BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN SHORT STORY REVIEW - The novella that became an award
winning film, by a literary vanguard, was originally published in The New
Yorker in 1997. It was later included in her collection entitled Close Range:
Wyoming Stories in 1999. Annie Proulx has won just about every major writing
prize, her story became an Oscar winning film and also strangely enough, an
opera. Brokeback Mountain captured the imagination of readers and film viewers
alike. Fan fiction (and even more risqué fare) abound on the interwebs. I think
the reason is Proulx employs narrative distance allowing readers to insert
themselves onto the page. Two men unite amidst idyllic mountain beauty,
Brokeback Mountain itself, becomes a symbol of their love. Their isolation against
the rustic Wyoming backdrop pushes them closer together and the attraction is
compelling. But, it’s not a story with a happy ending. Proulx has herself said she
wishes she’d never written the story. I look at it another way, she should be
flattered. She’s created something so powerful that readers can’t help but to
inject themselves into the world of Brokeback Mountain.
I still haven't seen this believe it or not!
ReplyDeleteJenna from www.visionsofvogue.com