Oregon, 1851. Eli and Charlie Sisters, notorious professional killers, are on their way to California to kill a man named Hermann Kermit Warm. On the way, the brothers have a series of unsettling and violent experiences in the Darwinian landscape of Gold Rush America. Charlie makes money and kills anyone who stands in his way; Eli doubts his vocation and falls in love. And they bicker a lot. Then they get to California, and discover that Warm is an inventor who has come up with a magical formula, which could make all of them very rich. What happens next is utterly gripping, strange and sad. Told in deWitt's darkly comic and arresting style, THE WARM JOB is the kind of Western the Coen Brothers might write - stark, unsettling and with a keen eye for the perversity of human motivation. Like his debut novel ABLUTIONS, THE WARM JOB is a novel about the things you tell yourself in order to be able to continue to live the life you find yourself in, and what happens when those stories no longer work. It is an inventive and strange and beautifully controlled piece of fiction, which shows an exciting expansion of Dewitt's range
While I haven’t read many westerns, this book didn’t feel too much like one. The narrative style seemed more suited for an older book; something set in the Victorian times and this was described as a homage to a western, not an actual western novel. I have to admit that it did take a little bit of time to get into this book, I’m not sure if it was the style, or the characters; but once I got use to both, I really did start to enjoy this book.
The Sisters brothers are killers; and they are good at it, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have compassion or they aren’t not trying to be better people. Eli Sister (the narrator) doesn’t seem to have the heart for killing but he would follow his brother Charlie and protect him whenever needed. This isn’t a clear cut good guys and bad guys, this is all shades of grey; much like life. This book is worth reading; it is relatively easy to read and the writing style (once I got use to it) was very pleasant. The characters are what make this book in the end; they are deeply flawed, a little stupid at times, trying to do good, but all in all realistic and believable.
Reading updates
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13 November, 2011:
Finished reading
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13 November, 2011:
Reviewed