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The Sisters Brothers – A Novel
by Patrick deWitt
“If Cormac McCarthy had a sense of humor, he might have concocted a story like Patrick deWitt’s bloody, darkly funny western.” —Los Angeles Times
“Irresistible. . . . Weirdly funny, startlingly violent and steeped in sadness.”
—Washington Post
Now available in paperback, Patrick deWitt’s THE SISTERS BROTHERS was one of the most acclaimed novels of 2011. A finalist for the Man Booker Prize and the Giller Prize, among other awards, THE SISTERS BROTHERS also won the Governor General’s Award and was named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and many other publications. Already optioned for film by actor John C. Reilly, who will star and produce, THE SISTERS BROTHERS is deWitt’s homage to the classic Western, with the hilarious, action-packed plotting of a caper flick.
The year is 1851, the Gold Rush is on, and brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters have a job to do. Commissioned by Oregon City’s influential “Commodore,” the men must travel south to San Francisco to eliminate a man by the name of Hermann Kermit Warm. Initially unaware of the reasons why the Commodore wants Warm killed, these feared and crafty henchmen—the Sisters Brothers—always get the job done.
Following the Sisters’ adventures across Oregon, into California, and back again, THE SISTERS BROTHERS details the sometimes comical, sometimes poignant relationship between these two men. Bloodthirsty, whiskey-loving Charlie is usually in the lead. Ruthless and impatient, Charlie desires power. He longs for the authority of his various employers, and will do most anything to insure that fate. Plump Eli, our narrator, is the younger, more thoughtful of the pair. With a soft spot for his injured, one-eyed horse, Tub, and the many the out-of-luck characters he meets, Eli clings to the dreams of an easy life and someone to love him. Along the way, Eli resolves that this trip will be his last as part of the fabled Sisters Brothers. He is done with killing.
Creating havoc is a madcap cast that includes a failed dentist who introduces Eli to the pleasures of toothpaste, an old witch who provides ominous shelter, a shyster with a bevy of whores at his command, a couple of bears, and an apocalyptic nomad. Each swells the plot forward through the violent frontier, binding the brothers by bloodshed and love. A hilarious romp through the Wild West, THE SISTERS BROTHERS is, as Wells Tower said, “a masterful, hilarious picaresque that keeps company with the best of Charles Portis and Mark Twain.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Patrick deWitt (http://www.patrickdewitt.net/) is the author of the critically acclaimed Ablutions: Notes for a Novel. Born in British Columbia, he has also lived in California, Washington, and Oregon, where he currently resides with his wife and son.
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