Suicide

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.

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, Lev? 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 Lev?'s casually obsessive, pointillist, beautiful ruminations, we come to know a stoic, sensible, thoughtful man who bears more than a slight psychological resemblance to Lev? 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.

There would be no need for sociology if everyone understood the social frameworks within which we operate. That we do have a connection to the larger picture is largely thanks to the pioneering thinker Émile Durkheim. He recognized that, if anything can explain how we as individuals relate to society, then it is suicide: Why does it happen? What goes wrong? Why is it more common in some places than others? In seeking answers to these questions, Durkheim wrote a work that has fascinated, challenged and informed its readers for over a hundred years. Far-sighted and trail-blazing in its conclusions, Suicide makes an immense contribution to our understanding to what must surely be one of the least understandable of acts. A brilliant study, it is regarded as one of the most important books Durkheim ever wrote.

There would be no need for sociology if everyone understood the social frameworks within which we operate. That we do have a connection to the larger picture is largely thanks to the pioneering thinker Émile Durkheim. He recognized that, if anything can explain how we as individuals relate to society, then it is suicide: Why does it happen? What goes wrong? Why is it more common in some places than others? In seeking answers to these questions, Durkheim wrote a work that has fascinated, challenged and informed its readers for over a hundred years. Far-sighted and trail-blazing in its conclusions, Suicide makes an immense contribution to our understanding to what must surely be one of the least understandable of acts. A brilliant study, it is regarded as one of the most important books Durkheim ever wrote.

Foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Chris Hedges In the age of climate collapse, telling the truth has become a criminal act. From a cell in Wayland Prison, Roger Hallam-farmer, researcher, and co-founder of Just Stop Oil-delivers a searing indictment of a legal system that punishes those who resist, while protecting those who destroy. In July 2024, Hallam was dragged from a British courtroom for refusing to stay silent about the climate crisis. For "conspiracy to cause a public nuisance," he was sentenced to five years in prison, the harshest punishment for civil disobedience in the UK in modern British history. The case made front-page news and drew global outcry. Suicide is part memoir, part political reckoning. Drawing on Hallam's award-winning research and experience representing himself in four Crown Court trials, it lays bare the moral and legal failures of a society sleepwalking into catastrophe. From climate science and the right of necessity, to the collapse of democratic norms and the illusions of secular reason, this is a radical call to rethink justice, truth, and duty in the face of extinction. "These protestors are not criminals-they are messengers." - Open Letter signed by 1,200+ public figures, incl. Rowan Williams, Brian Eno, Annie Lennox, Sir David King, Tilda Swinton & Philip Pullman Praise of Roger's Work "Brilliant: wise, profound and persuasive." - George Monbiot "An instruction manual for ripping through the corruption." - Paul Mason Praise for Suicide "Mr. Roger Hallam is the charismatic voice and face of Britain's climate crisis movement. His devotion to this cause has been like a burning cigarette carelessly tossed from a car window. It ignited a grass fire that became a brush fire and then a forest fire in the minds of Britain's youth and socially aware grownups. Roger chose the succinct title "Suicide" for his account of the M25 trial that led to the imprisonment of all who took part in an act of civil disobedience. This book echoes Martin Luther King Jr's "Letter from the Birmingham Jail", Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience", and Gandhi's Satya Graha movement. He borrows from the irony of Socrates' trial in "The Apology" and avoids the self-pity of Oscar Wilde's "De Profundis". The book "Suicide" is an erudite, well researched, reasoned defense of the movement that was on trial for the M25 disruption. Mr. Hallam calls upon some of the most celebrated names in British intellectual history to support his arguments for leniency toward protesters trying to forestall the extinction of all life everywhere. The harshness of Mr. Hallam's sentence was only slightly mitigated by its curtailment as the government sought to remedy the outrageous verdict. This short book of 150 pages is finding its way into the hands of students in universities and public schools. Thus the M25 case and its resolution will influence trials for climate crisis protests in coming years. Yet Mr. Hallam minds us of a disconcerting likelihood. If it takes twenty five years for a new generation of judges, members of Parliament, teachers, professors, and technocrats to replace the present generation, the year will be 2050 and more irreversible harm shall have been done. Mr.Hallam's book strikes a note of true urgency without giving way to despair." - Jim McKee, Austin, USA.

Foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Chris Hedges In the age of climate collapse, telling the truth has become a criminal act. From a cell in Wayland Prison, Roger Hallam-farmer, researcher, and co-founder of Just Stop Oil-delivers a searing indictment of a legal system that punishes those who resist, while protecting those who destroy. In July 2024, Hallam was dragged from a British courtroom for refusing to stay silent about the climate crisis. For "conspiracy to cause a public nuisance," he was sentenced to five years in prison-the harshest punishment for civil disobedience in the UK in modern British history. The case made front-page news and drew global outcry. Suicide is part memoir, part political reckoning. Drawing on Hallam's award-winning research and experience representing himself in four Crown Court trials, it lays bare the moral and legal failures of a society sleepwalking into catastrophe. From climate science and the right of necessity, to the collapse of democratic norms and the illusions of secular reason, this is a radical call to rethink justice, truth, and duty in the face of extinction. "These protestors are not criminals-they are messengers." - Open Letter signed by 1,200+ public figures, incl. Rowan Williams, Brian Eno, Annie Lennox, Sir David King, Tilda Swinton & Philip Pullman Praise of Roger's Work "Brilliant: wise, profound and persuasive." - George Monbiot "An instruction manual for ripping through the corruption." - Paul Mason Co-authored by Extinction Rebellion Founders