Legend of suicide

The legend of suicide is David Vann’s debut book. Originally published in English in 2009.

In six short stories, the author confronts the subject of his father’s suicidal death. By giving his writing therapeutic qualities, David Vann tries to recreate his complicated relationship with his father. He looks for the reasons for his decision and wonders if they still have any ties with their father after his death. In his short stories, Vann changes the trauma he experiences not only by cases but also by people.

In various variants, the suicide is the father of the hero/author, or the hero himself. As in the short story “Sukkwan Island”, where the author wants to force the main character to feel remorse after the suicidal death of his child. With simple but powerful and sometimes even brutal prose, Vann touches the most intimate zones in the father-son relationship, leaving no room for compromise. The balance between guilt, responsibility and hurt is difficult to maintain and impossible without forgiveness. After all, in the Legend of Suicide, all the stories come down to a single conclusion; suicidal death turns out to be an easy one, a shortcut, real pain and burden for those who stay. And they must live with it.

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