The Greatest Books of All Time on Suicide

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

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
1161 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
2198 Veronika Decides to Die Paulo Coelho 1998 Brazilian Portuguese
2219 The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes 2011 British English
2257 Correction Thomas Bernhard 1975 Austrian German
2261 Appointment in Samarra John O'Hara 1934 American English
2406 A Sorrow Beyond Dreams Peter Handke 1972 Austrian German
2535 A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman 2012 Swedish Swedish
2602 Darkness Visible William Styron 1990 American English
2654 Suicide Emile Durkheim 1897 French French
3527 All My Puny Sorrows Miriam Toews 2014 Canadian English
4394 The Friend Sigrid Nunez 2018 American English
4570 The Rules Of Attraction Bret Easton Ellis 1987 American English
4646 You Only Live Twice Ian Fleming 1964 British English
5362 On Suicide Jean Améry 1976 Unknown German
6342 Nothing Holds Back The Night Delphine de Vigan 2011 French French
6928 The Repairer Of Reputations Robert W. Chambers 1895 American English
7216 Last Letters Of Jacopo Ortis Ugo Foscolo 1802 Italian Italian
7216 Man Against Himself Karl A. Menninger 1938 American English
7741 The Ice Princess Camilla Läckberg 2003 Swedish Swedish
7988 The Poet Michael Connelly 1996 American English
8171 A Long Way Down Nick Hornby 2005 British English
8203 4.48 Psychosis Sarah Kane 2000 British English
8710 The Dead Of Jericho Colin Dexter 1981 British English
9342 The Tender Land Kathleen Finneran 2000 American English
10123 The Cuckoo’s Calling J. K. Rowling 2013 British English
11077 About a Mountain John D'Agata 2010 American English
11162 Lie Down In Darkness William Styron 1951 American English
11578 The Last Days of Hitler Hugh Trevor-Roper 1947 British English
11663 Red Comet Heather L. Clark 2020 American English
12456 The Astonishing Color Of After Emily X. R. Pan 2018 American English
13269 Bone Fae Myenne Ng 1993 American English
13739 The Late Bourgeois World Nadine Gordimer 1966 South African English
13941 A Tale For The Time Being Ruth Ozeki 2013 American English
14650 Final Exit Derek Humphry 1991 British English
14985 For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf Ntozake Shange 1975 American English
15801 Runaway Horses Yukio Mishima 1969 Japanese Japanese
16515 The Love Suicides At Sonezaki Chikamatsu Monzaemon 1703 Japanese Japanese
16534 Up At The Villa W. Somerset Maugham 1941 British English
16800 The Suicide Nikolai Erdman 1928 Russian Russian
16907 The Deep Blue Sea Terence Rattigan 1952 British English
17163 Thank You For Your Service David Finkel 2013 American English
17163 Negative Space B.R. Yeager 2020 American English
17163 Heavier Than Heaven Charles R. Cross 2001 American English
17163 How Not To Kill Yourself Clancy Martin 2023 American English
17163 Deaths Of Despair And The Future Of Capitalism Anne Case 2020 American English
17163 What Dreams May Come Richard Matheson 1978 American English
16940 The Sorrows Of A Young Werther Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1774 German German
17163 All The Bright Places Jennifer Niven 2015 American English
17163 A Man Called Otto Fredrik Backman 2012 Swedish Swedish