What readers of Cormac McCarthy are usually most impressed with is the overpowering style he achieves through his virtuoso command of language. Through this style, McCarthy is able to render scenes that would ordinarily be merely disgusting or grotesque or repulsively violent in a somehow beautiful way. In Suttree, McCarthy may be at the very height of his verbal powers.

McCarthy's narrative point of view is almost always third person, but Suttree is unique. Most of the novel does have an outside narrator, but at certain points Suttree addresses readers directly. These lapses into firstperson narration provide the novel with a more personal and intimate tone. This seems to be McCarthy's most autobiographical novel, so perhaps the materials were too personal to handle as objectively as he typically does. Or perhaps because McCarthy wanted to emphasize Suttree's inward journey, he realized that a more intimate point of view...