description: Using the untimely death of the poet and friend, Sylvia Plath, as a point of departure, Al Alvarez confronts the controversial and often taboo area of human suicide. "The Savage God" explores the cultural attitudes, theories, truths and fallacies surrounding suicide and refracts them through the windows of philosophy, art and following the black thread leading from Dante, through Donne, Chatterton and the Romantic Agony, to Dada and Pavese. Entwined within this sensitive study is the author's deeply personal account of his own unsuccessful suicide attempt, and together they form the most fascinating and compelling meditation on the "Savage God" at the heart of human existence.
language: English
title: The Savage God: A Study of Suicide
titlecomplete: The Savage God: A Study of Suicide
genres: Biography, History, Sociology, Science, Philosophy, Mental Health, Death, Psychology, Nonfiction, Poetry
ratings_count: 1491
publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks