We Were Brothers by Barry Moser

I picked up this memoir from the Toronto Public Library as Barry Moser was scheduled to give a book talk event. The memoir sounded interesting as a personal examination of how a relationship between brothers can turn from bond to alienation.  

Here's a summary from Goodreads.com:

Barry and Tommy Moser were born of the same parents, were raised in the same small Tennessee community where they slept in the same bedroom and were poisoned by their family’s deep racism and anti-Semitism. But as they grew older, their perspectives and their paths grew further and further apart. From attitudes about race, to food, politics, and money, the brothers began to think so differently that they could no longer find common ground, no longer knew how to talk to each other, and for years there was more strife between them than affection.

When Barry was in his late fifties and Tommy in his early sixties, their fragile brotherhood reached a tipping point and blew apart. From that day forward they did not speak. But fortunately, their story does not end there. With the raw emotions that so often surface when we talk of our siblings, Barry recalls why and how they were finally able to traverse that great divide and reconcile their kinship before it was too late. 

Featuring Moser’s stunning drawings, especially commissioned for the book, this powerful true story captures the essence of sibling relationships—all their complexities, contradictions, and mixed blessings.

Although well written, I found this memoir lacking in the promised examination of a sibling relationship gone wrong. Moser tells of many situations in which he suffers at the hands of his older, abusive brother. Unfortunately, he doesn't dig into the event and analyze the clear differences between the two boys. Why is the older brother so severe, and what motivates his anger?

Further undermining this novel is a jarring end that takes the reader by surprise. Moser switches to using 3 letters that the brothers exchange and while I understand that this use of the letters give the reader an understanding of the brothers sad relationship, I found myself sympathizing with the brother, and found Moser to sound insensitive and spiteful. The author seems to have forgotten to consider why his brother ends up being intolerant and abusive. It is from his brother's letter that we find out that Tom was in fact abused as a child, and suffered his own trials. Moser fails to really embrace that revelation.

I believe that this memoir promises internal reflection, but delivers a simple recount of many small experiences without any great reflection.