Too Much and Not the Mood

"e;[This] remarkable debut essay collection touches on art and literature and pop culture, but also feels intensely intimate, filled with stunning insights."e; -VultureOn April 11, 1931, Virginia Woolf ended her entry in A Writer's Diary with the words "e;too much and not the mood."e; She was describing how tired she was of correcting her own writing, of the "e;cramming in and the cutting out"e; to please other readers, wondering if she had anything at all that was truly worth saying. The character of that sentiment, the attitude of it, inspired Durga Chew-Bose to write and collect her own work. The result is a lyrical and piercingly insightful collection of essays and her own brand of essay-meets-prose poetry about identity and culture. Inspired by Maggie Nelson's Bluets, Lydia Davis's short prose, and Vivian Gornick's exploration of interior life, Chew-Bose captures the inner restlessness that keeps her always on the brink of creative expression. Too Much and Not the Mood is a beautiful and surprising exploration of what it means to be a creative young woman working today, and shutting out the noise in order to hear your own voice. "e;When the world seems to be on fire, intuitive essays that focus on miniature aspects of the ordinary-everyday can serve as a balm . . . Her sentences [come] as close as language can to how it feels to be alive as a young woman, at a time in your life when every detail matters."e; San Francisco Chronicle"e;A self-portrait of the writer as intrepid mental wanderer . . . This is a book to slip into your pocket for company during a day of solitary walking."e; The New Yorker"e;Reveals a young author who is wise beyond her years and whose keen eye moves beyond tired tropes about identity struggles . . . Her ample talent and keenly observed essays will surely win her followers, especially at a time and place when authenticity is a rare and much-valued currency."e; Booklist (starred review)"e;Picking apart art and literature and blending it with observations from everyday life, Chew-Bose could make even the grayest day seem beautiful and fascinating."e; Rolling Stone