Close Range: Wyoming Stories Volume 1 is a collection of short stories about the hard life experienced by the people of Wyoming, both in the past and the present. The landscape may be beautiful but it is also harsh, and to make a living from the land you need to be tough. It may be cowboy country, but the romantic image that type of lifestyle may conjure in the mind is far removed from reality. Drought in summer, deep snow in winter and a new breed of landowner who doesn't actually want to work the land are the foes faced by those who have lived and breathed Wyoming for generations. Annie Proulx has not made this an easy read, and it is full of grisly incidents, bad behaviour and unneighbourly treatment. I found it hard to like any of the characters and felt little sympathy for most of them. The highlight of the book is, unsurprisingly, Brokeback Mountain, which had an element of tenderness and love which didn't come across in any of the other stories. One summer, Jack and Ennis are sent to look after the sheep on the mountain and almost instantly, are drawn together. They spend more time with each other than the sheep, but at the end of summer, they go their separate ways thinking that is that and get on with their own lives - including marriage and children. But when the opportunity to meet up again happens, the old feelings emerge and the short time they get to spend with each other over the ensuing years is more precious to them than anything else. I can see why this story is placed at the end - I might have given up on the rest of the book if I hadn't known this was coming! Not my favourite book of the year, but it was nice to see where the inspiration for an excellent film came from.
POPSUGAR Challenge 2018 prompt 1: A book made into a movie you've already seen.
My STAR rating: TWO.
Length: 320 print pages.
Price I paid: free, borrowed from library as an ebook.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, ebook.
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