Buy new:
-17% $13.19
FREE delivery Wednesday, May 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$13.19 with 17 percent savings
List Price: $15.95

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Wednesday, May 15 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 23 hrs 31 mins
Only 15 left in stock (more on the way).
$$13.19 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.19
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$6.38
Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc... Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc... See less
$3.98 delivery May 16 - 17. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$13.19 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.19
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Ships from and sold by glenthebookseller.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Simon Critchley
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Notes on Suicide Paperback – November 24, 2020

by Critchley Simon (Author), Hume David (Afterword)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 77 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$13.19","priceAmount":13.19,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"19","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"N37sVjDtgy%2FkmBSP0q6kqCt%2BezgdHr63bIKxS0GD7F16uWTNojM74XIMEVpGdie9pIM3wzTALZpdtyeNBIOLhy63wa6IWNQSCaVfyuQdtw0VH8d%2FCFNptryufhceTSkxAGiDG%2F1nEfhlwWXmpy94KQ%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$6.38","priceAmount":6.38,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"38","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"N37sVjDtgy%2FkmBSP0q6kqCt%2BezgdHr63K6CAZtcCFlVaWUSeJB3zEcnYd9Toh5%2B6RNO%2B7jonD83RVMcPkD%2FuEv40Ea0hBxd5QTH%2BnebIx%2BZNM81kbHCjBTQO9PEHd%2FpmK68FudZRuCDPfyHw2UMjskZlNrkMDbeQJbfe4MSindi7qGfkDn9SvkolIhcO%2FQU9","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Suicide is everywhere. It haunts history and current events. It haunts our own networks of friends and family. The spectre of suicide looms large, but the topic is taboo because any meaningful discussion must at the very least consider that the answer to the question ― ‘is life worth living?’ ― might not be an emphatic yes; it might even be a stern no. Through a sweeping historical overview of suicide, a moving literary survey of famous suicide notes, and a psychological analysis of himself, Simon Critchley offers us an insight into what it means to possess the all too human gift and curse of being of being able to choose life or death.
Five years after its initial publication, this revised edition of Notes on Suicide includes a new preface by the author addressing shifts in the discourse surrounding suicide, particularly in relation to social media.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    120 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Fitzcarraldo Editions
  4. Publication date
    November 24, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    4.9 x 0.6 x 7.6 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1910695068
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1910695067
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now

Frequently bought together

Notes on Suicide
$13.19
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15
Only 15 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Limbo
$14.55
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15
Only 7 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
It Gets Me Home, This Curving Track
$11.99
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 15
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘An elegant, erudite, and provocative book that asks us to reflect on suicide without moral judgment and panicked response. For Critchley, many reasons have been given for suicide, but what remains less remarked is how suicide distinguishes human creatures who grapple with melancholy in the face of losses that are too huge or enigmatic to fathom. Though there may be many reasons given within philosophy or popular culture, there are also some simple, insistent truths that do forestall such an action. In his view, “suicide saddens the past and abolishes the future,” establishing a problematic framework for grasping the whole of a life. This text gestures toward what makes us forgetful about suicide: wondrous and recurring moments when we find ourselves “enduring in the here and now.”’
― Judith Butler

‘No one ever lacks a good reason for suicide, wrote Cesare Pavese. With passionate lucidity and philosophical intelligence, Simon Critchley explores what these reasons might be, bracketing simple moral judgement and trying to fight his way past the social, psychical and existential blockages that inhibit us whenever we try to think about this ever-baffling issue.’
―Lars Iyer, author of Wittgenstein Jr

‘For most arguments about suicide, there's a counter argument, and Critchley makes us think anew about old questions. Is suicide selfish? I believed not until a member of my family killed themselves and the pain it caused persuaded me that it's both selfish and stupid. But Critchley reminds us that our responses to suicide are distorted by anger, prejudice and inarticulacy. We must, he argues, stop looking for life's great meaning and instead savour “little daily miracles, matches struck in the darkness”. And we must talk about suicide without shame or sanctimony. This book is a good place to start.’
― Max Liu, Independent

