The Sisters Brothers

THE SISTERS BROTHERS

by Patrick deWitt

 

Nominations: Booker Finalist 2011, Carnegie Longlist 2012

 

Date Read: April 1, 2021

 

I generally don’t go in for “Westerns” but this book was captivating, charming and sad in a way that was surprising and delightful. The Sisters brothers, Charlie and Eli, are two mercenaries that stumble through an odyssey in order to fulfill their boss, the Commodore’s, request to murder a man named Warm. Warm has developed a chemical concoction that can highlight any gold in a stream at night.

 

During their trip from Oregon to San Francisco to find Warm, Charlie and Eli encounter a multitude of challenges that highlights not only their murderous renown, but also their frailty. I found their journey at times humorous, scary and tiring. They encounter a witch, a bear, a dead Indian, a parlor of sporting women, and a gang of fur trappers hell-bent on killing them. And in the end, they find Warm himself, as well as his partner Morris.

 

While Charlie is the more serious brother, Eli is more tender, leaving money behind with every woman he becomes enamored with and determines to lose weight to become more appealing. He has a particularly funny encounter at a restaurant where he tries to order veggies. He is also introduced to tooth-brushing which he explores with hilarity.

 

Ultimately, though, while their overall goal is successful and Warm is indeed ended, the sacrifice they make to achieve that goal is not worth it. They end up empty-handed but successful, a difficult proposition for two brothers who are more human than mercenary. In their tragic last endeavor, they are able to touch more gold than most men have ever seen, while Warm and Morris die a torturous death. Not only do they lose the gold, and ultimately their savings, but Charlie loses his trigger hand.

 

Although these brothers are violent and have lived a hard life, I found myself captivated by them and rooting for them to succeed (in killing!). In the end, I believe they realized they have too much heart for the type of life they were living.

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