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Puck's Reviews > Brokeback Mountain
Brokeback Mountain
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That's fine. I didn't need my heart anyway.
This book is like a punch in the gut. I never thought that a short story could have such an impact on me. This isn’t simply a book about two cowboys falling in love: this is the heartbreaking tale of Jack and Ennis who love each other, but deny it not only because they’re afraid of the outside world, but also of their own feelings.
America in the 1960’s wasn’t a safe place for homosexuals after all, and if society can’t accept them, how can they accept themselves? That emotional struggle makes this book so heart-wrenching, because both men know their love for each other is real. It just can’t happen. And that tears them apart.
Maybe this story hits so much harder because the books I read earlier featured happy LGBT-characters. Where young transgender Stella gets the full support of her mother (The Sunlight Pilgrims) and Simon’s coming out is met with positive reactions (Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda), Jack and Ennis’s (love) life is anything but happy and easy. They were two masculine men living in prejudice Wyoming during the sixties, a place where young Ennis saw an old rancher being tortured to death for being gay. This was not uncommon back then, and times haven’t really changed for the better.
Because although the world is slowly getting more accepting of gay love, still so many LGBT-people are getting harassed, kicked out, or physically and/or emotionally abused because of who they love. Don’t get blinded by the Pride Parades or the legalisation of same-sex marriage in America: the world is still a cruel place for many.
This is why I think Brokeback Mountain is a must read for fans of LGBT-books, to get that reality check. To other readers I’d also recommend this book, because for a book with only 60 pages, this short story packs a powerful punch. The prose is concise and the writing style rough, but it suits the characters and their story.
5 stars for this heart-breaking little book, which I won’t forget soon.
This book is like a punch in the gut. I never thought that a short story could have such an impact on me. This isn’t simply a book about two cowboys falling in love: this is the heartbreaking tale of Jack and Ennis who love each other, but deny it not only because they’re afraid of the outside world, but also of their own feelings.
America in the 1960’s wasn’t a safe place for homosexuals after all, and if society can’t accept them, how can they accept themselves? That emotional struggle makes this book so heart-wrenching, because both men know their love for each other is real. It just can’t happen. And that tears them apart.
[Jack:] “You have 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 Ennis, you son of a whoreson bitch. I wish I knew how to quit you.”
Maybe this story hits so much harder because the books I read earlier featured happy LGBT-characters. Where young transgender Stella gets the full support of her mother (The Sunlight Pilgrims) and Simon’s coming out is met with positive reactions (Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda), Jack and Ennis’s (love) life is anything but happy and easy. They were two masculine men living in prejudice Wyoming during the sixties, a place where young Ennis saw an old rancher being tortured to death for being gay. This was not uncommon back then, and times haven’t really changed for the better.
Because although the world is slowly getting more accepting of gay love, still so many LGBT-people are getting harassed, kicked out, or physically and/or emotionally abused because of who they love. Don’t get blinded by the Pride Parades or the legalisation of same-sex marriage in America: the world is still a cruel place for many.
This is why I think Brokeback Mountain is a must read for fans of LGBT-books, to get that reality check. To other readers I’d also recommend this book, because for a book with only 60 pages, this short story packs a powerful punch. The prose is concise and the writing style rough, but it suits the characters and their story.
5 stars for this heart-breaking little book, which I won’t forget soon.
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Reading Progress
August 20, 2016
– Shelved
August 20, 2016
– Shelved as:
to-read
August 20, 2016
– Shelved as:
lgbtqia
October 3, 2016
–
Started Reading
October 3, 2016
– Shelved as:
to-read
October 3, 2016
– Shelved as:
adult
October 3, 2016
–
Finished Reading
October 5, 2016
– Shelved as:
short-fiction
April 20, 2017
– Shelved as:
made-me-cry
January 4, 2020
– Shelved as:
favorites-2016
Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)
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Gabrielle (Reading Rampage)
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rated it 5 stars
Oct 05, 2016 02:51PM
I've been meaning to read it, but I'm afraid I'll never recover...
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Gabrielle wrote: "I've been meaning to read it, but I'm afraid I'll never recover..."Oh but you should, Gabrielle! The stories I love the most are the ones that linger, whether they were beautiful or painful. And that's what this book definitely does.
You have convinced me, I'll add it to my list :)
I have been emotionally compromised by this story. Gah. The book is almost (but not quite) as good as the movie. The four actors were all absolutely flawless. Heath is amazing in this movie as Ennis and Jake was equally amazing as Jack. Personally, my favorite performance of his is in Prisoners, but as a teenager I fell in love with his blue eyes in Brokeback Mountain. lol
Inkandfable wrote: "I have been emotionally compromised by this story. Gah. The book is almost (but not quite) as good as the movie. The four actors were all absolutely flawless. Heath is amazing in this movie as En..."
I still have to see the movie, although I'm afraid of what it will do to me: the book alone made me cry in public 💔