‘[T]his intense book is an instance of thought born in the hour of anguish, which eloquently makes the case for suicide not as an act to be pitilessly condemned, but a possibility for which any of us might be thankful.’
―Rob Doyle, Irish Times

About the Author

Simon Critchley is Hans Jonas Professor of Philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York. His books include Very Little… Almost Nothing, Infinitely Demanding, The Book of Dead Philosophers, The Faith of the Faithless, and Tragedy, The Greeks and Us. He has also written short books on David Bowie and football, and a novella called Memory Theatre. He runs ‘The Stone’, a philosophy column in The New York Times and is also 50 per cent of an obscure musical combo called Critchley & Simmons. A new book, Bald, is forthcoming.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fitzcarraldo Editions; New edition (November 24, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 120 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1910695068
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1910695067
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.9 x 0.6 x 7.6 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 77 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Simon Critchley

Simon Critchley

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
77 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kelley
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2021
Verified Purchase
Enjoyable and thought-provoking read on a very controversial taboo subject. Critchley makes this socially terrifying topic approachable with great prose and empathy. Highly recommend to better understand the mental reasoning behind something that could seem so “irrational”.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Rose Zhang
5.0 out of 5 stars A witty essay on a sensitive topic
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2019
Verified Purchase
The essay is brief enough to be finished in one sitting, yet still manages to address all the questions commonly raised by
people contemplating about suicide, provide sound arguments, and give some concrete advice.

On a side note, this book is printed on thick silky paper, which makes flipping the pages unexpectly plesant.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
TRC
5.0 out of 5 stars Serious Book on a Serious Subject
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2016
Verified Purchase
A somber,extremely well written on the sensitive subject of suicide. Not one of those cheery "You have so much to live for !" books nor is it a cliche ridden "Suicide is not a solution to your problems." Instead a balanced examination on the subject of suicide. Respects the reader enough to avoid all those tired tropes about not committing suicide. Very thought provoking, this book will stick with you.
10 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Christopher Clough-Hunt
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2016
Verified Purchase
Awesome, Simon Critchley at his best!!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Perfumes smells really good but please note, the longevity is just not there.
4.0 out of 5 stars Good but not a suicide guide
Reviewed in India on December 7, 2023
Verified Purchase
I actually started reading this book to have some solid mental support to commit suicide. But sadly it didn't achieve my requirement.

The book is not something for someone like who decisive about killing his life.
One person found this helpful
 Report
A Howdle
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a book about freedom as much as suicide ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2016
Verified Purchase
This is a book about freedom as much as suicide. It is a discursive essay that takes in philosophy and real accounts: Critchley writes with lucidity and a poetical touch which makes this a passionate, yet detached book. It is far from a dreary, melancholic read. Ultimately, the book neither justifies nor condemns suicide, rather seeks to understand the frameworks that permit and refuse. Can suicide ever be rational? Can it ever be an irrational leap into the dark? The book shines light on a dark subject-- has such a moving ending!
One person found this helpful
 Report
M.V.Sowmya
2.0 out of 5 stars Extremely dissatisfied & disappointed
Reviewed in India on May 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
I’ve ordered for a new book but The book I received has come with so many marks and so dirty like it’s used / old book.
Report
Maxiano
2.0 out of 5 stars Repetitiv
Reviewed in Germany on March 8, 2018
Verified Purchase
Fühlte sich schwafelig an. Habe die ersten 10 Seiten noch mit Interesse gelesen, den Rest habe ich dann sehr sehr stark quergelesen, weil sich die Ideen ab da nur noch wiederholen.
Report
Bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and very readable.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2016
Verified Purchase
Interesting, insightful and very readable, written by a gifted writer, no matter what you think of his philosophical conclusions. Very glad that I read this. The edition is a beautifully designed and manufactured. If they made a blank version for use as a notebook, I would buy it.
Report