRY TO CHANGE MY NAME TO HIS.
I LOVE THE STORY, ON HOPE, LOST LOVE, LONELINESS ,
HEARTACHE,ANNIE PROULX, MICHELLE WILLIAMS

The raw emotion of this short story dares to punch you in the stomach; the tear ducts start to sting, but inevitably, do not yield, because the bitter bite of the narrative does not fall to melodrama. To feel the devastating triumph of a love ended too early is to experience the very essence of what literature exists for. Proulx's sweeping, sometimes complex images encompass an entire world into a few short words; the briefness of the story parallels how the characters feel there is never enough time. As always, Proulx betrays her extensive knowledge of the written word as a motif. The colloquially written dialogue is blunt and entirely convincing; not an ounce of it seems forced or unrealistic. To read Brokeback Mountain is to have your nerves catch on fire and belief restored in the power of the written word.

It doesn't matter if you're straight or gay... this is a story of love that can never be. If anyone has every been in a relationship that just can't happen, this story will hit a nerve.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The sex part of Brokeback Mountain is so minimal, it's not even really an issue. So get over that.
**END OF SPOILER ALERT**
The story tugs on the heartstrings on those who can understand what it's like to be in relationships that aren't working, but they're stuck... and when you meet someone or you're wanting to be with someone, yet it's just not possible. It truly shows how two people, over the course of twenty years, can honestly care and love each other. It reaffirms that love knows no distance, boundaries, number of years, or gender or sexual orientations. Love is just purely that... Love.
Brokeback Mountain is exactly what our world needed, at at time, where understanding and compassion for one another is often disregarded.