The Savage God: A Study of Suicide,

THE SAVAGE GOD is a masterpiece despite the fact that it reeks of the english department. And despite the fact that Clive James was right when he accused Alvarez of being guilty of "full frontal solemnity". And like James also said, Alvarez was ludicrously portentious to claim that modern life is far more suicide-provoking than ancient life. The world has *always* been a hellhole. One of my favorite quotes concerns Alvarez's reaction after waking up from an attempted barbiturate overdose: "My weakened body, my thin breath, the slightest flicker of emotion filled me with distaste. I wanted only to be left to myself. Then, as the months passed, I began gradually to stir into another style of life, less theoretical, less optimistic, less vulnerable. I was ready for an insentient middle age." A lot of people are ready to be insentient from day one. And I really can't blame them. Here's my favorite quote: "The cult of the Inconnue seemed to attract young people between the two world wars in much the same way as drugs call them now: to opt out before they start, to give up a struggle that frightens them in a world they find distasteful, and to slide away into a deep inner dream."

Alvarez's classic book, "The Savage God," examines the religious, sociological, philosophical and literary aspects of suicide through the ages. In pagan Rome, suicide was habitual and considered an honorable way to die. In the Middle Ages, suicide was regarded with revulsion as a mortal sin. Dante, in his "Inferno," consigned suicides to the seventh circle of hell, below the burning heretics and murderers. Later on, the Romantics associated premature death with genius and they admired people who ended their lives while they were still at their artistic peak. Throughout history, mankind has viewed suicide as everything from an unforgivable crime of self-murder to the sad act of a person for whom living has become intolerable.In a more personal vein, Alvarez discusses the fascinating poet Sylvia Plath, with whom he was acquainted, as well as his own depression and attempted suicide. The section on Plath is superb. Alvarez was fond of Plath and he admired her work greatly. He reveals in a clear-eyed manner how the forces tearing her apart were stronger than those holding her together. "The Savage God" is an absorbing look at a subject often spoken of in whispers. Alvarez points out that people who lose parents at an early age are more likely to take their own lives. He also examines in depth the strong and mysterious link between creative genius and the impulse toward suicide. "The Savage God" is a work that sheds welcome light on the human condition in all of its complexity, yet Alvarez never presumes to provide easy answers to questions that are ultimately unanswerable.

I used to read "The Savage God" whenever I was 'in the midst of a dark wood', which for me at least, seemed to occur once every three years. For some reason, the stories of other people's despair and suicide, including Alvarez's own attempted suicide always steadied me. His book is a very literate account of why suicide is such a waste of life and talent. I wouldn't call it a cheerful book, but for me at least, reading it is a very cathartic experience. Alvarez doesn't preach, he merely reports, but he has nevertheless written a very moving book. Read it especially if you are depressed. There is nothing like it on the bookshelves, except perhaps Styron's "Darkness Visible".

As someone who suffers from Major Depression and has been suicidal from time to time I've tried to read up on the subject of suicide. This book by A. Alvarez has to be the best study I've read to date. It might be because he himself attempted suicide at one point of his life and therefore has first-hand experience of the subject matter. It might also be because he writes with intelligence and has total control of the english language. This book is very easy to read, unlike a lot of similar studies, and contains invaluable background information on the history of suicide and the Christian church's stance on the subject.For anyone interested in the subject of suicide, this book is a must.

Alvarez's examination of suicide is far different than any other I have encountered. Unlike most other suicide-related texts which examine suicide from a simplified personal level (recounts, anecdotes, etc.) unsuitable for scholarly use or address suicide as a purely medical phenomenon, the author intelligently examines suicide form several different angles. His investigation begins and ends with his poignant tale of his involvement with reknowned poet Sylvia Plath's suicide and his own personal issues. He is able to express his true emotion as well as his intelligent perspective without falling victim to his own emotions. The second portion of Alvarez's book gives an accessable account of the past and current psychological evaluations of suicide. This portion is also conveyed in a deeply accessable manner that interests even the most uninformed reader. The third portion of Alvarez's examination is by far the most interesting and most unique-- an evaluation of suicide as portrayed in literature througout the ages. He explores all aspects of literature; from John Donne's suicidal tendencies to Dante's Inferno (Canto V), from Dadaism to the "Modern Condition", or the "Savage G-d". Intelligently written and intellectually engaging, Alvarez's book is useful on personal, spiritual and intellectual levels. He breaks the mold set by his contemporaries in this very specialized area of scholarship.