Against Happiness

“[A] lively, reasoned call for the preservation of melancholy in the face of all-too-rampant cheerfulness. . . . Pithy and epigrammatic.” —Bookforum

“A wicked, wise and cheerfully misanthropic treatise.” —Publishers Weekly

We are addicted to happiness. More than any other generation, Americans today believe in the power of positive thinking. But who says we’re supposed to be happy? In Against Happiness, the scholar Eric G. Wilson argues that melancholia is necessary to any thriving culture, that it is the muse of great literature, painting, music, and innovation—and that it is the force underlying original insights.

So enough Prozac-ing our brains. Let’s embrace our depressive side as the wellspring of creativity. It’s time to throw off the shackles of positivity and relish the blues that make us human.

“Gleefully peevish.” —The New York Review of Books

“[A] compelling argument for fully embracing one’s existence. . . . A call to live hard and full, to participate in the great rondure of life.” —Star Tribune (Minneapolis)