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Brokeback Mountain

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About this listen

The film tie-in edition of the story by Annie Proulx, now a movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Randy Quaid, Anne Hathaway and Heath Ledger.

Winner of four BAFTAs 2006, including Best Film, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Screenplay – Adapted and the David Lean Award for Direction

Winner of four Golden Globe Awards 2005, including Best Screenplay, Best Motion Picture and Best Director

Winner of the Golden Lion Award for Best Picture, 2005 Venice International Film Festival

Jack Twist and Ennis del Mar live hard and lonely lives as ranch hands in the wild, unforgiving landscape of Wyoming. They are 'country boys with no prospects, brought up to hard work and privation, both rough-mannered and tough-spoken', glad to have found one another's company where none had been expected. But suddenly companionship becomes something else on Brokeback Mountain: something not looked for, something deadly …

©1999 Annie Proulx; (P)1999 Simon and Schuster Inc. This edition published 2006 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London, UK Fiction Friendship Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Romance Small Town & Rural Short Story Heartfelt

Critic reviews

'Beautifully composed and wonderfully acted … a beautiful and moving story. Their story is not tragic, but heroic' Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

'Extremely moving and elegantly crafted … "Brokeback got us good," says Jack, and it'll get you good too' Jonathan Romney, Independent

'[An] elegiac and engrossing drama and a wonderful meditation on longing and regret … Brokeback Mountain may even be Lee's finest film to date' Empire

'A knockout' Observer

'Magnificent' Sunday Times
All stars
Most relevant
Still has the power to make me cry after all these years.

I first read Close Range almost 15 years ago and, whilst all of the stories contained are marvellous, the clear and just standout is Brokeback Mountain.

Looking for a quick read on a restless night, I returned to the standalone Brokeback Mountain and was once again absorbed by it, after feeling the years may have somewhat dimmed its power.

A truly heartbreaking story that is so beautifully written and one which does, even after all those years of knowing the plot so well, still have the power to make me cry.

Still has the power to make me cry after all these years

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Superb narration with character voices that resemble the film actors. A really touching story that stays with you.

Superb telling of a touching story

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I absolutely did not expect it to be this good.

I never read books this short so I foolishly thought it would not make an impact on me.

Boi was I wrong 😭

The movie did a spectacular job adopting this story. Now I want to watch it again 🥲

The writing was so beautiful I am going to look for more short and brilliant books like this in the future.

My heart

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This is not a bad story and once out of it's first third it settles into nice pacing and character development, but the gear change from hanging out on the mountain to the sex scene in the tent is too abrupt. It would be a big risk for both men and it's always rung a little flat and hollow.

Rushes it's set-up

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For me, this is a great spoken-word adaptation of a provocative but human novel. Proulx’s prose works SOO well with Campbell Scott’s true and sensitive reading. It’s a perfect marrying of word into aural.

A heartbreaking tragedy, beautifully read.

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