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Quick answer: If you read Brokeback Mountain, read Annie Proulx's Close Range, then Giovanni's Room, Maurice, Call Me by Your Name and Lonesome Dove. All are aching, quiet stories about forbidden love, rural places and lives lived in silence.
Annie Proulx's 1997 short story, first published in The New Yorker and collected in Close Range, follows two ranch hands, Ennis and Jack, who meet in 1963 and keep their love secret across decades. It is spare, tragic and unforgettable. The books below offer similar tales of hidden love and the landscapes that shape it.
Table of Contents
Quick Picks at a Glance
| Book | Author | Ages | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close Range: Wyoming Stories | Annie Proulx | Adult | the collection |
| The Shipping News | Annie Proulx | Adult | Pulitzer winner |
| Giovanni's Room | James Baldwin | Adult | love and shame |
| Maurice | E. M. Forster | Adult | love and class |
| Call Me by Your Name | Andre Aciman | Adult | summer romance |
| A Single Man | Christopher Isherwood | Adult | a day of grief |
| Carol | Patricia Highsmith | Adult | forbidden love |
| Young Mungo | Douglas Stuart | Adult | Glasgow love story |
| Lonesome Dove | Larry McMurtry | Adult | Western epic |
| Stoner | John Williams | Adult | quiet life |
| All the Pretty Horses | Cormac McCarthy | Adult | young cowboys |
| The Last Picture Show | Larry McMurtry | Adult | small-town Texas |
| Fingersmith | Sarah Waters | Adult | Victorian twists |
| The Song of Achilles | Madeline Miller | Adult | Trojan War |
| Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe | Benjamin Alire Saenz | Teen | coming of age |
1. Close Range: Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx
Proulx's Wyoming stories, including Brokeback Mountain. Spare, harsh and beautiful.
Best for: the collection.
2. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
A man moves to Newfoundland to start over. Quirky, wintry and moving.
Best for: Pulitzer winner.
3. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
An American in Paris faces his desire. Short and devastating.
Best for: love and shame.
4. Maurice by E. M. Forster
A man faces his sexuality in Edwardian England. Written in 1913-14, published in 1971.
Best for: love and class.
5. Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman
A teenager falls for a visiting scholar in Italy. Lush and sad.
Best for: summer romance.
6. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
A gay professor in Los Angeles mourns his partner. Short and precise.
Best for: a day of grief.
7. Carol by Patricia Highsmith
A young shop girl falls for an older woman in 1950s New York. Tense and romantic.
Best for: forbidden love.
8. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
A teenage boy in Glasgow falls in love across a sectarian divide. Tense and heartbreaking.
Best for: Glasgow love story.
9. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Two retired Texas Rangers drive cattle to Montana. Long, sad and beloved.
Best for: Western epic.
10. Stoner by John Williams
A professor lives a modest, disappointing life. Understated and moving.
Best for: quiet life.
11. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Two boys ride into Mexico in 1949. Lyrical and violent.
Best for: young cowboys.
12. The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry
Teens in a dying Texas town face desire and loneliness. Sad and funny.
Best for: small-town Texas.
13. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
A thief and a lady conspire, and their love grows. Twisty, dark and romantic.
Best for: Victorian twists.
14. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Patroclus tells the story of his love for Achilles. Lyrical and heartbreaking.
Best for: Trojan War.
15. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Two Mexican American boys become friends in 1980s El Paso. Gentle and moving.
Best for: coming of age.
How to Choose
For more Proulx choose Close Range or The Shipping News. For queer classics pick Giovanni's Room, Maurice or A Single Man. For modern love stories read Call Me by Your Name, Carol or Young Mungo. For Western landscapes try Lonesome Dove or All the Pretty Horses. For younger readers read Aristotle and Dante. Brokeback Mountain is short, so it is easy to read slowly and discuss. The story is only about 30 pages long, and the 2005 film adaptation expanded it, so readers often find the original far more compressed and bleak. It is worth rereading after you have seen the film. Brokeback Mountain is a story that readers often reread, and each reading shows new details. If you enjoy short, powerful fiction, Giovanni's Room and A Single Man are slim and strong. If you enjoy landscapes, Lonesome Dove and All the Pretty Horses fill the Western canvas. Audiobooks of the story are available, read by actors. Short stories like this reward patient reading, so it helps to read slowly and notice what the characters leave unsaid.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Brokeback Mountain about?
Two ranch hands fall in love in 1963 Wyoming and keep their relationship secret for decades.
Who wrote it?
Annie Proulx.
When was it published?
1997 in The New Yorker.
Is there a film?
Yes, a 2005 film directed by Ang Lee.
Is it a novel?
No, it is a short story.
Is it a sad story?
Yes, it is tragic.
Where can I read it?
In the collection Close Range: Wyoming Stories.
What should I read next?
Try Giovanni's Room or Call Me by Your Name.
What is the setting?
Rural Wyoming, from the 1960s to the 1980s.
Is it a love story?
Yes, but a tragic one about a love that society forbids.
Is Brokeback Mountain a good story to teach?
It is often taught in literature classes for its compression and use of landscape.