BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Originally published in THE NEW YORKER and then as part of the collection CLOSE RANGE, Annie Proulx's short story packs a punch. Cowboys Jack Twist and Ennis del Mar find love or something like it watching over a herd of sheep one summer on Wyoming's Brokeback Mountain. Their lives diverge and intersect again and again as they simultaneously resist and are drawn into a doomed, impossible romance. Campbell Scott's clear reading puts Proulx's beautiful and harsh language front and center. The story is mostly straight narration, but there are a few chances for dialogue, and Scott gives the various characters subtle Western shading, with a gentle drawl for Jack and a gravelly growl for Ennis. It's a timeless story that stands up to repeated listening and will stay with listeners long after they've finished the hour-long CD. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 06]