The Brothers

by Frederick Barthelme

After Del Tribute almost sleeps with his brother's sexually edgy wife, The Brothers sets out to trace and detail the intricate pattern of consequences of this near indiscretion. Del and Bud, two brothers whose middle-aged adolescent antics have a way of messing up each other's lives, both confront the bittersweet comfort of having too many choices. In a remarkable performance that extends the territory of Barthelme's fiction, the love and desire of these brothers is laid open, explored, and experienced.

Genres: Fiction, Novels

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Barthelme's works are known for their focus on the landscape of the New South. Along with his reputation as a minimalist, together with writers Raymond Carver, Ann Beattie, Amy Hempel, and Mary Robison, Barthelme's work has also been described by terms such as "dirty realism" and "K-mart realism."He published his first short story in The New Yorker,and has claimed that a rotisserie chicken helped him understand that he needed to write about ordinary people.He has moved away from the postmodern stylings of his older brother, Donald Barthelme, though his brother's influence can be seen in his earliest works, Rangoon and War and War.
Barthelme was thirty-three year editor and visionary of Mississippi Review, known for recognizing and publishing once new talents such as Larry Brown, Curtis Sittenfeld, and Amy Hempel early in their careers.

Reviews

[Julian Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

this one really did it for me. I’m impressed by the way the events in the opening section of the book become memory for the characters, as they go on with their hum-drum, sometimes happy sometimes sad but mostly pedestrian, lives, telling themselves different stories about what happened, why they did what they did, etc. something really real, a little scary. so many beautiful passages throughout, depictions of urban life as well as private life with family, romance. I struggled a bit with Moon Deluxe and the sameness of most of the stories but something about Frederick Barthelme in novel form is clicking for me hardcore. The last sixty pages or so of The Brothers really hit me in a way I have a hard time articulating.

[Emma Estridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful novel about aging and people who love each other even though they’re screwups

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Raymond Carver and maybe Ernest Hemingway will find some familiarity here. Barthelme's descriptions of Biloxi provide a great atmosphere for this story of two middle-aged brothers struggling to work through how to live the next part of their lives.

[Dan Edelstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, really good chapter about being stuck on the freeway (Ch. 12). Really tense scenes involving a balcony.
Bud is sort of annoying.
Read it, or just read Ch. 12.

[Wgscherban · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh