Reviews

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

acherry913's review against another edition

4.25

I wish I knew how to quit you. No words ever ranging more true and a gay relationship ever. But in all seriousness this book delivered exactly what I hoped it would with the yearning and the beautiful landscape and the homosexuality. I would recommend and would read again.

farrington's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

womanhollering's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“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.”

Devastating. Beautiful. Proulx is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

beth_7's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

twj483's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

sphynxreads's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Maybe it's because I've already seen the film, but I thought this short story packs a real punch. Beautifully written.

faeriviera's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

e_r_q's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"One thing never changed: the brilliant charge of their infrequent couplings was darkened by the sense of time flying, never enough time, never enough."

At times Brokeback Mountain somewhat reads like a Wikipedia summary of the movie, which is by no means the fault of this short story, considering it did come first.

But, despite its brusque pacing, Annie Proulx still finds the time for some beautifully descriptive moments. I was also surprised to find a lot of the best lines from the film were adapted directly from the text.

Brokeback Mountain created a knot in my stomach as I read it. The intense longing, and the grappling with hegemonic gender roles and sexuality, is truly gut-wrenching.

At times you could definitely tell this was written by a straight person (I'm looking at you unrealistic gay sex scenes), but Brokeback Mountain is a powerful and heartbreaking story, that feels like a perfect companion piece to Giovanni's Room.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Infidelity and Domestic abuse

Minor: Rape

mimichang's review against another edition

4.5

😭💔

anouk_reads's review against another edition

2.0

I’ll say that I liked the movie more.