Brokeback Mountain

Do you recognize this quote:

Ennis ran full throttle on all roads whether fence mending or money spending, and he wanted none of it when Jack seized his left hand and brought it to his erect cock. Ennis jerked his hand away as though he’d touched fire, got to his knees, unbuckled his belt, shoved his pants down, hauled Jack onto all fours, and, with the help of the clear slick and a little spit, entered him, nothing he’d done before but no instruction manual needed. They went at it in silence except for a few sharp intakes of breath and Jack’s choked “Gun’s goin off,” then out, down, and asleep.

Perhaps the names Jack and Ennis gave it away. Yes, it is an excerpt from the short story Brokeback Mountain which was developed into a movie with the same name and which opened yesterday.



Enough gay blogs have already praised the movie for its courage and sensitivity in depicting a love story between gay cowboys. So rather than echoing their praises, I encourage you to read the original short story by Annie Proulx, available here.

"But cockoholick," you object, "reading is so passe. Books are so last season. Movies are more fashionable than literacy."

"Don't be silly. Reading is always in. Ignorance is not."

As they saying goes, movies are often less fulfilling than the novels and stories upon which they are based. Why? Because the literary versions leave more to the imagination. Take the sex scene quote at the beginning of this post, for example. You can add more detail -- sights, sounds and smells -- when reading the quote than you can while watching the scene play on a movie or TV screen. Your imagination makes the experience more vivid, more fulfilling.

Since I haven't yet seen the film version of Brokeback Mountain, I can't say whether the book is in fact better. What I can say, however, is that the short story is enjoyable.

So go on. Read Brokeback Mountain.