The Sisters Brothers

A Novel

By: Patrick deWitt

Narrated by: John Pruden

Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

This book was okay

What did you like best about The Sisters Brothers? What did you like least?

It was kind of funny the way they dealt with killing people--but it was not a great read.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Adequately enough

Was The Sisters Brothers worth the listening time?

Not really

Perhaps my new favorite novel

This book is wonderful. It is funny and lighthearted at times but, at others, reverent and dark. Its narrator is wholly sincere and brooding and an unwitting poet. The story is fun to read and is written in hypnotic prose. Yet, its reflections on life, death and human nature possess a melancholy and accuracy that is entirely profound. It is riveting and one-of-a-kind.

Our blood is the same, we just use it differently.

“Our blood is the same, we just use it differently.”

Two professional contract killers, The Sisters Brothers, Charlie and Eli live in 1851, during the Gold Rush era and are heading out for what Eli hopes will be their last job. The narrator John Pruden did such an excellent job in bringing this story to life. Not only was the dialogue on its own great, and added character, but his performance made it even more lifelike, especially when it came to giving Charlie and Eli their own identities and senses of self through voice alone.

This story was such a trip down memory lane for me. The tone of it had me thinking back to the westerns I used to enjoy as a kid and wasn’t unnecessarily descriptive. Its shorter length (10 chapters) doesn’t falter its pacing or story at all. If anything, it makes it better without the need for unnecessary description or droning about things that won’t be important later.

It’s an entertaining western story and has all the elements you would expect. Gunfights, prospectors, horses, outlaws, snake oil salesmen, women of the night, etc. but it also gives delivery of humor, sometimes dark, funny, and at others even thought provoking.

There is a movie version of this story although I have yet to see it. I have been told it doesn’t carry the same ambiance as the novel, so it remains to be seen if the book is indeed better or not. Either way, I would definitely read this again, and likely will many more times in the future.

Witty and Harrowing

Nicely droll and very intelligent novel that is a Western by setting and time period (and rampant bloodshed) and a Picaresque by structure. If you tend to feel things a bit too intensely, as I do, the inevitable conclusion will be excruciating. I say this as a warning, not a criticism.

Really great listen!!!

I really enjoyed this title. The writing style was really great. The story went sideways a few times but overall was still a great story. The narration was really good!! The reader fit the actual stories narrator perfectly.

Fantastic, laugh out loud funny, quirky, original

Beautifully evocative hilarious deadpan tale. You might say every page is illuminated by the CA gold rush. Mix in a blender: Vonnegut, cohen Bros, Cormac McCarthy, Larry McMurtry, Thomas McGuane, Larry David. Really loved this book. Super fun car trip listen.

Good dialogue but falls short otherwise

This novel feels like a series of vignettes involving the Sisters brothers, two hired killers. The dialogue is amusing, and kept my interest, and I enjoyed many of the short scenes. But this novel does not make the location come alive as I had hoped, and the plot is thin. I smiled a lot but was not terribly engaged otherwise. The reader was good, though.

Don't let the word "western" stop you!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. Simple, yet beautiful. Western in style, but covering timeless themes. Also perfectly narrated.

Which character – as performed by John Pruden – was your favorite?

The brother of the narrator. He is a complex character... Not unrealistically villainous, or unrealistically heroic... But an authentic man.

Any additional comments?

I'm not a fan of the western genre usually, but there was something stoic and modern about it. The complicated story of two brothers who are different on so many levels, but still brothers in the end, is a story we can all relate to on some level. Believe the hype on this one!

I enjoyed a "Western".

This book is charming in a strange hired gunslinger brothers kind of way. The first person perspective of the tale as relayed by Eli is what makes the story for me. How is it that a man who has killed untold numbers of men feels so genuine, naive and unwittingly funny? This is the appeal of The Sisters Brothers. I am quite certain if this tale were told from Charlie's perspective I would be writing a very different review.
If you don't think that this is your genre you should try going on a manhunt with Eli and Charlie Sisters. You too maybe pleasantly surprised.

Odd, violent, unhappy book - with great narration.

What was most disappointing about Patrick deWitt’s story?

The misery. Everyone, all the time.

Was The Sisters Brothers worth the listening time?

No, I'm sorry. Not my preferred style of read.