En klar käftsmäll, borde inte komma som en överraskning då jag redan vet hur den slutar, då man sett filmen för 17 år sedan.

The plotline of the original short story was so well known, reading it was doomed to be anti-climactic. However implausible certain moments were for me in the story (genuineness of characters in sex scenes for example), the story to screen process presented in this volume made for a riveting, well-compiled read.

Prouix is masterful.

I read Proulx's short story as an undergrad, and I was deeply moved. I typically hate love stories, but this one felt real and raw and heartbreaking.

This short story was far better and close to the actual movie than I expected. I absolutely adore Annie Proulx, though, so that's to be expected.

Honestly, I think more people should read the short story and actually pay attention to it, because this is not about "two gay cowboys". First of all, they aren't gay. Second of all, they aren't cowboys. Third of all, it's not about their romance. It's about homophobia and society pressure, both external and internal. And it is absolutely wonderful. By far, one of my favorite short stories. The prose fits the plot and setting of the story: spare, bare, without embellishment. Raw. Proulx is an absolutely fabulous writer. She manages to fit more detail into about 30 pages than most writers do into a novel. Honestly, this story was the perfect length. I don't even wish it were longer, because it is perfect.

Reading the screenplay right after the short story is also a wonderful experience, because you get to compare the two. The authors are right. Why don't more people adapt short stories? Get on that Hollywood! It's truly a great adaptation, the screen writers often taking not only dialogue, but even prose straight from the short story and copying it word for word into the screenplay. Simply wondrous.

I could go on for a very long time about the politics of this story and it's movie, but that's not what this is for. Just suffice it to say, you won't regret reading it.

Good story, decent characters, but not my type.

I wasn’t particularly affected by Brokeback Mountain when I watched the film last year but when I saw this book I felt it was a beautiful opportunity to revisit it. I enjoyed comparing the short story with the screenplay, and then again with the images from the film in my head. Giving Annie Proulx and the two screenwriters, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, the space to write about their experience bringing the story to life was the perfect way to round off the book. I found myself much more affected by the sadness that permeates the story this time around. Like Diana said, revisiting the story gave me the chance to see how everyone was unhappy not just Jack and Ennis.
I’ve never been to Wyoming - I couldn’t be further from there - but I am from a rural area reliant on farming. While society is much more accepting now than when Brokeback is set, parts of it still ring true. Annie Proulx’s love for her home came through so strongly and it made me consider my own home too. Seeing queer stories play out in rural communities is something so close to my heart. We shouldn’t have to go to cities to feel like we’re allowed to exist. Obviously that isn’t what happens in Brokeback, the very opposite in fact, but the very acknowledgment of our existence in this setting is important.

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11030069

Did you know that the Brokeback Mountain movie is based on a 28 page short story? What a story it is! I felt I had to hold myself back, slow myself down and read with a heightened state of awareness. Each word is purposeful and deft, creating powerful images in my mind. This isn't a story of two gay cowboys. Instead it is about the impossibility of homosexual relations in certain circles and cultures. It is two men discovering love for the first time, having not known its existence beforehand. It is about unrequited emotions, extreme homophobia and death.
This version, with essays by the author and each of the two screenwriters, was powerful. Each of their perspectives is so important in how the story came to be a movie at a time when the public was not ready for the topic. How delicately it had to be done. But how well the movie adhered to the short story. Proulx is a master.

Just as beautiful as the film.