Reviews

Suttree by Cormac McCarthy

bigfreakbaby's review against another edition

5.0

Grimiest book I’ve read…

synoptic_view's review against another edition

5.0

The start of an incredible 4 book run of just absolute perfection, with Cities of the Plain being pretty good too (McCarthy is to writing as Outkast is to hip hop). In my opinion, this and The Crossing are his best work. Suttree stands out particularly from his later books set in the West through the lushness of its descriptions. Just read the opening chapter describing Knoxville to see what I mean. The strong sense of place is present here and in the books up to Cities of the Plain, though it was sadly lost starting with No Country for Old Men. Suttree is also substantially funnier than pretty much all of McCarthy's other writing.

jjmann3's review against another edition

3.0

Marked by magically guttural and grittily vivid prose, McCarthy's Suttree is a reading delight that delves into the murkiness of life itself. Suttree is a vagabond, living from fist to mouth on the banks of the Tennessee River. Punctuated by an edifice of prose that few others can deliver, the tale lacks a cohesive storyline but its vignettes introduce us to other hardscrabble characters who live and die with Suttree at the shore.

Social misery, drunkenness, debauchery, and despondency all pull up to the table of Suttree's life. Suttree's not a bad guy per se, he's just not someone who "fits" into the society and time to which he was born, nihilistically down and out, reviling any privilege, but not for any purpose or reason. The book raises many questions -- what is the meaning of all this? What is it to live? The narrative dwells in the embryonic and the earthen, its language a dank towel wrapped around a septic wound yearning for answers. A great read to facilitate some thought and reflect upon.

finnegans_woke's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

imthechillalex's review against another edition

5.0

Probably’s Cormac’s most stripped down and real and tangibly sad but also his funniest and maybe his least nihilistic and most hopeful. Felt like the entire band of misfits were just fragments of the lives of real outcasts and Suttree’s character has the Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces dilemma of really not being to fit in with the working class or the aristocracy. I’m sick and my brain is fried and I’ve been doing mostly academic reading the past month I can’t articulate it fully but maybe my favorite Cormac.

coyote_jef's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

madiq's review against another edition

Awful, miserable book. 

camr0se's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

colinmcafee's review against another edition

4.0

I’ve never simultaneously enjoyed and not understood a book this much. But once again McCarthy is untouchable and his prose is brilliant. I just don’t understand all the words he uses. I loved it. Who needs a plot anyway? I loved taking my time reading it.

cmoo053's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0