Set against the backdrop of the Californian Gold Rush of the 1850s, The Sisters Brothers is DeWitt's second novel, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2011. The novel follows the story of Eli and Charlie Sisters, notorious assassins, as they journey to San Francisco, on a mission to kill a man. Right from the very beginning we notice Eli's reluctancy to continue with this savage job but Charlie is eager to press on with the task, and so Eli chooses his brother over everything else and thus the story begins.

I must say, my very first impression of the book was that it would be narrated in a harsh, colloquial tone, to mirror the personality of the assassins themselves, so I was surprised to find that the novel is actually narrated in the most formal of tones, from the viewpoint of Eli. At first this formal style was distracting as it was quite unusual and differed from the style found in most novels yet after the first few pages, I became easily accustomed to this style and appreciated it more.

As the brothers continue on their journey, they come face to face with all sorts of people from all walks of life: a young girl poisoning a dog, maniacal prospectors hungry for a share of gold, thugs and a dentist who reveals to them the art of tooth-brushing, all contributing to the dark comedy of the novel.

But the adventure doesn't end when they arrive in San Francisco - it''s just begun! After a certain shocking secret is revealed, the Sisters Brothers begin to wonder about their job and its true meaning.

The book may ostensibly seem to be about your average Wild West drama, but impressively, DeWitt also plays with the concepts of morality and its relations to the infamous Greed and Gambling. However, as description of settings go, don't expect to find a meticulous representation of California: indeed, DeWitt focuses not on the places or even the characters met along the way, but rather the concept of a world, different to the time we live in, in which two brothers go on a search not to kill a man, but to preserve their morality.

I would recommend The Sisters Brothers to children aged twelve or above because despite its humour, the book is of a complex nature yet I found it a really exciting and intriguing read; I can certainly see why it was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

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