Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night

The above title is that of the short story by Annie Proulx printed on "The New Yorker". Originally from her book, Close Range: Wyoming Stories, this short story is the basis for the movie every gay man replays in their sleep, "Brokeback Mountain". I got a copy from another blogger's site so I decided to print it out because I wanted to see how close or different it is from the movie. I went to my favorite coffee shop (Silverlake Coffee on Glendale Blvd and Silverlake Blvd go check it out coz theres a new barista who is total cutie), got myself my single-shot, non-fat mocha, sit my ass down in one of their comfy chairs and finally started to read.

I was captivated. I read non stop, almost ignoring the guy in the next table who just spilled his coffee on his oh so fancy pants and maybe on his laptop too. The movie really sticked close to the short story. Normally I dont like watching the movie before reading the book (in this case, short story) because I find myself distracted by the scenes from the movie when I imagine what the book is describing. In this case, the scenes from the movie provided complimentary visual aid to the story. Some of the most famous lines from the movie were taken word by word from the story. Surprisingly, the story was a bit more vulgar than how the (in)famous tent love scene was portrayed in the movie. Not that its sleazier, its just more honest. Reading the ending, once again broke my heart. Thank you Ms. Proulx.