The Sisters Brothers
By
Patrick DeWitt
****There will be some light spoilers***
This was a fun book to read. Had all the right elements of humor, drama, action, and wit. I realized, while reading the book, that I’ve never read a ‘western’ before. Unless “The Dark Tower” series counts? Which I think is not really a true western but more a western fantasy? At any rate, this being my first western novel I must I say I quite enjoyed it. DeWitt wrote the antiheroes, The Sisters Brothers, in a natural way. Not trying to sell us on a sappy sad-ladened past in order for us to sympathize and root for them even though they were doing bad things. They suffered some as children and to be sure there is an element of tragedy, but we’re not burdened with the cliche roughneck men but deep down big softies angle. They are hardened men. They go about their business with neither joy nor remorse. Though Charlie does enjoy his work, it is more this how things are and I’m very good at what I do, rather than sadistic killer. Eli is the more sensitive of the two, but he is by no means a sad sack. Eli does begin to question what they do and grows tired of the hitmen lifestyle. Charlie loves the way things are. Killing is 2nd nature to him. He loves booze and women. He’s not so keen on giving up his “career” as Eli is. The story is told from Eli’s POV and plays out in a series of events as they track down their intended target They are hired to kill a man, Hermann Warm, that has “wronged” their employer, The Commodore. Along their path they have some adventures and misadventures and some awkward romance between Eli and two different women. Eli makes the decision to be done with it all, but Charlie has no desire to quit. When they reach the hotel room of their contact, Morris, they discover that Morris isn’t there. But he did leave a journal behind. In it they discover the truth about the man, Warm, they are supposed to kill. He did not wrong The Commodore at all. He was a victim to The Commodore’s greed and cruelty. Warm had invented a way to find gold by not the typical painstaking prospecting process, but through chemistry. He approached The Commodore to be a partner in the venture. The Commodore promises to back his expedition/experiment only to renege on the deal and threatens to kill Warm if he doesn’t give him the formula. Warm escapes and heads to California via the Oregon Trail.
Morris, they learn from the journal, decided to leave the employment of The Commodore and partner up with Warm.
By the time they reach their target they have come to the decision to change their livelihood. But doing so meant more killing. In the end there is redemption, but at a price. I like that DeWitt did not muddle the conclusion up with a BS cheesy cliche happy ending.
The familial dynamic of the brothers was well done. I enjoyed the writing and dialogue. It was a fun read that seemed to go by quickly b/c the story was so enjoyable.
This my first book by DeWitt and it won’t be my last. I highly rec it.
XXX rating
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