A Study of Suicide

"A. Alvarez undertook the formidable task of transforming the subject of suicide into something beautiful in his remarkable book," as described by the New York Times. Alvarez has succeeded in this endeavor.

In his work, Alvarez explores how "suicide has permeated Western culture like a dye that cannot be washed out," as the English poet and critic aptly observes. While the aims of this compelling and compassionate work are broadly cultural and literary, the narrative is grounded in personal experience. It commences with an extensive memoir of Sylvia Plath and culminates in an account of the author's own suicide attempt.

Within this dramatic framework, Alvarez embarks on an inquiry into the final taboo of human behavior, tracing the evolving attitudes towards suicide through the lens of literature. He follows the dark thread that leads from Dante, through Donne and the romantic anguish, to the Savage God at the heart of modern literature.

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