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thechaliceofaries's review against another edition
4.0
"You're too much for me, Ennis, you son of a whoreson bitch. I wish I knew how to quit you."
A heart-wrenching short story that packs a pretty powerful emotional punch under 60 pages. I've never seen the movie, but I think I'll have to now because this book shattered me. The gay community (in the western world, at least) has made long strides in its fight for acceptance and equality, but for me stories like Brokeback Mountain are bitter and painful reminders of the suffering they have had to endure and continue to endure in many parts of the world.
"Jack, I don’t want a be like them guys you see around sometimes. And I don’t want a be dead. There was these two old guys ranched together down home, Earl and Rich--Dad would pass a remark when he seen them. They was a joke even though they was pretty tough old birds. I was what, nine years old and they found Earl dead in a irrigation ditch. They’d took a tire iron to him, spurred him up, drug him around by his dick until it pulled off, just bloody pulp. What the tire iron done looked like pieces a burned tomatoes all over him, nose tore down from skiddin on gravel."
Annie Proulx's writing style is beautiful, but it's still able to convey with harsh clarity the violence and fear that surrounds gay relationships. I really do think I'm going to need a few days to recover from this. It absolutely breaks my heart that Jack and Ennis' story is not an uncommon one, even today.
A heart-wrenching short story that packs a pretty powerful emotional punch under 60 pages. I've never seen the movie, but I think I'll have to now because this book shattered me. The gay community (in the western world, at least) has made long strides in its fight for acceptance and equality, but for me stories like Brokeback Mountain are bitter and painful reminders of the suffering they have had to endure and continue to endure in many parts of the world.
"Jack, I don’t want a be like them guys you see around sometimes. And I don’t want a be dead. There was these two old guys ranched together down home, Earl and Rich--Dad would pass a remark when he seen them. They was a joke even though they was pretty tough old birds. I was what, nine years old and they found Earl dead in a irrigation ditch. They’d took a tire iron to him, spurred him up, drug him around by his dick until it pulled off, just bloody pulp. What the tire iron done looked like pieces a burned tomatoes all over him, nose tore down from skiddin on gravel."
Annie Proulx's writing style is beautiful, but it's still able to convey with harsh clarity the violence and fear that surrounds gay relationships. I really do think I'm going to need a few days to recover from this. It absolutely breaks my heart that Jack and Ennis' story is not an uncommon one, even today.
livbomb14's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
hahsbrown's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I knew how to quit you too, Ennis Del Mar. I wish I knew how to quit this fucking sad story.
bookisheds's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
mxlcncholy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
sillysausagezj's review against another edition
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.5
cwalsh's review against another edition
3.0
I have to say that I agree with the user who said this would've worked much better as a full length novel as opposed to such a short story. I wanted to know so much more about the characters and just felt rushed.
laurenisallbooked's review against another edition
3.0
I know this was a short story, but it needed a few more pages. I wish I knew Jack and Ennis better after having read this.
bforward27's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
vintage_b's review against another edition
2.0
In this brief narrative, Jack Twist recalls how, in the 1960s, he fell in love with Ennis del Mar while working as sheepherders on a secluded mountain in Wyoming. The narrative explores the complicated and emotional relationship between the two men, who must conceal their emotions from their loved ones and the community and deal with the fallout from their forbidden passion. The narrative has received a lot of attention for its accurate depiction of the joys and challenges of gay love in a bigoted and conservative society. While I sympathize with the story it was attempting to tell, I thought it idealized a volatile and potentially abusive relationship. Although I haven't seen the movie, I've heard nothing but amazing things about it and this short story, so deep down, I wanted to support and adore it. I was unable to overcome the volatility in Ennis and Jack's relationship.