I just finished "The Sisters Brothers" by Patrick DeWitt. Absolutely melted me. First book i've read after neglecting the hobby some regrettable years. This book has kicked the door open again and I now want to replace doomscrolling with reading. I even dimmed my lights and put western town/riverside ambience on my speakers while reading for maximum effect. So cool.
Anyway oversharing aside, the things that really struck me about this book were the following:
Philosphical interpretations of people dropped observationally.
As detailed in the title, the plot was thoroughly engaging. Woven by little hooks that caught your curiosity to be expanded upon in unexpected ways.
The writer tries not to explain it to you, although it does make some small nudges to be sure you're receiving enough to catch the deeper essence of whats being communicated. A balance between deliberately cryptic BS and dumbed down explosition. Polite nudges.
I love how vulnerable the emotional tone is. It felt really raw, real and honest, even though the characters are assassins travelling to do an assassination. Lots to think about.
Also – the writing itself is short and snappy – at times just a little informational and dry, to the benefit of staying engaging. Instead of spending a page entering a scene it spends two lines entering a scene and respects my own ability to project a western saloon interior myself. Did wonders for me
Those qualities are the ones that stood out to me most about the reading experience. I'm open to genres like, crime, horror, cosmic horror, adventure, possibly scifi if its not all like "class-9 super thruster headed for platernigoog colony on exoplanet i59-b. Prime the cockshitting beam" kinda thing. As long as the scifi is a backdrop and not the sole focal point of every scene i'm open to it. Probably maybe a fantasy also. All suggestions appreciated, thanks 🙂
by FozBozz_