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A review by hernamewaslily
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Set in 1851 and told from the point of view of Eli Sisters, a loveable rogue type, The Sisters Brothers is a picaresque novel which follows the notorious Sisters brothers, Eli and Charlie, as they make their way from Oregon City to California in order to find and kill a man called Hermann Kermit Warm, a prospector who has supposedly stolen something from the Sisters' boss, the Commodore. As they make their way to California they meet a number of colourful characters along the way - some who they take pity on, like the abandoned 15 year old who just wants to get back to his unrequited back home, and others that they don’t, such as a trio of menacing hunters. When the men finally reach California, they realise that things are not quite as they seem and Warm has something that could change everything and makes them question their boss’s intentions.
The novel’s strength really is its main characters, Eli and Charlie, and their relationship which feels incredibly realistic; at times they want to kill each other yet all they have is each other (although you only get a glimpse into their past, it goes a long way into understanding their situation). I also liked the various characters the two meet throughout their journey, who not only help with the novel's pacing and world building, but add a much needed humour.
On a deeper level, the book explores man’s relationship to nature and the ecological effects of modernity (there’s a particularly poignant bit to do with a horse but I won’t spoil it). Which I think ties into the broader historical context of the foundation of the U.S. and the formulation of the American dream. It is also about masculinity and ageing, and, obviously, brotherhood.
This novel isn’t ground-breaking, it features a rather simple narrative and is quite contained, but it’s really well executed and has made it as one of my favourite books. It also gave me big Red Dead Redemption 2 vibes (which I am currently playing) not only in terms of setting/genre/theme, but by the ways in which the different characters interact, particularly the random encounters that are very reminiscent to the gameplay (if you’ve played it, you’ll understand what I mean if you read the book).
The novel’s strength really is its main characters, Eli and Charlie, and their relationship which feels incredibly realistic; at times they want to kill each other yet all they have is each other (although you only get a glimpse into their past, it goes a long way into understanding their situation). I also liked the various characters the two meet throughout their journey, who not only help with the novel's pacing and world building, but add a much needed humour.
On a deeper level, the book explores man’s relationship to nature and the ecological effects of modernity (there’s a particularly poignant bit to do with a horse but I won’t spoil it). Which I think ties into the broader historical context of the foundation of the U.S. and the formulation of the American dream. It is also about masculinity and ageing, and, obviously, brotherhood.
This novel isn’t ground-breaking, it features a rather simple narrative and is quite contained, but it’s really well executed and has made it as one of my favourite books. It also gave me big Red Dead Redemption 2 vibes (which I am currently playing) not only in terms of setting/genre/theme, but by the ways in which the different characters interact, particularly the random encounters that are very reminiscent to the gameplay (if you’ve played it, you’ll understand what I mean if you read the book).