This is an easy one. I remember the day in Bookclub we went through the list of books that had been voted for for the next six month and I was „What ? A Western? – You must be kidding me…“

I so didn’t want to read this book. I don’t like Westerns, I don’t do them, I was stubborn as hell but the first moment of appeasement came when I saw the cover – holy cow that was a great cover. I loved it and would put it up on the wall as a poster anytime.

What can I say ? The book totally surprised me. I liked it so much better than I ever anticipated. The „Sisters Brothers“ is a tragic comedy about two contract killers and their weird and bloody trip through the United States in 1851.

Herman Kermit Warm is about to die. His death was ordered by the „Commodore“ and the brothers Charlie and Eli Sisters are about to get this done. Their trip leads them from Oregon to sunny California where they try to find Warm. It is a trip through the American West deeply enveloped in the feverish hunt for Gold. Their journey is often interrupted by weird and cold blooded meetings.

The brothers are as different as brothers can be. Charlie the stone cold ruthless killer and Eli the brooder who is constantly thinking about some existential question. When they finally arrive in California things take a pretty surprising turn.

This book is filled with remarkable characters: Losers and Cheaters and all the guys you would find in a John Steinbeck novel. The story takes you to the melancholy and sometimes humorous Wild West and we even get to develop some sympathy with the two killer brothers who are bound by Blood, Violence and Love.

The cover is by Dan Stiles one of my favorite Illustrators and designers and was voted one of the best covers of 2011. Thanks to this posting today I follow him on Instagram.

This is why I love my Bookclub. They make me read books I would never have picked up, we have heated discussions, forge coalitions that last until the next book, fall in love with characters that others despise and no debate ever cannot be peaceful solved with another glass of wine. This book was by the one nearly all of us could agree upon that it was a really good one.

Thank you Guys – this one is for you 🙂

OK everybody – which book did you read that you thought you wouldn’t like but did in the end ?

Auf deutsch erschien das Buch unter dem Titel „Die Sisters Brothers“  im Goldmann Verlag.