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Nataliya's Reviews > Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain
by
Not a single word is wasted in this very short Annie Proulx story. It has the weight of a novel, with every word so carefully chosen, with every deceptively simple sentence packing an unexpected punch.
It’s a story of love punctuated by the weight of fear, longing that never gets rewarded, crushing loneliness that is meant to stay, and the price of denial of your needs. It’s the story of regret, the one that comes when it’s too late.
I can say it’s heartbreaking, but it’s actually way more subtle than that. It doesn’t as much break your heart - from the beginning you know there is no happy ending here - but instead makes it ache in a raw, haunting way.
Two young men in working-class rural 1960s America where living life together in the open could have had dire consequences. And one of them was unwilling to take that risk. And so they carried out their affair in stolen minutes and days here and there over two decades — “One thing never changed: the brilliant charge of their infrequent couplings was darkened by the sense of time flying, never enough time, never enough.”
And it’s a protracted gut punch.
So sad, but such a well-written utterly devastating story. Those two shirts on a wire hanger — that’s the image that will always stay in my mind. The price of prejudice, denial and regret. And love.
5 stars.
________
A link to the pdf version of this story: https://www.taosmemory.com/oscar/Brok...
——————
Also posted on my blog.
by
Nataliya's review
bookshelves: i-also-saw-the-film, 2015-reads, 2022-reads, shorts
May 02, 2010
bookshelves: i-also-saw-the-film, 2015-reads, 2022-reads, shorts
Read 2 times. Last read September 24, 2022.
“Jack, I swear —” he said, though Jack had never asked him to swear anything and was himself not the swearing kind.
Not a single word is wasted in this very short Annie Proulx story. It has the weight of a novel, with every word so carefully chosen, with every deceptively simple sentence packing an unexpected punch.
It’s a story of love punctuated by the weight of fear, longing that never gets rewarded, crushing loneliness that is meant to stay, and the price of denial of your needs. It’s the story of regret, the one that comes when it’s too late.
I can say it’s heartbreaking, but it’s actually way more subtle than that. It doesn’t as much break your heart - from the beginning you know there is no happy ending here - but instead makes it ache in a raw, haunting way.
“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.”
Two young men in working-class rural 1960s America where living life together in the open could have had dire consequences. And one of them was unwilling to take that risk. And so they carried out their affair in stolen minutes and days here and there over two decades — “One thing never changed: the brilliant charge of their infrequent couplings was darkened by the sense of time flying, never enough time, never enough.”
And it’s a protracted gut punch.
“Try this one,” said Jack, “and I’ll say it just one time. Tell you what, we could a had a good life together, a fuckin real good life. You wouldn’t do it, Ennis, so what we got now is Brokeback Mountain. Everything built on that. It’s all we got, boy, fuckin all, so I hope you know that if you don’t never know the rest. Count the damn few times we been together in twenty years. Measure the fuckin short leash you keep me on, then ask me about Mexico and then tell me you’ll kill me for needin it and not hardly never gettin it. You got no fuckin idea how bad it gets. I’m not you. I can’t make it on a couple a high-altitude fucks once or twice a year. You’re too much for me, Ennis, you son of a whoreson bitch. I wish I knew how to quit you.”
So sad, but such a well-written utterly devastating story. Those two shirts on a wire hanger — that’s the image that will always stay in my mind. The price of prejudice, denial and regret. And love.
5 stars.
________
A link to the pdf version of this story: https://www.taosmemory.com/oscar/Brok...
——————
Also posted on my blog.
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Reading Progress
May 2, 2010
– Shelved
December 18, 2015
–
Started Reading
December 18, 2015
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Finished Reading
September 24, 2022
–
Started Reading
September 24, 2022
–
Finished Reading
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Márcio
(new)
Sep 24, 2022 04:03PM
Thank you for sharing such a heartwarming beautiful review of a forever great story, you are right in every word you say, Nataliya. It is such a greatly crafted story, but one does not even feel that each word is carefully chosen. This is what a masterpiece is.
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Márcio wrote: "Thank you for sharing such a heartwarming beautiful review of a forever great story, you are right in every word you say, Nataliya. It is such a greatly crafted story, but one does not even feel th..."I’m glad you think so, too! This is such a strong story.
I liked the book more than the film. :)
Marquise wrote: "I liked the book more than the film. :)"You did? As much as I like this story, I love the movie even more. Ledger and Gyllenhaal were both superb in it, and the unhurried cinematography really helped showcase the emotion hiding in this story.
Since you gave the story 3 stars and you liked it more than the movie, I can only assume you did not care much for the movie. Do you mind sharing why? I’m genuinely curious.
Nataliya wrote: "Do you mind sharing why?"I watched the film first, and didn't care for the acting. I know Heath and Jake got accolades for their acting, but it left me cold and bored. I didn't like either actor. But I liked Westerns back then, and the story was unique and beautiful, so I went for the book afterwards. The characters were easier to like and feel for in the book, but the writing itself wasn't great, hence the 3 stars.
Marquise wrote: "Nataliya wrote: "Do you mind sharing why?"I watched the film first, and didn't care for the acting. I know Heath and Jake got accolades for their acting, but it left me cold and bored. I didn't l..."
Hmmm, I suppose just like reading, the experience of watching a movie is extremely subjective. I loved those two from the moment they first shared the screen, but this just may be my inner fangirl talking.
Probably! When I don't like an actor/their acting, I can't appreciate the film as I should. On the other hand, it's happened that actors I liked made me go heretic and prefer the screen to the book version. This just wasn't the case.
Marquise wrote: "On the other hand, it's happened that actors I liked made me go heretic and prefer the screen to the book version."The horror! The blasphemy! 😳
I suppose that happened to me before. Granted, that was “Twilight” and I hated the book, while I found the movie just mediocre.
You read Twilight?! What made you read it?
Marquise wrote: "You read Twilight?! What made you read it?"Can’t recall exactly; that was when the first book came out and I think I was just curious given the huge hype and sheer ubiquitousness of it.
It was not worth it, and I didn’t like it and still read all 4 books eventually. To me it was an equivalent of reading a trainwreck in a slow motion — it’s bad but you can’t look away.
I almost read it when it came out for the same reasons, too, but school saved me. It was well-timed with my exams, and then when I remembered it, any interest was gone.
Marquise wrote: "I almost read it when it came out for the same reasons, too, but school saved me. It was well-timed with my exams, and then when I remembered it, any interest was gone."You haven’t missed out on much. The best thing about Twilight was the snark around it. I found quite a few interesting blogs and videos that made fun of it, and that provided way more entertainment than the book itself.
Haha, I know! Even friends that haven't read or watched it diss it like they were. I feel like I know the story by osmosis anyway.
Marquise wrote: "Haha, I know! Even friends that haven't read or watched it diss it like they were. I feel like I know the story by osmosis anyway."It kinda became a big part of pop culture for a while, didn’t it? But I don’t think it’s obvious how completely overhyped it was until you actually read it — although I am in no way suggesting that you should 😆
Never! I'm allergic to vampire books anyway. :D
Marquise wrote: "Never! I'm allergic to vampire books anyway. :D"Me too, to the sparkly ones.
Though I have a serious allergic reaction to Annie Proulx, I enjoyed your review.
Left Coast Justin wrote: "Though I have a serious allergic reaction to Annie Proulx, I enjoyed your review."Thats the only story by Annie Proulx that I’ve ever read, so she’s 100% success as far as I’m concerned. Maybe I’ll keep it that way :)
Oh, geez, just noticed that Marquise used the word 'allergic' two posts ahead of me. Don't I feel cloddish. But glad you enjoyed your first (and last?) Proulx.
Left Coast Justin wrote: "Oh, geez, just noticed that Marquise used the word 'allergic' two posts ahead of me. Don't I feel cloddish. But glad you enjoyed your first (and last?) Proulx."And I can’t believe I haven’t made a silly Claritin joke yet! Oh well.
What the deal with your animosity towards Proulx?
I have no animosity towards Proulx, but as a greater mind than mine said of her prose: "She exploits the license of poetry while exhibiting none of its discipline." Which is a fancy way of saying she overwrites. Which is a fancy way of saying her writing points too much towards the author and not enough towards the characters, at least not in the two books of hers I've read.
Left Coast Justin wrote: "I have no animosity towards Proulx, but as a greater mind than mine said of her prose: "She exploits the license of poetry while exhibiting none of its discipline." Which is a fancy way of saying s..."Ah, ok, thanks. Overwriting can definitely be annoying, although in a story this short I didn’t quite feel it. But maybe in a longer book that would be annoying.
I think the most overwritten book I’ve read recently was Hamnet, and it put me off ever wanting to read anything by its author in the future.
Well, I'm glad she dialed it down in this story, and that you enjoyed it.
I enjoyed the review, Nataliya, and the comments as well. :-)
Left Coast Justin wrote: "Well, I'm glad she dialed it down in this story, and that you enjoyed it."Oh, me too :)
Have you read this one, Justin? Or seen the movie?
Barbara K wrote: "I enjoyed the review, Nataliya, and the comments as well. :-)"Thanks, Barbara! Comments are always the best :)
Beautiful review, Nataliya. The story is so finely done, so sad, but not overdone.
Cecily wrote: "Beautiful review, Nataliya. The story is so finely done, so sad, but not overdone."Thank you, Cecily!
This is a lovely review :)
*Those two shirts on a wire hanger * It's the same for me, the way he lovingly and reverently touches them, making sure there aren't any creases in the material... I loved the movie, but the homophobia, both internalized in each character and outside in society, was devastating for me to watch (I kept thinking of Matthew Shepard...), maybe I'll give the book a try soon.
