It’s the Booker prize this week, which of course means the attendant controversy – this time focussing on that terrible crime: the books being too readable. I’ve read three of the list now – Esi Edugyan’s compulsive Half-Blood Blues, Carol Birch’s historical adventure Jamrach’s Menagerie (I interviewed her here) and Patrick deWitt’s western The Sisters Brothers. In fact, I read The Sisters Brothers twice in the end, because I wasn’t sure about it first time around and I was speaking to Patrick for The National. It was the prose style that floored me initially – really flat and dry – but it made complete sense on second read, perfectly matching the strange detachment of the marvellously odd hitmen.
Anyway, it was about the only book on the list which escaped the critical ire of the Review Show panel on Friday – they were far too harsh – and it is the most innovative, interesting and entertaining of the three I’ve read. After being unsure about The Sisters Brothers, I now hope it wins.
