Suttree by Cormac McCarthy (2/2)

Suttree, by Cormac McCarthy, is a 1979 Southern Gothic novel about a privileged man who chooses to live among the destitute outcasts. Considered a modern classic of American literature, it exemplifies McCarthy’s characteristic use of imagery, existentialist exploration, and societal criticism.

This is the second of two meetings for this novel. We will read to the end of the book for this discussion.

The novel opens with a bleak description of Knoxville, Tennessee’s poorest areas in the year 1951. Suttree is a man who has recently been released from prison, has disavowed his family, and now lives in a rundown houseboat, making meager earnings by fishing in polluted water.

Suttree feels hopeless, but chooses to live in the moment, trying to avoid his past and not contemplate the future. He spends his time among a colorful, tragic cast of drunkards, thieves, prostitutes, and derelicts. His closest companion is Gene Harrogate, a chaotic and simple-minded young criminal whose bizarre, failed money-making schemes provide dark comic relief.