Well, this was just about the harshest “romance” I’ve ever read.
“One thing never changed: the brilliant charge of their infrequent couplings was darkened by the sense of time flying, never enough time, never enough.”
I’ve never seen the movie version of Brokeback Mountain, although I’m familiar with the story. I never got around to seeing it before Heath Ledger’s death, and since he passed away, I can’t watch anything of his without feeling slightly weepy (10 Things I Hate About You does it the worst — god, I loved him in that movie). And I knew this would be a weepy one anyway. But I thought I could at least brave the book.
Well, short story, anyway. And that was the biggest drawback for me — I wanted to so much more than these few pages could allow (I read the e-book, which I think came to about 55 pages). I loved Proulx’s writing style — very harsh and abrupt, but somehow beautiful in its descriptiveness. As far as the relationship between Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist — it begins so suddenly that it startled me. But I love how she revisited it over and over through the years. It’s not in any way gentle or romantic, but it’s lovely nonetheless.
I’ve long wanted to read the story, because I think the movie is one of the most quietly powerful love stories ever put on film. The acting is superb from everyone, but Ledger really stood out to me. I think it’s his best performance. He’s so rrstrained, even his words seem to barely escape him.
Glad to hear that the source is just as powerful.