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| Patrick deWitt |
One of the
great things about submitting a book for editing is the sense of freedom to do
something other than write. It’s like recess … a time for fun until the
marked-up manuscript comes back to destroy my illusion that I’ve written a
perfect book.
This break
has been for family, surfing, and reading. My first fiction reading was The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt.
An odd Western, written in an engaging style. So engaging, the style drew me
willingly all the way to the last page. The
Sisters Brothers is a buddy story, which I normally like, but the
protagonist is an antihero, which I normally don’t like. (I prefer flawed heroes
that I can empathize with.) The main protagonist is one of the two brothers and
he can be endearing in his quest for normalcy. For the most part, he is a
dullard, but often shows hints of brilliance. This inconsistency was sometimes
jarring.
New writers strive for a unique voice, which is creative writing codswallop. Writers who concentrate on telling a good story and then revise until every word moves the story forward will develop a voice. Those who go after voice first, usually end up boring the reader. deWitt has mastered an entertaining style and it makes the story much more enjoyable than a pedestrian account of oftentimes mundane events. The style is also critical to the story because the two brothers are less than appealing characters.
If you like your Westerns raw, violent, and with only a touch of redemption, you will like The Sisters Brothers.