There's little way to describe The Sisters Brothers without invoking Charles Portis's great True Grit, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, both are Westerns with a bit of a revisionist/unique perspective, and both share a similar voice - an intelligent, slightly wordy, slightly awkward tone. But while that forms the obvious reference point, it doesn't really begin to describe the charmingly oddSisters Brothers, which follows our titular brothers (whose last name is Sisters) as they make their way across the wilderness to track down a man for their boss. The brothers are guns for hire, you see, and they're exceptionally dangerous ones, and that might lead you to expect something incredibly violent, something akin to Unforgiven. Instead, The Sisters Brothers is wonderfully unpredictable, meandering its way through fancy dinners, unsettling witchcraft, mangled horses, possible alchemy, and so much more. But more than that, the book is anchored by the voice of its narrator, Eli Sisters, a man who's never quite comfortable in the role that fate has cast him in. Indeed, no matter what strange situation the brothers find themselves in, much of the joy of the book comes from Eli's musings and discussions, whether it's his considering of a diet to impress women, his deep love of toothpaste, or his odd kinship with the horse he sort of hates. Yes, The Sisters Brothers is a bit meandering, to put it mildly; it's very much a book that's more about the journey than the destination, and even if that final chapter is kind of beautiful, it's clear that the book is more about enjoying all of the incidents that make it up. But while that occasionally makes the whole feel like a little less than the sum of the parts, it's hard to detract from the great writing, the compelling characters, the rich setting, and the great episodes that keep the book moving along. It's a book that feels of a piece with True Grit, and especially the Coen brothers' wonderful take on the novel.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
