“Brokeback Mountain is set in the beautiful, wild landscape of Wyoming thirty years ago where cowboys lived much as they had done for generations. Hard, lonely lives in unforgiving country. Jack Twist and Ennis del Mar are two ranch hands – ‘drop-out country boys with no prospects, brought up to hard work and privation, both rough-mannered, tough spoken’ – glad to have found each other’s company where none had been expected. But companionship becomes something else on Brokeback Mountain, something not looked for, something deadly”
This blurb from the book cover is part of the reason I felt so let down by this read, I mean it promises so much, dramatic landscape, cowboys, romance and danger and as far as I am concerned it fails to deliver on all these points.
Firstly, the landscape is barely mentioned except in passing
Secondly, the cowboys are actually sheep herders when they meet
Thirdly, this is the romantic way they first have sex “Ennis jerked his hand away as though he’d touched fire, got to his knees, unbuckled his belt, shoved his pants down, hauled Jack onto all fours and, with the help of the clear slick and a little spit entered him, nothing he’d done before but no instruction manual was needed”
Finally, while being homosexual at that time was dangerous the two men appear to have no fear about being caught and the consequences are only mentioned in passing
So here is my review…
Brokeback Mountain Annie Proulx
★★★
Published in: 2005
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Buy/Find it here: Brokeback Mountain
Ok so I haven’t seen the film but like everyone else I was aware of the premise, two lonely cowboys fall in love. Despite not liking The Shipping News I was willing to give Proulx a second chance…
Brokeback Mountain is the story of Jack Twist and Ennis del Mar who meet on Brokeback Mountain where they are both employed to keep an eye on a herd of sheep, during the cold lonely nights the 2 get closer and by that I mean they have sex, personally I didn’t ever feel that they were in love.
Without giving away too many spoilers the men don’t see each other for years, however once they meet again they end up having sex and making regular fishing sex trips.
I was expecting a story with depth about how the men struggle with their feelings for each other and the impact it has on the rest of their lives, what I got was a story about how two men really really enjoy having sex with each other. It wasn’t until the very end that I felt there was any kind of emotion involved. Its a blunt book, sparsely written, direct and to the point.
This wasn’t the book I was hoping to read and I would have given it 2 stars apart from the saving grace that it was incredibly short and the ending somewhat redeemed it.
Want to try if for yourself? Click Brokeback Mountain: Now a Major Motion Picture
to buy a copy on Amazon.
jenp27
Nicole Del Sesto
The Reader's Room 
Feb 24
Blindness by Saramago: Non-1001 Book review
Blindness by José Saramago
Published in: 1995
Reviewed by: Jen
Rating: 4 stars
Find it/Buy it here: Blindness (Harvest Book)
Synopsis: A city is hit by an epidemic of “white blindness” and one by one every citizen loses their ability to see. During early phases of the epidemic, the authorities attempt to contain the disease by setting up quarantine zones in various locations. A group of characters who are among the first to become blind, find themselves quarantined in an old mental institution. As the epidemic spreads and society starts to break down, more and more “inmates” join the original group until the place becomes saturated. Among the blind, there is one woman who retains her eyesight. This woman, “the doctor’s wife,” pretends to be blind in order to avoid being separated from her husband. She becomes the central character in the story and ultimately leads the group through a variety of harrowing experiences. Blindness is more than just a apocalyptic tale. It is a story of the merits and downfalls of human nature that is both terrifying and uplifting. Read more