Howdy Readers!

Long time no post. Grad school is in full effect, and I’m not even writing right now, that’s how many projects I have going on at once. That being said, I’m happy to share another book review with you guys!

This time I read The Sister Brothers by Patrick DeWitt.

Honestly I didn’t think I was going to be reading this book, but I had a DNF roll going. I abandoned One Last Stop and then The Woman in the Window before arriving at this one. They just didn’t grip me.

Anywho, this is my first ever western! I never really liked western movies. They just always seemed silly to me, and I always think of John Wayne whenever I think of the genre and it makes me giggle (mainly because my mom watched these and I made fun of her as a kid for liking old things).

So, how was this western adventure? Keep on reading for the review!

Blurb

Hermann Kermit Warm is going to die. The enigmatic and powerful man known only as the Commodore has ordered it, and his henchmen, Eli and Charlie Sisters, will make sure of it. Though Eli doesn’t share his brother’s appetite for whiskey and killing, he’s never known anything else. But their prey isn’t an easy mark, and on the road from Oregon City to Warm’s gold-mining claim outside Sacramento, Eli begins to question what he does for a living – and whom he does it for.

With The Sisters Brothers, Patrick deWitt pays homage to the classic Western, transforming it into an unforgettable comic tour de force. Filled with a remarkable cast of characters – losers, cheaters, and ne’er-do-wells from all stripes of life – and told by a complex and compelling narrator, it is a violent, lustful odyssey through the underworld of the 1850s frontier that beautifully captures the humor, melancholy, and grit of the Old West, and two brothers bound by blood, violence, and love.

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Amazon

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The Review

This was my first ever Western, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel.

This novel takes place in the gold rush era of the 1800s and centers on The Sister Brothers, Eli and Charlie. Lackeys of the kingpin known as The Commodore, they carry out his most grizzly tasks, collecting bounties on those who have wronged him. The Sisters Brothers current bounty is for a Hermann Warm, but this journey will test their tenacity, courage, and reveal their true moral fiber along the way.

For this read I primarily listened via audiobook while keeping track of my progress with an eBook version. The narrator for this audiobook is John Pruden, and I enjoyed his southern accent as well as all the variances in his voice for different characters. I typically struggle with audiobooks in maintaining focus, but once I got used to the narrator I found it quite enjoyable.

The Sisters Brothers made interesting main characters. Eli is the softer of the two, caring and loving where Charlie is brash and relentless in his dealings. Their differing personalities made an interesting mix, and their relationship was complicated as most siblings can probably agree. Both characters had a nice amount of depth and growth along this journey that was pleasing to experience.

The plot seemed simple at first, but evolved along the way with surprising twists and turns that kept my attention. I enjoyed the dangerous shootouts that occurred as well as the element of mystery surrounding Hermann Warm. There were some chapters that dragged and felt unimportant compared to others, and I also felt the writing didn’t quite jump off of the page enough to fully captivate me, but there was quality to the writing and it had a nice flow that will keep any reader engaged.

Overall, this was a solid western that impressed me, and I think both fans and nonfans of the genre would enjoy this work.

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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