At times Brokeback Mountain somewhat reads like a Wikipedia summary of the movie, which is by no means the fault of this short story, considering it did come first.

But, despite its brusque pacing, Annie Proulx still finds the time for some beautifully descriptive moments. I was also surprised to find a lot of the best lines from the film were adapted directly from the text.

Brokeback Mountain created a knot in my stomach as I read it. The intense longing, and the grappling with hegemonic gender roles and sexuality, is truly gut-wrenching.

At times you could definitely tell this was written by a straight person (I'm looking at you unrealistic gay sex scenes), but Brokeback Mountain is a powerful and heartbreaking story, that feels like a perfect companion piece to Giovanni's Room.