Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

Reading this after having seen the film twice was like looking at an image reflected over top of another, very similar, but subtly different image. The characters from the film seemed so real that I had difficulty picturing the characters in the story [who were, indeed, subtly different]. Almost every tiny event of the film is lifted straight from the story, right down to the dialogue, although somehow the film failed to convey the sense of total hopelessness that permeates the story.

I suspect that the film may have spoiled the story for me. With my mind crammed full of images, I had trouble appreciating Proulx's characteristic sparse, alarming prose. Nonetheless it is a great wee story and I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't remember the film.