Patrick deWitt Books

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Patrick deWitt is a Canadian based screenwriter and novelist who was born in the year 1975. He was born and raised in Vancouver, British Colombia. Later on, he relocated to Washington state and California as well. Currently, Patrick deWitt resides in Portland, Oregon. Patrick deWitt’s very first novel, Ablutions was published in the year 2009 and was named as a New York Times, Editor’s Choice. Sisters and Brothers, Patrick deWitt’s second book was nominated for a Man Booker Prize, Scotiabank Giller Prize, and a Rogers Writers’ Fiction Prize. In the year 20111, the book was also nominated for a Governor’s General Award. Patrick deWitt is among the very few Canadian writers who were able to be nominated for all the four awards in the year 2011.

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Patrick deWitt was the second born of three brothers, born to a mother and father with working-class roots. It was DeWitt’s father he gave him his love of literature, as he would come home from working as a carpenter and indulge himself by reading a book on the couch in the evenings. During this period, while Patrick deWitt was finding a passion for both literature and music, he had no real interest in school, and left school before graduating.

A career of manual labour lay ahead of DeWitt, working on buildings sites, doing menial work in kitchens and finally working in a bar three nights a week. During this time, DeWitt studied literature more intently than he had in his childhood, learning the craft and how authors crafted their books. It was while working in the bar that Patrick deWitt started working on his first novel, Ablutions.

Upon finishing his manuscript for Ablutions, DeWitt passed it on to a customer at his bar who he knew to be a screenwriter, who, in turn, passed it to a friend who was a musician. This musician played in a band with someone who was a literary agent, and the manuscript had finally got to someone with some sway in the literary world. While Patrick deWitt’s first book, Ablutions, received some critical it was not the commercial success he had been dreaming of.

However, having received an advance from his publishers for a second book, DeWitt’s fortunes were about to change. He took a different approach to writing his second book, The Sisters Brothers, abandoning his more abstract writing in Ablution to focus more on crafting a plot worth of the authors he had grown up reading. The Sisters Brothers is set in the year 1851 in Oregon and California. The Sisters Brothers in the title of the book are Eli and Charlie Sisters, assassins sent out to kill a man who is believed to have stolen from their boss. At its heart, The Sister Brothers is a Western novel, with comedic undertones throughout. After its release in 2011, The Sister Brothers received critical praise, being shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2011, although he lost out to Julian Barnes, whose The Sense of an Ending won that year. However, he did win The Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize in 2011, and the 2012 Stephen Leacock Award. The film rights to The Sister Brothers have also been picked up by the production company belonging to actor John C Reilly, with whom DeWitt had worked with on the independent film he wrote, Terri.

In 2015, DeWitt released his third book, Undermajordomo Minor, which is seen as the second part of a loosely-bound trilogy of novels. It focuses on the character of Lucien “Lucy” Minor who takes a job at Castle Von Aux as an undermajordomo There are many threads at work in Undermajordomo Minor, but at its heart it is a love story, with a gothic twist to it.

In the year 2011, Patrick deWitt named as the Winner of the Roger Award and in the same year again, he was also announced as the winner of the Governor General book award. The following year, Patrick deWitt’s novel, Sisters, and Brothers emerged the winner during the prestigious Stephen Leacock Award.

Patrick deWitt Awards

Patrick deWitt is the recipient of the coveted Independent Spirit Award.

Patrick deWitt Books into Movies

The Sisters Brothers has been adapted for a screenplay. However, the movie, Sisters Brothers is still in the pre-production phase. It will be officially released in the year 2018.

Best Patrick deWitt Books

Sisters Brothers: This is one of the best books by renowned author, Patrick deWitt. In Sisters and Brothers, Patrick introduces the readers to two cold-hearted contract killers, Eli and Charlie. These two characters are hired, and Eli hopes that this is going to be the last job that the two are going to do. Eli is hoping that hoping that he is going to put down his tool of trade and instead settle down with an exceedingly nice girl. Charlie is the less sensitive among the two. It was going to somewhat hard to convince him into retirement, considering the amount of money that Eli and Charlie are making from their line of work. The two worked for someone who was known as Commodore. Whenever the Commodore got mad at someone, he would send Eli and Charlie to get rid of the person.

In Sisters and Brothers, the Commodore wants Eli and Charlie to kill a person by the name of Hermann Warm because he had a creation that the Commodore wanted. Hermann had created a special liquor, which could be used to illuminate the gold in the local rivers. The great thing about these two main characters is that you are going to wonder how they made it so far, for such a long time. Charlie as a character was not exceedingly smart but he was extremely lethal, and from time to time, he was going to surprise the reader. The relationship between Eli and Charlie is somewhat complicated. Eli and Charlie are bound together by family and also because they know nothing else.

With that said, this book is not only brilliant, but it is also exceedingly light and humorous as well. Furthermore, it is also touchy and poignant without necessarily being sappy. You are going to love Eli and Charlie as well. There were times when Charlie and Ellie were extremely brutal, and there are other times when the two were exceedingly funny. You are going to love the overly western dialogue with the few contradictions in the book.

Undermajordomo Minor: This is another excellent read from Patrick deWitt. It begins right of where the novel Brothers and Sisters had left off. The book’s title is a joke, which was introduced in the novel, Brothers, and Sisters. In Undermajordomo minor, Patrick DeWitt introduces the reader to one Lucy Minor. Lucy has just landed a job to work for the Majordomo, a castle that has fallen in despair thereby making him the undermajordomo.

The Castle is an exceedingly strange place, which is tended by two old staffers, whose main task is to serve an unseen master. The reader is in turn left to wonder what is going to be the fate of his forerunner. Lucy is asked to lock the door to his bedroom each night because apparently, there is a madman who is on the loose. With that said, you are going to appreciate the delicious dialogue between the characters. Furthermore, the castle is not only a cross between the Budapest hotel and the Fawlty Towers, but the castle also stands out from the exceedingly beautiful comic creations. The pace is perfect, while the story itself cannot be read in just one sitting. All in all, this is a hugely irresistible and entertaining caper from an exceedingly absurd and delightful imagination.

When Does The Next Patrick deWitt book come out?

Patrick deWitt doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Librarianist and was released on July, 4th 2023.

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