Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28245 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Synopsis
Film tie-in edition of the story by Annie Proulx, now a movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Randy Quaid, Anne Hathaway and Heath Ledger. Brokeback Mountain is set in the beautiful, wild landscape of Wyoming where cowboys live as they have done for generations. Hard, lonely lives in unforgiving country. Jack Twist and Ennis del Mar are two ranch hands -- 'drop-out country boys with no prospects, brought up to hard work and privation, both rough-mannered, tough spoken' -- glad to have found each other's company where none had been expected. But companionship becomes something else on Brokeback Mountain, something not looked for, something deadly.

Customer Reviews

A real bore - thank god for the film
The worst thing about this book was having to wade through all the over short stories before getting to the 'famous one'. If you are interested in cowboys then these stories may have some merit but I found pretty much all of them to be dull, characterless yarns. There were a couple of moments of light relief but it was a real struggle to get through this book (which isn't often a problem with short stories). The title story was the best but if I hadn't have seen the film I doubt I would have had much empathy for the two main characters - their love affair really does seem to come out of no-where with little preamble or idea why these two men fall in lust and then love. It has its touching moments but these were definitely hightened in my mind by my memory's of the film. I am an avid reader and very rarely do I find a film better than the book - this is one of those occasions.

un-romanticised yet touching
Although i found her style of writing rather difficult and in some ways irritating, i did enjoy the main story of the book. I liked the way their relationship wasn't melodramatic or in anyway a soppy love story, which made it more realistic. Also, the fact that Ennis and Jack weren't supposed to be atall feminine or very attractive broke away from the gay fiction stereotypes; it was quite refreshing to read. I thought that the ending was very emotive and sad, and the callousness of Jacks wife was quite chilling. The only thing i didn't really like was the way the novel, and for that matter the film, jumped years at a time. It seemed to kill the atmosphere a little.
Overall, worth a read.

A Masterpiece
I saw the film of Brokeback Mountain before I read this lovely book of short stories, and now read eveything by Annie Proulx that I can lay hands to.
All of the stories are good, bit in my opinion Brokeback Mountain which is the last story in the book is a masterpiece, probably the finest short story ever written in the English language.
It is so emotional and multi-layered that it will keep one speculating on it's true meaning for months.
The film is very faithful to the book and is completely heartrending, with wonderful acting and direction.
The soundtrack is terrific too!