Book Review: Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. It’s Friday again, and it’s time for another review. Today, I’m sharing my review of Annie Proulx’s short story Brokeback Mountain.

Brokeback Mountain was initially published in The New Yorker in 1997 and is 35 pages long.

The Plot
The story follows Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, two young men from rural Wyoming who meet in the 1960s while working as ranch hands herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain. Their summer together on the mountain leads to an intense and unexpected romantic and physical relationship.

Characters
Ennis Del Mar
Ennis Del Mar is stoic, reserved, and shaped by a childhood marked by poverty and tragedy. He has internalized the unyielding expectations of his rural upbringing, making him both cautious and deeply repressed. His fear of the consequences of living authentically causes him to push Jack—and his own happiness away.

Jack Twist
In contrast to Ennis, Jack is more open-hearted, wistful, and hopeful. He dreams of creating a life that allows him to fully embrace love despite social barriers. His persistent optimism clashes with the rigid constraints of the world around him, setting him up for repeated heartbreak.

Alma
Alma, Ennis’s wife, is a subtle but crucial figure in the story. She discovers Ennis’s relationship with Jack and silently endures the betrayal. Yet, Alma is more than a victim; she represents the ripple effect of repression and unspoken truths, highlighting how societal expectations wound the individual and everyone else caught in their orbit.

Writing Style
Annie Proulx’s writing style is raw, unvarnished, and yet poetic in its starkness.

Proulx has a talent for capturing the rugged Wyoming landscapes in a way that places the reader directly into the scene. You can almost feel the cold mountain air pricking your skin, hear the crackle of campfire logs, and feel the vast, lonely expanse of the wilderness. The setting isn’t just a backdrop; it mirrors the characters’ emotional isolation and raw intimacy.

Speaking of characters, Ennis and Jack feel like they step off the page. They’re not just two-dimensional—they feel like real people with deeply rooted motivations, fears, and vulnerabilities.

There’s something achingly real about them. They’re not your idealized romantic leads—they’re flawed, messy, and often infuriating. But that’s also why they feel so human.

The dialogue was a particular highlight for me. It is colloquial and wonderfully attuned to the story’s setting, and what makes the writing even more remarkable is Proulx’s fantastic ability to convey so much through what isn’t said.

The silence between Ennis and Jack is just as significant as their conversations. The unspoken struggles, the repressed longing, the deep and enduring connection—it’s all there, woven seamlessly into the narrative.

Final Thoughts
Brokeback Mountain is not simply a short story; it is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the unrelenting burden of secrecy, and it endures because the themes endure; the human experience is something everyone can relate to no matter who one happens to love.

This short story leaves a profound impression; it doesn’t merely highlight the tragic consequences of denying one’s true self but also serves as a testament to love’s resilience—even in the face of overwhelming constraints.

I am giving Brokeback Mountain a 10/10.

Have you read Brokeback Mountain or watched the film adaptation starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal? What did you think?

Thank you, as ever, for stopping by to read my review. It means a lot.

Until next time,

George

© 2025 GLT