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megelizabeth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
5.0
(Review from February 2021 copied from previous edition)
"...there was no real scent, only the memory of it, the imagined power of Brokeback Mountain of which nothing was left but what he held in his hands."
This is a hard one to judge because the movie adaptation is one of my all-time favourites and so I couldn't help mentally filling in all the extras that the movie adds while I was reading. I don't know how much I would have connected to the characters if I didn't already adore them from the movie, as there's not really a ton of character development and you get much more insight into Ennis's live than Jack's so Jack especially I feel like you don't end up getting to know massively well.
I'm still really glad, though, that I read the original story behind one of my favourite movies. It's vivid and devastating and explores homophobia and the way it shapes and ruins lives - in different ways, as seen by the tragic outcomes for both Ennis and Jack - so, so well. The sense of place created and the portrayal of poor, rural life are incredible. Part of me wishes it had been longer, but part of me also really appreciates the fact that it is such a short story and the choices made to focus on certain details in order to portray messages about love and relationships and queerness and trauma and pain (though I wouldn't have minded slightly shorter passages about Jack's rodeoing, as these pretty much went right over my head!)
**********
Edit - June 2022
After my second read of this book, I'm bumping it up from 4.5 to 5 stars. I still stand by my previous comments, but reading this again just reminded me how completely I adore this story and its characters and the nuanced discussions it sparks and how much it packs in to so few pages. I therefore ultimately don't mind that the characters and relationships aren't as developed as they are in the movie. Both versions of this story have my whole heart, and after all, the movie wouldn't exist without this quiet, tender, haunting, brutal masterpiece.
"...there was no real scent, only the memory of it, the imagined power of Brokeback Mountain of which nothing was left but what he held in his hands."
This is a hard one to judge because the movie adaptation is one of my all-time favourites and so I couldn't help mentally filling in all the extras that the movie adds while I was reading. I don't know how much I would have connected to the characters if I didn't already adore them from the movie, as there's not really a ton of character development and you get much more insight into Ennis's live than Jack's so Jack especially I feel like you don't end up getting to know massively well.
I'm still really glad, though, that I read the original story behind one of my favourite movies. It's vivid and devastating and explores homophobia and the way it shapes and ruins lives - in different ways, as seen by the tragic outcomes for both Ennis and Jack - so, so well. The sense of place created and the portrayal of poor, rural life are incredible. Part of me wishes it had been longer, but part of me also really appreciates the fact that it is such a short story and the choices made to focus on certain details in order to portray messages about love and relationships and queerness and trauma and pain (though I wouldn't have minded slightly shorter passages about Jack's rodeoing, as these pretty much went right over my head!)
**********
Edit - June 2022
After my second read of this book, I'm bumping it up from 4.5 to 5 stars. I still stand by my previous comments, but reading this again just reminded me how completely I adore this story and its characters and the nuanced discussions it sparks and how much it packs in to so few pages. I therefore ultimately don't mind that the characters and relationships aren't as developed as they are in the movie. Both versions of this story have my whole heart, and after all, the movie wouldn't exist without this quiet, tender, haunting, brutal masterpiece.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Death of parent
yasmin_raev's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Homophobia
Minor: Death
solouncapitulomas's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.0
fuck you jake gyllenhaal why did you have to be a good actor?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Hate crime, Alcoholism, and Death
larseneiii's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, and Homophobia
zombiezami'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I heard this was sad, but it was really sad. I was in high school when the movie came out, and I never saw it. I really wish people had not made fun of this deeply human story the way they did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, Homophobia, Outing, and Biphobia
Moderate: Hate crime, Alcoholism, Addiction, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Gore, Blood, and Death
Minor: Death of parent, War, and Classism
curatoriallyyours's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have not seen the film so other than knowing it’s about “gay cowboys” I wasn’t sure what to expect. This story broke my heart. I felt for these men who had no way to frame their love for one another because it wasn’t the expected thing. Toxic masculinity and homophobia need to get in the bin!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Homophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
mulders'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? It's complicated
5.0
The shirt seemed heavy until he saw there was another shirt inside it, the sleeves carefully worked down inside Jack’s sleeves. It was his own plaid shirt, lost, he’d thought, long ago in some damn laundry, his dirty shirt, the pocket ripped, buttons missing, stolen by Jack and hidden here inside Jack’s own shirt, the pair like two skins, one inside the other, two in one...
A tragedy that seeps deep into your bones and stays in them, lives in you like a second skeleton, written in such a raw and visceral way that you just can't shake. The film is not a replacement, or an imitation, but a companion— both are fully worthy of your time. One of my favourite reads ever and recommended to absolutely everyone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Death and Violence
beanie_bob's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
“This is a goddamn bitch of an unsatisfactory situation” iconic, can’t believe this was an original line lifted for the screenplay.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Death
coldcojones's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Homophobia, Outing, and Toxic relationship
cheesepuppy's review against another edition
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I’ve never seen the movie, but wanted to read this. I loved how the story was written just like how the characters speak.
The transitions, or lack of, made it a little hard to follow the story at some points. I kinda wish there had been a bit more character development. It just seemed like a stereotypical portrayal that they were only in it for sex
The transitions, or lack of, made it a little hard to follow the story at some points. I kinda wish there had been a bit more character development. It just seemed like a stereotypical portrayal that they were only in it for sex
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Homophobia, and Death