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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I liked the book well enough in its characterizations, but the plot was a bit strange, and almost felt like it was beside the point. It didn't really matter what happened; the point was to spend some time with the Sisters brothers, and to see them in different situations.
I really liked Eli's voice, his observations and philosophizing. I didn't enjoy so much the casual violence against people and animals.
I really liked Eli's voice, his observations and philosophizing. I didn't enjoy so much the casual violence against people and animals.
Although this was a thoroughly entertaining re-imagined True Grit-esque western, I was a bit disappointed with the sentimentality of the ending. I guess my hopes were just too high for this one. Oh well.
Extremely meh. I skimmed the final third and it was really nothing memorable.
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt is a gold rush era Western about hired assassins, Eli and Charlie Sisters. The brothers enact revenge on behalf of the Commodore. They are hired to track down Hermann Kermit Warm, find out the formula for the solution he uses to illuminate gold and then kill him. The brothers travel from Oregon to California on this quest. This story was very interesting and quickly paced. It was very well written, I think that in general though this probably isn't my genre. I liked this book, but didn't love it.
I wouldn't think it possible to produce a new quirky, revisionist Western in these content-saturated times and still have something that feels original. In Patrick DeWitt's 2011 novel, Eli and Charlie Sisters are the titular siblings, a pair of infamous hitmen hired to take out an eccentric prospector. The book is narrated by Eli, the younger, stockier, more sensitive member of the duo. Eli has become disillusioned with his unsavory line of work, and dreams of settling down and opening a trading post, which places a rift between himself and the more gung-ho Charlie.
Before the brothers find their target in the wilds of gold-rush stricken California, "The Sisters Brothers" takes the form of a leisurely picaresque or 1850-style road novel. There is a spider bite, an enigmatic crone in a cabin, Eli's introduction to new gadget called a tooth brush, and so much more. This is a funny book – not simply amusing, but funny enough to give me a few episodes of uncontrollable giggles. DeWitt has stylized the dialogue to sound too formal to be contemporary (with scarce contractions), but with rhythms more attuned to modern observational comedy, like an old-West "Curb Your Enthusiasm". There is also marked affection towards animals, despite some grotesque fates: the novel includes two distinct bears and a horde of beavers, but the most heartbreaking character of all is Tub, Eli's long-suffering horse.
"The Sisters Brothers" never feels like it's trying too hard, which works to its advantage. Its ambling, deadpan personality magnifies the anguished relationship at the center, as Eli seeks an escape from the cycle of violence for which – his only friend – seems to be stringing him along.
Before the brothers find their target in the wilds of gold-rush stricken California, "The Sisters Brothers" takes the form of a leisurely picaresque or 1850-style road novel. There is a spider bite, an enigmatic crone in a cabin, Eli's introduction to new gadget called a tooth brush, and so much more. This is a funny book – not simply amusing, but funny enough to give me a few episodes of uncontrollable giggles. DeWitt has stylized the dialogue to sound too formal to be contemporary (with scarce contractions), but with rhythms more attuned to modern observational comedy, like an old-West "Curb Your Enthusiasm". There is also marked affection towards animals, despite some grotesque fates: the novel includes two distinct bears and a horde of beavers, but the most heartbreaking character of all is Tub, Eli's long-suffering horse.
"The Sisters Brothers" never feels like it's trying too hard, which works to its advantage. Its ambling, deadpan personality magnifies the anguished relationship at the center, as Eli seeks an escape from the cycle of violence for which – his only friend – seems to be stringing him along.
Two gunslingers on an epic manhunt from Oregon to California in the 1850’s. A somewhat odd story with some great flashes of originality in describing characters and their actions.
A humorous and colorful jaunt through life on the legal margins of gold-rush era California, imagined with a distinctly contemporary sensibility.
Two brothers are sent on a quest to assassinate a thief. Can they manage not to kill each other long enough to do so?
Cormac McCarthy lite, but darker than it's described. The plot is VERY strange, being more a Homeric voyage of irony on the seas of almost-a-fairy-tale than anything else, with Circe the dog-poisoning little girl. Or some kind of Wagnerian epic about stolen gold. The end is a whimper, not a shout. I still deel like I'm missing something.
Cormac McCarthy lite, but darker than it's described. The plot is VERY strange, being more a Homeric voyage of irony on the seas of almost-a-fairy-tale than anything else, with Circe the dog-poisoning little girl. Or some kind of Wagnerian epic about stolen gold. The end is a whimper, not a shout. I still deel like I'm missing something.
Very disappointing. Starts out like a wild-west thriller with good characterisation and style but then descends into plotless ramblings about half-way through. There is no pay-off at the end whatsoever, and essentially nothing happens.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes