Gump manages to participate in many parts of US history. He plays fights in Vietnam, befriends President Johnson, protests the war, meets Nixon right after Watergate, goes to China and saves Mao's life. All these things happen more or less by accident. He also flies into space, films a movie scene with Raquel Welch, plays chess with a Yale-educated cannibal in New Guinea, and wrestles professionally. He meets up with Lt. Dan and Jenny multiple times, before they part ways. He starts up a shrimp business and makes a lot of money and even runs for senate before giving it all up to panhandle.
Through the novel, he has a genuine personality. He wants to help his friends. He even becomes could friends with the male ape named Sue. He tells things like it is. He also has to pee. He is willing to be friends with people that have been mean to him. He has a politically incorrect innocence with plenty of language in his thoughts and descriptions that would be offensive to someone. The large number of experiences almost strain believability. However, they are just held together well enough to make them plausible. He is just as likely to stumble into greatness as he is to stumble out of it.
Suttree is one of those characters that I don't find very interesting and don't have much of a desire to know more about. He hangs out with people that I would like to avoid. The settings are not very appealing. It takes place in Tennessee, mostly among the riff raff. It is just not a book that appeals to me. About the only thing that sticks in my mind about it is chicken fried steak and busses. I would much rather be eating a chicken fried steak than reading this book.