This story takes place in the American west, in the vast grasslands and ranches.  Two men, Ennis and and Jack are hired on in the summer as sheep herders in a secluded, quiet ranch just above the tree-line.  The countryside is beautiful and inspires appreciation of everything at the camp.  The men are not well-prepared for the cold at night and end up sharing a bedroll one night after a brisk dinner.  After some alcohol, the building attraction between the two turns into something physical, quickly.  The two learn to negotiate what they feel for each other.  As the years go by, both Ennis and Jack find themselves in families but still thinking about their relationship that summer and what could have been, but was not.  

This short story/book is very intense.  At first, the language is so dense and strong in dialect; you pretty much can hear the way that both Ennis and Jack would talk when you read it.  The author makes sure to situate you, as the reader, in this story and this landscape.  She doesn't take too much time describing the countryside/ranches but there is an overarching emptiness and openness that looms over this book and the characters.  While it isn't directly described, you can still feel it as you read.

Other than the language and the setting, the actual plot line of this book is really the key to this book.  It is a very sad story with an ending that is both sad and hopeful.  The ending was so interesting to me because of that strange duality.  On the one hand, it is heartbreaking for the character to come to terms with what had happened but at the same time he has a strong sense of continuation, perhaps even hope.  

I wish this book had continued if only to have a bit more closure with what happens in the end and what happens to the character.  While the story is heart wrenching, there are so many other questions that it brings up, especially between others in this story and relationships between people.  I also enjoyed the overall storyline and the treatment of homosexuality in a hyper-masculine setting.  At the time this was written, this wasn't something that was done often.  There is a much bigger metaphor in this book about the wide, open spaces of the "big sky country," and the endless amounts of possibilities of what could occur out there.  This idea is contrasted sharply with the open interpretation of masculinity and what is love.  When I finished this book these things were on my mind, and still I cannot escape them.

Overall, for being a short book (55 pages) there is so much to unpack and comprehend in this book.  While the story ends somewhat abruptly, there is more that goes on after the story ends and there are plenty of other things to think about, in regards to multiple plot points and characters in this book.  If you are looking for a relatively short, but deep read this could be a good book for you.

In the clurb, we all crying.

This story had all the subtlety of a sledgehammer

Aching, and pure, and beautiful. Such a simplistic way of storytelling, yet so much space between the lines to lose your heart. Even with fictional narratives, I get so sad and angry thinking about the innocent queer people who fell victim to the times, countries and circumstances they happened to live in.