Suttree

I can understand some of the disappointment/confusion from folks expecting another "Blood Meridian." Because "Suttree" (which preceded "Meridian") is an altogether different animal. The first chapter reads like a prose poem; it's dense as your grandma's fruitcake, and about as enjoyable if you're not in the mood for it. I can only guess that McCarthy is softening up the reader with these torturous sentences that introduce Suttree drifting down the Tennessee River. Once ashore, both he and we are prepared for the story, such as it is, to unfold. Over the course of the novel, we learn some interesting things about Suttree -- he did 10 months for robbing a drugstore -- and meet a dozen or so unforgettable characters like J-Bone and Trippin Through the Dew. But of the one thing that we are sure has taken him from the town's high society and landed him on his decrepit houseboat, we're left to guess. Why did Suttree leave his family? McCarthy isn't saying, of course, not even when Suttree returns home for his son's funeral. So don't go into "Suttree" expecting easy answers, or frankly much of a plot. But if you can navigate the first dozen pages, you'll enjoy the rest of the ride.

Suttree is much more simplistic than The Border Trilogy, and No Country for Old Men. Consequently, the language is not as beautiful. McCarthy, in writing Suttree, was only honing his skill towards greatness.

The spectrum of a man's experience happens in this story. Suttree shows grace, detachment, love, disappointment, loss, but avoids judgment.