Shreds of Matter: Cormac McCarthy and the Concept of Nature offers a nuanced and innovative take on McCarthy’s ostensible localism and, along with it, the ecocentric perspective on the world that is assumed by most critics. In opposing the standard interpretations of McCarthy’s novels as critical either of persisting American ideologies―such as manifest destiny and imperialism―or of the ways in which humanity has laid waste to planet Earth, Greve instead emphasizes the author’s interest both in the history of science and in the mythographical developments of religious discourse. Greve aims to counter traditional interpretations of McCarthy’s work and at the same time acknowledge their partial truth, taking into account the work of Friedrich W. J. Schelling and Lorenz Oken, contemporary speculative realism, and Bertrand Westphal’s geocriticism. Further, newly discovered archival material sheds light on McCarthy’s immersion in the metaphysical question par excellence: What is nature? “This is a superb volume that eloquently enhances our appreciation of both post-Kantian Naturphilosophie, especially Schelling and Oken, and the problem of nature in American and transnational fiction.” (Jason M. Wirth, Seattle University, author of Schelling’s Practice of the Wild: Time, Art, Imagination) “Greve’s study is compelling, original, and convincing.” (Steven Frye, California State University-Bakersfield, Cormac McCarthy Society president) “Greve offers a bold rereading of McCarthy’s work in light of contemporary geocritical and ecocritical concerns. This is a major contribution not only to scholarship on a great U.S. writer, but also to significant debates in philosophical, environmental, and cultural studies today.” (Robert T. Tally Jr., Texas State University, author of Topophrenia: Place, Narrative, and the Spatial Imagination) “In this richly intelligent study, Greve explores the philosophical underpinnings and implications of McCarthy’s engagement with nature. Greve is an erudite, careful, and subtle reader, one who’s unafraid to dive deep.” (Stacey Peebles, Centre College, editor of The Cormac McCarthy Journal) JULIUS GREVE is a lecturer and research associate at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany.