Brokeback Mountain

By: Annie Proulx

Narrated by: Campbell Scott

Length: 1 hr and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist, two ranch hands, come together when they're working as sheepherder and camp tender one summer on a range above the tree line. At first, sharing an isolated tent, the attraction is casual, inevitable, but something deeper catches them that summer.

Both men work hard, marry, and have kids because that's what cowboys do. But over the course of many years and frequent separations this relationship becomes the most important thing in their lives, and they do anything they can to preserve it.

©1998 Dead Line Ltd. All Rights Reserved (P)1999 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved, AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

Critic reviews

"Proulx's understanding is at its most remarkable in the astonishing Brokeback Mountain. [She] knows what she could only know...by the infrared that allows a very few writers clear sight in the dark of the imagination." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Brokeback Mountain does some of the best things a story can do. It abolishes the old West cliches, excavates and honors a certain kind of elusive life, then nearly levels you with the emotional weight at its center." (The Boston Sunday Globe)

A wonderful story well told

This short novel was inspiring and tragic. Much of it was poetry. Some very good books have very sad endings. Peace.

Gay Life

This book is not what gay life is about from a gay mans view since it was written by a straight woman but it is a good book to listen to. The movie was interesting because I was born in Wyoming and I often wondered what cowboys did out in the hills and mountains of Wyoming. It is possible some do have sex with each other. As I mention it is not the real gay life style.. most gays do not like the book or movie but for myself I found it interesting to listen to. I am gay and would recommend seeing the movie and listen to the book.

Great

A story that rings true to the charactors and the place in time.

Absolutely amazing!

The movie stayed true to the short story. No wonder it won an Oscar prize. This is such a heartbreaking story, beautifully written. I want to immediately listen again.

Great story, boring as heck narration

Would you consider the audio edition of Brokeback Mountain to be better than the print version?

Absolutely not. I read with more passion than the narrator. It was dull and unmoving.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Brokeback Mountain?

Since the novel is so short, I would have to say the entire story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Lack of emotion!

If you could take any character from Brokeback Mountain out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Alma because I would have a lot of questions about what she knew and when.

Any additional comments?

Save your Audible credit for something else, but go out and buy the book!

Beautiful Story

Short but powerful. I didn’t expect it to move me as much as the movie, but it did.

This is such a great story.

Well worth the listen

I was curious about this story, in light of the recent media attention on that movie. I bought it before some quick business travel -- it's length suggesting little investment on my part if it turned out to be disappointing.
What I got was a great story, at a bargain price. It is a little raw at times, and perhaps not for the faint of heart, but the charactors are great and the story was well written.
A poignant and involving listen that will not require a large amount of your time.

Have both: movie and book

The movie and the book are complementary to each other. It is one of the best adapted screenplay.

The movie expanded some plots: the father-son relationship between Jack/Ennis and Jack's father;(The father-son relationship is a quite constant theme in Lee Ang's film); the father-daughter relationship between Ennis and Alma Jr.; the fidelity of Jack;the marriage of Jack and Lurren and so on...
The movie gives more vivid life of characters which is quite difficult to be portriated in a short novel; or in the other veiw, the *short* novel delibrately omits these aspects, so to focus on the two cowboys.

The novel goes to a deeper aspect of the inner world, especially the dreaming of Jack which is not dealt with in the movie. At the beginning of the novel, it writes: '...yet he is suffused with the sense of pleasure, because Jack Twist was in his dream...' The novel ends with: '...Around that time Jack begans to appear in his dreams...He will wake, sometime in grief, sometimes with the old sense of joy and release. The pillow sometimes wet, sometimes the sheet. The was some open space between what he knew and what he tried to believe, but nothing can be done about it. And if you can fix it, you gotta stand it.'

Campbell Scott gives a quite good narration. The narration is as good as the voices of Jack and Ennis in the movie.

i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e!

Amazing. Speaks to the Gay and Lesbian experience eloquently.

Have to say that this book changed my life or at least it made me reexamine my take on being gay.
Life IS too short don't be afraid to love!

Powerful!

One of the best short stories ever!

I watched the movie but did not think much of it. Years later I'm listening to the book and can't believe what a powerful story it is. I actually found tears in my eyes. Love knows no boundaries and this story lays testament to it.