Start the New Year with a Best Seller
As 2011 draws to a close, The Sisters Brothers written by Patrick deWitt, has been appearing on many Best Books of the Year lists. It has already won'the Governor General's Literary Award and been Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Giller Prize. Ablutions, deWitt's debut novel, was also well-received. Originally from Vancouver Island, Patrick deWitt is a new author to watch for in the future.
Set in 1851 during the gold rush, Eli and Charlie Sisters are hired gunslinger for the Commodore, a man who is as famous as he is feared. The brothers have been hired, once again, to travel from Oregon City to San Francisco to hunt down and kill a prospector named Herman Kermit Warm. The Commodore mysteriously never tells the brothers how Warm has wronged him. Everywhere they go, the Sisters' brothers strike fear in the hearts of everyone they meet. Their brutality is legendary. Suring their journey they have many adventures, including run-ins with Indians, a bear, a witch, a lost boy, a vengeful frontier baron, saloon ladies, and a gang of fur trappers.
Eli, the more sympathetic brother, narrates the tale. As he witnesses his brother's cruelty, blood-lust and addiction to drink and women, he begins to realize that this may be his last job for the Commodore and he may just consider settling down to a quiet, peaceful life.
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