Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7609 in Books
• Published on: 1989-03-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Synopsis
This compelling novel has as its protagonist Cornelius Suttree, living alone and in exile in a disintegrating houseboat on the wrong side of the Tennessee River close by Knoxville. He stays at the edge of an outcast community inhabited by eccentrics, criminals and the poverty-stricken. Rising above the physical and human squalor around him, his detachment and wry humour enable him to survive dereliction and destitution with dignity. '"Suttree" contains a humour that is Faulknerian in its gentle wryness, and a freakish imaginative flair reminiscent of Flannery O'Connor' - "Times Literary Supplement". '"Suttree" marks McCarthy's closest approach to autobiography and is probably the funniest and most unbearably sad of his books' - "Stanley Booth".

Customer Reviews

Powerful and Captivating Story-Telling: McCarthy At His Best
'Suttree' is the not the first book by Cormac McCarthy that I have read and it will not be the last.

As with his other earlier novels 'Suttree' is essentially a story about the hurdles that have to be negotiated by the portrayed characters as their lives progress; in this case the main character is Cornelius Suttree, a vagrant living alone in poverty on a houseboat on the Tennessee River who survives mainly on the income he derives from selling the fish he catches.

The writing of McCarthy rarely involves a significant plot and 'Suttree' is no exception; we do nothing more (and that is not meant to be a criticism) than follow the struggles and situations that befall this character and meet people that he crosses paths with (which include long-term 'friends', the occasional relative, people he trades or works with and those he attempts to have a deeper relationship with....). For me to reveal any more detail of the story would be unfair to a first-time reader.

Whilst this overall premise may seem unattractive as the basis of a novel, it is the poetic and emotional nature of McCarthys writing which compels you to follow the journey. Quite how one can read, for example, page after page of apparently benign conversation between characters without getting bored or feeling uninterested I cannot easily explain, but McCarthy manages to achieve it. For my part, the attraction is more often than not because I grow to feel an affection for the characters and an interest in their lives and fate.

A significant additional attraction are the frequent exchanges, comments and discussions between the characters which, for the most part, are of a nature that the reader will not have been exposed to before with other authors. At first the language might seem bizarre or coarse, but it is (in my opinion) often unique, hilarious and fascinating. McCarthy makes no effort to simplify what characters say; you get the text as they would say it, truncated, slang, foreign language - warts and all !

Regarding the style of writing: His trait of describing an environment with what appear to be bizarre comparison techniques entices you to try and visualise the scene and makes reading the text even more addictive. It is surprising how brief his descriptions of people and surroundings can be, yet he has the ability to convince the reader that they have achieved an accurate 'vision', because he employs an extremely wide vocabulary and those blunt comparative phrases. The trademark absence of punctuation and speech marks, and regular use of extremely long sentences, may well deter some from committing themselves to reading the novel - but that is their loss.

A noteworthy feature of this novel is the 3-page introduction, which is a stunning compilation of descriptive paragraphs with no explanation as to their significance with what is to follow....

'Suttree' is a rich and vivid tale, which is regularly traumatic but just as often entertaining and wryly funny. Like his other novels, it has the ability to invoke deep emotions and long-lasting memories which will make your skin tingle.

Best Book I've Probably Ever Read
I have loved all the Cormac McCarthy books I've read but this is my favourite.

Like all his books this is a bleak, lonesome tale that inhabits you. Despite its elegaic sadness there is humour and a core human warmth. I read this book almost two years ago and I still miss the key characters.

I urge you to read this book!

My favourite book. (And I've read some).
People often ask what your favourite record is, or your top five movies, even your favourite food. I have always found it very difficult to answer these questions, and my answers will change from day to day depending on mood. Now Cormac McCarthy has brought a little certainty to my life. This is WITHOUT ANY SHADOW OF DOUBT my favourite book. It has everything from wry comedy to hideous tragedy, plot driven action to melancholy contemplation. Every adult male will recognise at least a part of himself in these destitute, stinky characters; and a very uncomfortable realization that can be. And to top it all off, the language employed by McCarthy is of the most beautiful expressive nature. I defy anyone to show me an author that can decribe a filthy riverbank, or a pickled vagrant with such obvious love of words. Go on, read it, and disagree if you dare. We are indeed 'whelmed in dark riot'.