The Complete Manual of Suicide

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The ethicist Peter Singer included it on a list of his top ten books in The Guardian. [13] Reception [ edit ] It was first published on July 4, 1993, and sold more than one million copies. In the postscript the author says: "To think that at the worst crucial moment one can escape from the pain by committing suicide, one can live for the moment easier. So by distributing this book, I want to make this stifling society an easier place to live. That is the goal of this book. And I never intend to encourage readers to commit suicide." And I’m afraid I’ve made the librarians anxious for keeping this book on hold for such a long time...) It was first published on July 4, 1993 and sold more than one million copies. In the postscript Tsurumi says: ”To think that at the worst crucial moment one can escape from the pain by committing suicide, one can live for the moment easier. So by distributing this book, I want to make this stifling society an easier place to live in. This is the aim of this book. And I never intend to encourage readers to commit suicide.” Yes, you can commit suicide. If you feel discomfort, resentment or even pain in your daily life at school or at work, you can take one step across that thin line into death. No one can stop you. Just like the previous paragraphs, nothing will change even if you stay alive and keep on facing these challenges. Although we don’t have extraordinary powers, we can still tell what will happen to ourselves or to the society in the future.

Suicide Book Stirring Controversy And Sales". Archived from the original on 2018-02-04 . Retrieved 2018-02-03. There’s no happy ending like the ones in the comedies. Happiness keeps on emerging repeatedly at a slow pace. Yes, the key is “repeatedly” and “at a slow pace”. Substantial events keep on emerging repeatedly at a slow pace. This is the first element leading to suicide.Future! Future!” It’s useless even as it’s convincing. Your life will essentially be growing up and receiving your education in your hometown. You’ll attend supplementary classes in the hope of getting a good result in the exams. You’ll enter a high school or university and fool around for a few years before you start your career in a local company. If you are a man, you will get married between the ages of 25 to 30 and have your first child the following year. You will face several changes in your occupation, and at most be promoted as a manager. You will retire at 60 years old, and spend the rest of you life enjoying your habits. Finally, you face death. This is what you will get. And depressingly, this is the ideal life in many people’s minds.

Singer, Peter (6 April 2001). "Peter Singer's top 10 books". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014 . Retrieved 6 April 2012. Long ago, the topic “why do young people commit suicide?” had been discussed by various parties. In the 70s, the conclusions were something like “nihilism”, “age of sorrow”. Nevertheless, the questions, “why can’t I commit suicide?”, “why must I stay alive?” were never really resolved. In America, a scholar invented a machine, which allows “mercy killing” to be put into practice. And this book will be the only “suicide machine” in Japan, making use of words. Ever since it came out in 1993, I had a vague impression that this book is nothing but an emo kids’ bible, a so called “メンヘラ” type of book; a book that tells you that it’s okay to feel ostracized, to feel different, that there is a way out of everything, i.e. suicide. I thought this was a book that tells people to kill themselves. Yukio Mishima once wrote the lines, “ordinary life is even more horrible than a war.” in his autobiography “Confession d’un masque”. We tolerated the nervousness caused by the terrifying ordinary life, in return for the ridiculous “calm and bright future.” We have to be careful throughout our life, trying in vain to avoid any mistakes.But at the same time by suggesting the ways to escape the world, it feels like the author is saying “now you know you’ve got an escape route. Why don’t you give your life another chance before trying these methods to kill yourselves?”.