By Patrick deWitt
Granta, 2011
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.
Having seen so many positive reviews for this book, and seen
that it has been nominated for many awards, including the Man Booker Prize
2011, I decided it was time to read it for myself and see what all the fuss was
about.
Patrick deWitt writes in a very readable style, creating
many fascinating characters in the process that kept me turning the pages. The
story is told in the first person, through Eli Sisters. There really isn’t much
of a plot, but it’s the character studies that held my attention, made we want
to keep reading to find out what would happen to them.
At least half of the book is taken up with the Sisters’
brothers journey from Oregon City to Sacramento, and it’s during these travels
that the brothers meet many of the other characters. Witnessing how the
brothers react to these people, none of whom really have anything to do with the main
plot line, is what I found the most interesting aspect of this book. In fact some of the people you’d expect to read about again, such as the weeping
man (who appears twice), never have their stories fully explained, or just
vanish without a trace, as does the witches curse that is pushed to the
forefront of the tale for a while and then just seems to become forgotten by
the end.
There are a couple of other things that raised my eyebrow,
such as the number of people of the trail between Oregon and California in the
1850s, seems the brothers couldn’t go more than a few paces without meeting
someone new. Then there’s the killing of a grizzly with four pistol shots – not
sure that would have been possible with the weapons of the day, but deWitt is
careful to never name the pistols used. Towards the end one of the Sisters
brothers does something that is pivotal to the outcome of the book that seems
so out of character it kind of spoiled it for me. I’d have also liked to have
discovered more about the formula – if it was real surely other people would
have been using it, or something similar, so this left me with a feeling of
fantasy elements which I sure didn’t expect in a book billed as the next big
western.
I know I’m not usually so negative about books I review
here, but I guess from all the praise heaped on this novel I was expecting
more. The book has many good points too, witty dialogue for instance and I
particularly enjoyed the contrasts between Eli’s care and concern for his
horse, Tub, and the casual way it which he kills and treats the dead – see what
he does to the corpse of the dead miner for example.
So a book full of superb character studies, fairly graphic
scenes of violence (although not nearly as graphic as can be found in other
westerns), told at a fast pace that proved to be an entertaining read.
FOOTNOTE: Those of you living in the UK may like to know that this book is the featured novel on The TV Book Club tomorrow night (5th February) on More4. If the programme follows its usual format it should also include a short interview with Patrick deWitt.
3 comments:
What an interesting title. I'm sure your review is fair as always and criticism can be negative as well as positive and what didn't appeal to you might appeal to someone else...I think that about covers it. ;-)
I often wonder about these books that become must-reads. And how does it qualify for a Booker Prize?
I have no idea Ron, it also contains a list of four other awards it was put up for.
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