Currently reading Close Range by Annie Proulx

I discovered that my local public library has a genre that I didn't know they had. I snapped up some audio books, Close Range by Annie Proulx among them.

I used to live in Wyoming and I wanted to see how close the book was to the real Wyoming. Annie presents Wyoming people as they are - folks trying to make a living in a hostile environment. The narrator (William Dufris) even knows how to pronounce Doubois the way that those that live in Wyoming pronounce it.

I have more to say, but I want to finish listening to the book first.

I've listened to six discs so far and I gotta tell ya, these stories fit in Wyoming. People in Wyoming are rugged, self sufficient, and they expect those around them to be the same. They don't stick their nose in other people's business and they expect the same in return. They are independent, some are eccentric (some are downright nuts), most are people trying to make a living. One more thing, those in Wyoming are willing to help when someone gets themselves in a situation that they can't get out of. They are good people. Wyoming is hostile. The weather is unbearably cold in the winter and hot as hell in the summer. Sagebrush everywhere. I still refuse to add sage to any dish when cooking. I've had my fill of sage.

Two more discs to go.

The 7th disc discussed the conflict between environmentalists and farmers/ranchers. The conflict is real and costs both sides of the fence a lot of money. Annie doesn't try to solve the problem neither does she dig deeply into the point of view from either side. She simply presents some of the facts that are a part of the controversy.

Now I'm on disc 8 "Brokeback Mountain" I've never seen the movie so I don't have many preconceived ideas about the story. Like many people I've heard snippets about the movie, but I hope I'm going into this as if the story is fresh and new to me. This is one of those times when it's best not to know too much. I don't want to influence how I receive the story.

I finished listening to the book. I have to tell you I was surprised. If you read the story you will understand what I meant by that. If you haven't read the story, I'll try and explain without spoilers. Forgive any holes in my explanation to avoid spoilers.

Both men are herding sheep. They start out sharing the many Shepherding tasks. Out of the blue, things take a turn and immediately without a word take another turn. This dilemma stays with them the rest of their lives. They try to live their lives as others do. Still they meet up a few times. The two are not equally involved in the relationship and yet they are. Both know the risks and in that part of the country those risks can be fatal. One might think that a couple of men on a mountain could do what they want without anyone knowing. Not so.

Later one of the wives sees something she wasn't expected to see. Neither wife talks about it (the two men getting together) in the story. It's implied that a "tire iron" comes into play. The remaining man visits the other's parents. He wasn't received well.

The two men's lives were half-lived. Choices. Everyone has to make choices. Sometimes choices are made based on rules and not what's in your heart. Those choices will never set well with you and will haunt you.

>4 Dave_v2: I liked the book and was surprised to learn that the locations were accurate and that the Wyoming way of life (if such a thing exists) came through. Those that live in Wyoming are independent and self-sufficient, expect those that they come in contact with to be independent and self-sufficient. They like drive-up beer by the case - that wasn't mentioned in the book.

I highly recommend the book whether you like cowboys and rodeos or not. The book won't try to teach you to work on a ranch, ride a bull, or be a cowboy.

>4 Dave_v2: Is Brokeback Mountain the only story in this collection with queer content? I know I read the story about 15 years ago, but I believe that I read it as a stand-alone novella and not as part of this collection. It was beautifully written, though, so I may be interested in reading these - even though The Shipping News bored me to tears in high school, so I don't necessarily consider myself a fan of Proulx's.

>6 originalslicey: Yes. All the stories are worth a read, but any dog eared pages would be found in Brokeback Mountain.