As we get closer to publication, The Sisters Brothers (out this May) is accumulating some heavy buzz in the library community. A retooled Western full of lust, grit, and blood, The Sisters Brothers is the story of two hired guns, Eli and Charlie Sisters, who are dispatched from Oregon City to a gold mining claim outside Sacramento. Their aim? To kill Hermann Kermit Warm. Along the way, Eli, the softer of the two, begins to question what he does, and who he does it for. The resulting narrative is full of humor, humanity, and tour de force writing.
Recently, I was lucky enough to interview Patrick via email for his thoughts on brown liquor, the Old West, and alpha male ambition. I hope, after you read it, that you're as excited as I am for The Sisters Brothers to hit shelves!
KG: How did you first conceptualize Eli?
PD: One day about three years ago I wrote the words sensitive cowboys in a notepad. This was the sum total of the original idea. It sat unused for a while, but when it began to nag at me, I sketched out a peevish conversation between two men riding side by side on horseback. There was no story, and it didn’t really go anywhere, so I put it to the side. Months later, I’d moved from Washington to Oregon and had begun writing full time, or was supposed to be, but was at a loss as far as what to do next. In looking over what I had on my computer I re-read the bickering cowboys scenario and found I liked it, which for me is rare; usually I look at old or half-baked writing and can’t delete the file fast enough. So, I took it back up and fiddled, and over the course of a month or two the characters materialized. The breakthrough came when I realized they were brothers. And then Eli emerged as the gentler and more introspective of the two, which to my mind made him a natural narrator. All this to say, I didn’t conceptualize Eli so much as figure out who he was over a period of time.
KG: What was the research like for The Sisters Brothers? Did libraries play a role?
PD: I looked things up occasionally and as I needed them, either at the library or online, and my father loaned or bought me books, and in fact continues in spite of my protests to buy me books about the Gold Rush, but really, the research was minimal. It was more something I resorted to rather than something I immersed myself in. But I knew it wasn’t going to be a history-heavy book from the start, because that’s not the kind of thing that interests me as a reader.
KG: How did the diction of traditional westerns inform your writing?
PD: Not much at all, because I haven’t read very many westerns. People may have actually talked like this in 1851, but I doubt it. It’s a bit of a fantastic world, really, despite the occasional historical accuracy.
KG: Charlie likes his whiskey and he likes his brandy. Do you have a brown liquor of choice?
PD: Yes, ma’am, I do: Irish whiskey. My favorite right now is Redbreast. I like it mixed (blasphemous, I know) with a strong ginger ale, like Reed’s, over ice, with a lemon wedge.
KG: Are you an Eli or a Charlie?
PD: Oh, Eli, absolutely. I’ve known my share of Charlies, but have never been able to completely fathom that personality, that kind of cutthroat, alpha-male ambition.
*******
For more on The Sisters Brothers, check back in the months to come. Cheers!
I'm actually teaching a class on The Western this semester. It's going really well.
Posted by: Dean Rader | February 10, 2011 at 12:26 AM
Dean, would you like me to send you a galley of The Sisters Brothers? I've got a few extra!
Posted by: Kayleigh George | February 10, 2011 at 10:40 AM
yes, I'd love that. Thanks very much. The best address to use is Dean Rader, Department of English, USF, 2130 Fulton St, San Francisco, CA 94117.
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