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OR NOT TO BE: a c o l l e c t i o n o f s u i c i d e n o t e s EDITED BY MARC ETKIND + RIVERHEAD BOOKS, 108 PAGES + NONFICTION BY SALLY ECKHOFF the very-much-alive J.P. Donleavy, of "Ginger Man" fame, has had quite a lot to say about suicide -- most of a chapter, in fact, in an obscure book of etiquette called "The Unexpurgated Code." "Be neat when ending it all," he warns. Or else, well, just remember the words of this young man, whose final message is enclosed in "... Or Not to Be: A Collection of Suicide Notes," edited by Marc Etkind: "There's only one genius in a number of generations," the poor fellow scrawled, apparently not referring to himself. The additional note that was found in his pocket read, "Call N.M. tomorrow afternoon for dinner if conscious." Etkind's hobby has afforded him a peek at the inside of an array of minds that, though focused and even calm, are hardly rational. Only one in five suicides, we learn, even leaves a note. And of those who do, not many of them seem to understand that the act is irrevocable. The future tends to stand up and stroll around in the imaginations of the suicidal, and then refuses to sit back down, as we see in the note left by Karl Marx's daughter Eleanor to her treacherous lover. "Dear," she wrote, "It will soon be all now over." This little dart says it even more succinctly: "Dear Betty: I hate you. Love, George." Many last lines are in all likelihood intended to be public documents. "It was no coincidence that the rise in suicide notes corresponded with the rise of newspapers in the eighteenth century," Etkind says. There are suicides of shame and anger, of artistic temperament, of protest and altruism. Russians tend to throw themselves in front of trains, not just because Anna Karenina did it but because it's hard to find a bridge in Russia, and rooftops are off-limits. The Japanese don't commit suicide in greater numbers than anyone else -- that honor belongs to Hungarians, Finns and Russians -- but they do it flamboyantly, as the lengthy description of Yukio Mishima's farewell demonstrates. In America, people tend to off themselves not during the hideous holidays, as is often thought, but in the ensuing spring, and usually in the afternoon. The historic notes here more than justify securing this morbid morsel for your shelf. Here are Hitler's last words, and Goering's, as well as O.J. Simpson's putative goodbye, all bearing the protestations of innocence common to suicides in disgrace. For a lasting impression, though, the Jim Jones story stands alone. Etkind transcribes the audiotape of the final speech by "Dad," including some of the incongruous and bizarre outbursts that accompanied it. There were children gagging and people cheering, screams and cries, organ music and applause. April 30, 1997 Sally Eckhoff's work has appeared in the Village Voice and many other publications. BOOKMARK: http://www.salonmagazine.com/sneaks/sneak.html