A Western Odyssey

Welcome back to another riveting segment of "Jass Reads Books". She truly does, ladies and gentlemen, she truly does. Occasionally she even likes them! This was not that occasion.
Which is particularly sad, because this book has been on my list for a LONG time and has one of the most captivating covers ever. I would stare at the cover in bookstores, and convince myself not to get it because "don't judge a book by its cover!" Which is actually crap. The cover has the synopsis! How else am I supposed to judge the book, pre-reading? Wikipedia the thing and read all of the character info and plot, sometimes chapter by chapter? Who has time for that? I'll tell you who...me. I've totally done that.

Sometimes the cover doesn't tell enough. Then what am I supposed to do? Read it because I might like it? Hells no, I am incapable of not finishing a book once I start...I can count how many times I've just stopped reading before finishing in recent memory: Once, it was the second book in the divergent series, but I wanted to stop on the first. (I rolled my eyes so many times, I thought I'd given myself brain damage.) So if I get conned into reading a dull book ("dull" in my opinion-which is essentially the only one that matters to a) Me and b) This blog) I'm usually stuck with it. That's around 24-48 hours of my time used unwisely. If I really don't like the book, maybe longer, because I'll delay finishing it. I can't take that kind of risk-so wiki!

Another reason I wanted to read the book I've chosen was because after hemming and hawing over whether I should read it or not...It won a ridiculous amount of awards and attention. It was also from a Canadian author who was born on the island. So local Canadian. Although he actually (currently) lives in Portland (Of course he does), has for a while, and was definitely there when writing the book.

So without further ado...because I'm just stalling writing about this book...I give you-

BOOK #5: A Book from the Library

The book I chose to read, and gave such a favorable introduction to, is The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt. As mentioned this book has garnered a lot of praise and won the:

• 75th Governor General's Literary Award
• Roger's Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
• Stephen Leacock Medal
• Award for Best Fiction (Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Awards)
• 2012 Canadian Authors Association Award for Fiction

And was shortlisted for a bunch of other prizes, including the prestigious Man Booker Prize. What have these awards told me? That the selections committee can't read. I mean "Canadian Booksellers"? That doesn't inspire literacy confidence...it inspires confidence in selling books. Am I right?

(Disclaimer: I am not right, and the author of this blog would like to apologize for stating those responsible for awarding various prizes cannot read. I'm sure they can. The truth is, I do not know their reading levels, and it is more likely that they just have bad taste)

There was a lot of hype about this book, and again the cover is so rad. Just look at it! 

The best part.

The book started off well, and I actually really enjoyed it. A western inspired novel that takes place in Oregon and California during 1851: It's centers around Eli Sisters, and his brother Charlie. They're guns for hire and have a bad reputation. Eli is tall and chubby, and gives himself a small eating disorder to impress a hotel owner. He gives this up when his brother tells him he was trying to impress a prostitute, not someone actually interested in him. You feel bad for Eli because you learn early on that he doesn't really enjoy his life. Instead he fantasizes about settling down and opening up a general store with a wife who can love him. The crash diet he puts himself on stuck in my mind because it's a reversal of the beauty standards we place on women. He is told by a woman she doesn't like fat men, and he responds by basically not eating, and hating his body. He does go right back to chowing down and pretty much forgetting the woman, but for a moment there was a halfway realized remark on social issues. 

Speaking of women: There is an interesting dynamic in this book's portrayal of female/male (heterosexual) relations. I'm not sure if it was trying to make a comment, or just didn't know how to end interactions, but Eli literally pays every woman he meets and spends any time with. It may be nothing, but I just found it super odd. He gives a big tip to the hotel owner so she can pay off her loans, he leaves $100 for an ill woman he meets and imagines a romance with, and I think there's another example but I refuse to re-read any section of the book. The last woman is his mother, who he wants to go visit by the end of the novel and his one thought is of where on his cheek, she will kiss him, and how nice it will all feel.

Eli admits he likes the idea of someone loving him (no reciprocation), over actually being in a loving relationship. So while the author goes through the trouble of pointing out how sympathetic Eli is and compassionate compared to his trigger happy, easily angered brother...he's pretty freaking selfish and egocentric. 


Also pretty much every woman in the story was a "whore" (literally) except for the old lady who was a witch (Assumed to be literally). What could this mean? You tell me! In all fairness, historically speaking it may make sense that they have the most interaction with a prostitute than someone else. 
But still!

Now lets talk about the episodic nature of this book, shall we? I've labelled this post the Western Odyssey because the plot is inspired by the west/goldrush and moves along in contained scenes, with random adventures thrown in. Some reviewers have said it feels more like movie frames than a book...I agree.
(I don't do summaries but you can find one here.)

Each chapter is its own event and once it concludes, that's kind of that. This was also the main reason I got so bored with this book. When I first started reading it, I kept going for awhile because the writing is actually VERY good. The pace is set nicely and you're getting into the world. However when I put it down, I had a hard time picking it back up. It took me much longer than it should have to finish this book, and it's because the momentum it builds-goes nowhere. Things just happen and then they're over. There's a whole chapter on Eli getting a tooth infection and having to see a dentist who Charlie then robs. That's it. The take away is that Eli learns to brush his teeth and really enjoys it, and they have a bottle of the freezing stuff dentists use (which to be fair does play a role in the novel later on but nothing meaningful).

There's also strange meetings with random folks (much like Homer's classic) that side track the main plot but don't really do much. For instance we get the scene with the "witch" who invited the brothers into her hut for the night, and is gone in the morning. She leaves behind some talisman or something on the door and the brothers are convinced they will be cursed if they touch it. So Charlie squeezes through a window (Eli doesn't fit) and goes to find something that will allow Eli to leave without touching the hex either. As it happens, Eli does end up touching the door to save his horse (named Tub and my favourite character) from a bear. (Exit pursued by bear). He then thinks about how his brother wouldn't touch the door to save him, but he was willing to do it for a horse. He also thinks about the jinx he must be under from time to time...but otherwise we are done with this moment. What effect did it have on the overall story? As far as I can tell...none. Maybe more enlightened readers can fill me in on what I'm missing.

The climax is also a let down and the ending is just there. Everything wraps up and the brothers move in with their mom. While the imagery and humor is strong...again it is well written, it just doesn't sustain itself in terms of objective and momentum. Eli's "change" is disconnected and kind of forced on the reader without the book really backing it up. Although the author does use the biggest movie trope to quickly show a "good person". Movie-making 101 if you have to show your protagonist is a caring, "good" person in minimal time? Give them an animal they treat well. Particularly if they are meant to be tough and a bad ass. It allows the audience to empathize with the character quickly, and get on their side. 

DeWitt does this through Eli's journey with Tub (the horse) and I think this is his way of showing Eli's big change of heart and growth...but it doesn't really.  Eli himself is narrating the story as a past tale, so his reliability is already questionable.

Final thoughts? Don't bother reading this tale. It's not as absurd as it promises, and not as quick as it says. Just wait for the movie if you're interested.