The Greatest Books of All Time on Suicide

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
282 The Sorrows of Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 German German
408 The Myth of Sisyphus Albert Camus 1942 French French
803 Sophie's Choice William Styron 1979 American English
1124 Ajax Sophocles -440 Greek Ancient greek
1160 Norwegian Wood Haruki Murakami 1987 Japanese Japanese
1213 The Floating Opera John Barth 1956 American English
1538 Snow Orhan Pamuk 2002 Turkish Turkish
1610 The Hours Michael Cunningham 1998 American English
1954 They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Horace McCoy 1935 American English
1972 The Virgin Suicides Jeffrey Eugenides 1993 American English
2197 Veronika Decides to Die Paulo Coelho 1998 Brazilian Portuguese
2218 The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes 2011 British English
2256 Correction Thomas Bernhard 1975 Austrian German
2261 Appointment in Samarra John O'Hara 1934 American English
2404 A Sorrow Beyond Dreams Peter Handke 1972 Austrian German
2533 A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman 2012 Swedish Swedish
2601 Darkness Visible William Styron 1990 American English
2653 Suicide Emile Durkheim 1897 French French
3526 All My Puny Sorrows Miriam Toews 2014 Canadian English
4392 The Friend Sigrid Nunez 2018 American English
4568 The Rules Of Attraction Bret Easton Ellis 1987 American English
4644 You Only Live Twice Ian Fleming 1964 British English
5361 On Suicide Jean Améry 1976 Unknown German
6340 Nothing Holds Back The Night Delphine de Vigan 2011 French French
6928 The Repairer Of Reputations Robert W. Chambers 1895 American English
7215 Last Letters Of Jacopo Ortis Ugo Foscolo 1802 Italian Italian
7215 Man Against Himself Karl A. Menninger 1938 American English
7740 The Ice Princess Camilla Läckberg 2003 Swedish Swedish
7987 The Poet Michael Connelly 1996 American English
8169 A Long Way Down Nick Hornby 2005 British English
8201 4.48 Psychosis Sarah Kane 2000 British English
8708 The Dead Of Jericho Colin Dexter 1981 British English
9340 The Tender Land Kathleen Finneran 2000 American English
10119 The Cuckoo’s Calling J. K. Rowling 2013 British English
11073 About a Mountain John D'Agata 2010 American English
11158 Lie Down In Darkness William Styron 1951 American English
11576 The Last Days of Hitler Hugh Trevor-Roper 1947 British English
11661 Red Comet Heather L. Clark 2020 American English
12454 The Astonishing Color Of After Emily X. R. Pan 2018 American English
13266 Bone Fae Myenne Ng 1993 American English
13738 The Late Bourgeois World Nadine Gordimer 1966 South African English
13941 A Tale For The Time Being Ruth Ozeki 2013 American English
14649 Final Exit Derek Humphry 1991 British English
14984 For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf Ntozake Shange 1975 American English
15787 Runaway Horses Yukio Mishima 1969 Japanese Japanese
16499 The Love Suicides At Sonezaki Chikamatsu Monzaemon 1703 Japanese Japanese
16639 Up At The Villa W. Somerset Maugham 1941 British English
16767 The Suicide Nikolai Erdman 1928 Russian Russian
16868 The Deep Blue Sea Terence Rattigan 1952 British English
17122 Thank You For Your Service David Finkel 2013 American English
17122 Negative Space B.R. Yeager 2020 American English
17122 Heavier Than Heaven Charles R. Cross 2001 American English
17122 How Not To Kill Yourself Clancy Martin 2023 American English
17122 Deaths Of Despair And The Future Of Capitalism Anne Case 2020 American English
17122 What Dreams May Come Richard Matheson 1978 American English
16895 The Sorrows Of A Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 German German
17122 All The Bright Places Jennifer Niven 2015 American English
17122 A Man Called Otto Fredrik Backman 2012 Swedish Swedish