The Sisters Brothers

A Novel

By: Patrick deWitt

Narrated by: John Pruden

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.

©2011 Patrick deWitt (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

“…gritty, as well as deadpan and often very comic…DeWitt has chosen a narrative voice so sharp and distinctive…it’s very narrowing of possibilities opens new doors in the imagination.” ( New York Times Book Review)

“Weirdly funny, startlingly violent and steeped in sadness… It’s all rendered irresistible by Eli Sisters, who narrates with a mixture of melancholy and thoughtfulness.” ( Washington Post)

“[T]here’s something cinematic about Mr. deWitt’s unadorned prose style, which at first made this reader do a double-take—can this be serious?—only to continue flicking the pages with pleasure.” ( Wall Street Journal)

Very entertaining

I love the humorous encounters the two brothers have with other people. While there are many sad and unfortunate moments, there is overall dry humor in their stories. I would recommend this book to anyone who would love some light, but entertaining reading.

Raw and awesome

Loved this read! It's raw and has it humor too. You won't regret buying this!

Fantastic story, narrators voice was a detraction

This is a inventive and interesting story about two brothers who are hired guns in the "wild west" during the time of the California Gold rush. The story is told by Eli Sisters an overweight, thoughtful, loyal, killer. While some of the relationships and conversations may be unbelievable in the context of the story, one cannot help but be drawn to Eli and his musings. Eli, however, can also be construed as annoying and whining. Unfortunately, the narrators' voice reinforced this interpretation of Eli. I finally gave up on listening, and got a print copy of the book. Then I was able to forgive Eli his flaws and enjoy the story.

Western Pulp Fiction

Excellent, well-narrated. Very interesting characters and an unusual perspective much like Pulp Fiction.Good representation of Gold Rush setting.

Fun book, solid 3.5

Pretty basic western, which I enjoy. Different plot twist that was fun. Nothing earth shattering, but I listened steadily all the way through. If I could give half stars, I would give it a 3.5.

surprisingly deep

It begins as a picaresque, episodic, comedic and strange, but ends up surprisingly deep. it's richly characterized, complex, well worded and funny.

A Winner

Where does The Sisters Brothers rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

7 on a scale of 1 to 10.

What did you like best about this story?

Original and fun. Not too heavy.

What does John Pruden bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Like all great readers, he adds another dimension to the reading experience.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Any additional comments?

I like animals and was worried about the comments regarding the treatment of them in the book. The horse's experience was sad, but his mistreatment was a result of ignorance and not sadism. That made all the difference for me.

Loved it! Good choice for a book club read.

This was a selection by my book club. It's a quirky, dark book and I absolutely loved it. I found it to be rather funny and quite entertaining. The narrator was perfect.

It's not a tremendously deep book but everyone in the group had some questions and there were some conflicting responses which lead to some good discussion. One of our members found an interview with the author which answered some of the questions we had about the book.

This is not your typical book club book but I thought it was a good choice and I enjoyed it as did the rest of the members of my group.

Give it a try.

Charming

One of my favorite reads in a long time. The story and performance was down home delicious.

Great book. Narrator made everyone sound simple.

I was turned onto this book by Ben Fowlkes and Chad Dundas, two journalists with a podcast (CME, if you nasty).

I really enjoyed the story and characters but I felt the narration by Pruden really coloured my experience of the book. The book is first person narrative and Pruden's speech is slow and deliberate. Check the audio sample. It's somewhere between John Wayne and Tonto. And maybe Data from TNG... I'm uncertain Pruden can use contractions.

At first I thought this might be a character choice but having listened to samples on other Pruden narrations I know it isn't - this is just the way Pruden narrates. Slow. And deliberate.

It makes everything sound like either a simpleton is saying it or it's being addressed to a simpleton. Which colours the characters of a fictional story, especially when it's in first person narrative.

Early on in the book I was expecting there to be a reveal that the protagonist/narrator had been dropped on his head as a child but once I realised it wasn't a deliberate choice discussed with the author to make the main character sound simple my understanding of the story and characters was much clearer.

While there is a naivety to the main character he is not a simpleton and neither are the majority of the characters in the book, although Pruden voices them in that same slow, deliberate way.

I think the book would be a good read. It's a misleading listen.