I made a quick trip downtown today, on my bike, to the public library. I was looking for books by Peter Handke.
After the controversy when he received the Ibsen Prize, I got curious. I want to read a couple of his books, to make up my own mind.
I wasn't the only one. All the books by Handke were out.
So, I borrowed a book by Stig Sæterbakken instead. He was one of our finest contemporary authors. I say was, because he died in 2012. He committed suicide at the age of 46. He often wrote about dark and unpleasant themes, such as loneliness.
I have always found authors who comitted suicide (for instance Hemingway and Bjørneboe) very inteteresting.
The French/Algerian author Albert Camus said that "the only serious philosophical question is suicide"
All animals and humans have a natural fear of death. Those who commit suicide are able to defeat the greatest of all fears.
Don't worry; I'm not one of them. I just find it interesting>:)
I wouldn't want to test where it takes one though...
ReplyDeleteNeither would I
DeleteI find it fascinating, too. I did my master's research on it. I think often it is an existential sort of thing that affects the very creative.
ReplyDeleteCool. So you're an expert on this. What was the main finding in your master thesis?
DeleteYou think it's really about defeating the greatest of all fears? Maybe it is just an ultimate escape from a desperate reality, at least for some of them... But I find fascinating to find out what's after the death, definitely!
ReplyDeleteI think all living animals (incl humans) have a natural fear of death. But for some the pain of living becomes stronger than the dear of death. After death I believe there's nothing, Our molecules are just recycled back to nature, like the leaves in the fall.
DeleteI can't imagine being so miserable that I would want to commit suicide, unless I was very old and dying already and in a lot of pain. but it isn't about fear of death. I don't fear death. I'm just not ready to go.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. But I think it's interesting to read books by people who committed, to see what goes on in their minds
DeleteI tend to attribute suicide to plain old mental health trouble--not a conquering, but rather a defeat. That said, mental illness CAN lead to some interesting writing...
ReplyDeleteHello there. Just stopping by to congratulate you on completing the A-Z Challenge! This was my first challenge too. I'm making a short pit stop from the A-Z Road Trip!
ReplyDeleteEntrepreneurial Goddess