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A review by sambora
Suttree by Cormac McCarthy
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Ok... Suttree. I'm conflicted on this one. Where to begin?
The writing? Immaculate, beautiful and heartbreaking.
I know it's a given at this point. This man's prose is some of the best I've ever encountered.
Thematically it was very strong. His imagery was spot-on. His character voice and language was excellent, as usual.
The length? Phew. At almost 600 pages, this wasn't easy going.
I think McCarthy learned later in his career that making the reader spend so much time vicariously wading through an unending underbelly of sadness, misery and depression made for a relatively hard sell.
It was brutally real, and it hurt at times. The characters were perpetually trapped in their own sad loops of life, mixing with the wrong people, making bad decisions, unable to pull themselves out of the gutter, or at least otherwise inextricably finding it again when they do manage to temporarily pull away... It was brilliant, but it really didn't need to be as drawn out as it was.
It made me feel pretty fucking down at times, if I'm honest. Picking it up became difficult because I knew that things weren't going to have improved for our characters. They, the characters, didn't want to be there and it made me not want to be there either.
I personally think entire segments could be cut out without effecting the plot, character or message of the book.
Maybe this is just me though. I am aware this is probably a taste thing, as most art tends to be.
I can see this being one of McCarthy's less... dramatic stories. It is more mundane and grounded. And it works well, for what it is. There is humour here too, which is not found too often in his catalogue from what I've seen thus far.
Overall, as an experience, reading Suttree unfortunately became a bit of a chore for me.
Whilst it does many things well, it is far from my favourite of McCarthy's books I've read.
The writing? Immaculate, beautiful and heartbreaking.
I know it's a given at this point. This man's prose is some of the best I've ever encountered.
Thematically it was very strong. His imagery was spot-on. His character voice and language was excellent, as usual.
The length? Phew. At almost 600 pages, this wasn't easy going.
I think McCarthy learned later in his career that making the reader spend so much time vicariously wading through an unending underbelly of sadness, misery and depression made for a relatively hard sell.
It was brutally real, and it hurt at times. The characters were perpetually trapped in their own sad loops of life, mixing with the wrong people, making bad decisions, unable to pull themselves out of the gutter, or at least otherwise inextricably finding it again when they do manage to temporarily pull away... It was brilliant, but it really didn't need to be as drawn out as it was.
It made me feel pretty fucking down at times, if I'm honest. Picking it up became difficult because I knew that things weren't going to have improved for our characters. They, the characters, didn't want to be there and it made me not want to be there either.
I personally think entire segments could be cut out without effecting the plot, character or message of the book.
Maybe this is just me though. I am aware this is probably a taste thing, as most art tends to be.
I can see this being one of McCarthy's less... dramatic stories. It is more mundane and grounded. And it works well, for what it is. There is humour here too, which is not found too often in his catalogue from what I've seen thus far.
Overall, as an experience, reading Suttree unfortunately became a bit of a chore for me.
Whilst it does many things well, it is far from my favourite of McCarthy's books I've read.