When Open Range was published in 1999, reviews were attentive on the conditions of harsh living in Wyoming and how it affected the characters in each story. There is a critic by the name of John Moore who states, “She startles us with her close-ups of life on the range; her characters move in landscapes that are unforgiving of their flaws.” Meaning that in each story each character is a sort of anti-hero who can never seem to have things go his/her way. Such an example is presented in Brokeback Mountain of Jack and Ennis who fall for each other but cannot pronounce their feelings in fear of being killed. Another review by Eren McGraw wrote, “Whatever fierceness the characters show toward themselves or one another, their violence is child’s
