
Suicide
by Edouard Levé & Jan Steyn (translator)
AUCK OUT OF STOCK
WGTN IN STOCK
100
Jul 2025
Paperback
Deep Vellum Publishing
Dalkey Archive Press
9781628976106
Suicide cannot be read as simply another novel--it is, in a sense, the author's own oblique, public suicide note, a unique meditation on this most extreme of refusals.
Presenting itself as an investigation into the suicide of a close friend--perhaps real, perhaps fictional--more than twenty years earlier, Levé gives us, little by little, a striking portrait of a man, with all his talents and flaws, who chose to reject his life, and all the people who loved him, in favor of oblivion. Gradually, through Levé's casually obsessive, pointillist, beautiful ruminations, we come to know a stoic, sensible, thoughtful man who bears more than a slight psychological resemblance to Levé himself. But Suicide is more than just a compendium of memories of an old friend; it is a near-exhaustive catalog of the ramifications and effects of the act of suicide, and a unique and melancholy farewell to life.
TW: Depression and Suicide. One of the most interesting books you are likely to read. Told in the second person, you contemplate your life and the decision you have made to end it. Not for the faint of heart and requires strong mental fortitude but it is very, very good and will be unlike anything else you will have read. Perfect for fans of Albert Camus.



