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avo_12 's review for:
The Sisters Brothers
by Patrick deWitt
We read this in group and discussed it with "our pakt". For me, it was a pleasant surprise. I reacted to the book, because it was described as a "dark, funny western", and deWitt delivers exactly that. It isn't your typical western, with people riding off into the sunset, but it did offer a good few chuckles (for all the wrong reasons) and even a bark of laughter on occasion.
At the same time, I found some poetry and philosophy in the musings of Eli, who is a sadly tragic and seriously disturbed man. Once you figure out "the trick" his mother taught him, you'll know why I added the latter. His brother, Charlie, is equally disturbed and downright nasty when it comes to women, alcohol and overall morals. Incidentally his quote "Morals come later." did make me laugh out loud. There is definitely a certain charm to the dialogues between the two brothers, who are terribly pragmatic in one moment and turn into quarreling siblings in the blink of an eye the next. The way Charlie and Eli know how to push each other's buttons, while suffering through the dominant older brother / stuck in the shadow, insecure little brother bond, was fairly realistic to me. Neither of these men, however, are winning any prizes any time soon, unless it's prizes in killing.
The intermezzos are curiously weird and cryptic enough to add another layer. As for the ending, well, each their own... I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it makes sense; the universe flipping one huge bird at two men who are - at their core - bad men. On the other hand, it was a bit anticlimactic. I do believe Eli got, more or less, what he wanted though.
Through discussing it, I realized there is a mirroring aspect to the novel, in which secondary characters, like the weeping man, Mayfield, plenty of whores and the Commodore, who are introduced (almost) all return at a later time, and some, like the child and the witch are subtly connected. The chapters are short and the style is pleasant and easy to read. Overall, I enjoyed this book and there's more to it than meets the eye on a first read. Also, I am inclined to go see the movie that'll be coming out along 2017.
At the same time, I found some poetry and philosophy in the musings of Eli, who is a sadly tragic and seriously disturbed man. Once you figure out "the trick" his mother taught him, you'll know why I added the latter. His brother, Charlie, is equally disturbed and downright nasty when it comes to women, alcohol and overall morals. Incidentally his quote "Morals come later." did make me laugh out loud. There is definitely a certain charm to the dialogues between the two brothers, who are terribly pragmatic in one moment and turn into quarreling siblings in the blink of an eye the next. The way Charlie and Eli know how to push each other's buttons, while suffering through the dominant older brother / stuck in the shadow, insecure little brother bond, was fairly realistic to me. Neither of these men, however, are winning any prizes any time soon, unless it's prizes in killing.
The intermezzos are curiously weird and cryptic enough to add another layer. As for the ending, well, each their own... I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it makes sense; the universe flipping one huge bird at two men who are - at their core - bad men. On the other hand, it was a bit anticlimactic. I do believe Eli got, more or less, what he wanted though.
Through discussing it, I realized there is a mirroring aspect to the novel, in which secondary characters, like the weeping man, Mayfield, plenty of whores and the Commodore, who are introduced (almost) all return at a later time, and some, like the child and the witch are subtly connected. The chapters are short and the style is pleasant and easy to read. Overall, I enjoyed this book and there's more to it than meets the eye on a first read. Also, I am inclined to go see the movie that'll be coming out along 2017.