I just finished reading a book, which is a collection of short stories by Annie Proulx. It is a compendium of eleven tales of the hard lives of ranchers and country wives in Wyoming; yes, this includes the famous Brokeback Mountain, which was adapted into a film starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Close Range: Wyoming Stories is a great read and very interesting. Proulx has a certain knack for painting great imagery of a laid-back place that always play a huge part in each story. They are poetic, teeming with life, humorous and at times heart wrenching. Brokeback Mountain came in last in the collection - like a reward for staying - and reading the previous tales made one understand more of what kind of hard predicament Ennis and Jack were in.
I loved the movie, and after finally reading the story in print, I fully understand why Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana won the best adaptation at the recent Oscars. It was a 35-page story packed with emotions, and translated on screen as what the reader would imagine it to be. They kept the best lines in the book and added some more - something of which cannot be said on any Harry Potter adaptations.
Next stop: I'll buy the DVD. I'll take Jack's line to Ennis: "I wish I knew how to quit you. "
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