The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt (2011)

A novel with unlikely named protagonists (two brothers with the family name of Sisters) and a deliberately stilted style using almost no contractions, this quick read brings to mind some sort of black & white period piece by the Cohen brothers. Come to think of it, they’d make a fine film of this book: it features plenty of gunfights, gratuitous violence stylishly executed, the era of the stagecoach and clapboard saloon, and a whole lot of gold hidden somewhere or other. A Canadian expat living in Oregon, deWitt found his way onto plenty of “book of the year” lists in both the US and Canada with this very readable novel. A fine way to spend an evening or two.