You exist too much - Zaina Arafat

9780349701783

Oops!

Unfortunately it looks like someone took the last one.

Sign up to the musicMagpieStore to be the first to hear about the latest offers, competitions and product information!

Sign up now
Title
You exist too much
Author
Zaina Arafat
format
Hardback
Publisher
Dialogue Books
Language
English
UK Publication Date
20201119

A novel of self-discovery following a Palestinian-American girl as she navigates queerness, love addiction and a series of tumultuous relationships' The Millions, One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year

Told in vignettes that flash between the US and the Middle East, Zaina Arafat's powerful debut novel traces her protagonist's progress from blushing teen to creative and confused adulthood.


In Brooklyn, she moves into an apartment with her first serious girlfriend and tries to content herself with their comfortable relationship. Soon, her longings, so closely hidden during her teenage years, explode out into reckless romantic encounters and obsessions with other people which results in her seeking unconventional help to face her past traumas and current demons.


Opening up the fantasies and desires of one young woman caught between cultural, religious and sexual identities, You Exist Too Much is a captivating story charting two of our most intense longings - for love, and a place to call home.

We are Rated Excellent on Trustpilot
Here's what you say about us...

Zaina Arafat is a Palestinian-American writer. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications including the New York Times, Granta, The Believer, the Atlantic, BuzzFeed, VICE and NPR. She holds an MA in international affairs from Columbia University, an MFA from the University of Iowa and is a recipient of the Arab Women/Migrants from the Middle East fellowship at Jack Jones Literary Arts. She grew up between the US and the Middle East and currently lives in Brooklyn.

A wonderfully written queer coming-of-age story
i newapaper

Navigating queerness, bisexuality, love, and addiction, this captivating story takes readers on a journey to find two of the things we all long for the most: love, and a place we can call home. If you're looking for a captivating, first-person read, this really is one you don't to want to miss
Happiful

Switching between New York, Beirut, Florence, Washington DC and the West Bank, You Exist Too Much takes you on a dizzying tour of love addiction, rehab, homophobia, betrayal, obsession and the aching need for a mother's unconditional love. At different times throughout, you'll find the protagonist needy, reckless and selfish but also smart, intuitive and trapped between two cultures - because as we all know, humans are nothing if not complicated. Roxane is right: this deserves five stars
Stylist

The first-person narrator has a distinctive voice and is a magnetic presence on the page; the scenes with her mother are electric . . . A nuanced, sparky debut
Observer

Powerful . . . With You Exist Too Much, Arafat announces herself as a provocative and insightful writer
Irish Times

A wonderful illustration of how our most significant formative relationships can be simultaneously the most positive and negative force in our lives
The Arts Desk

Real, non-fetishised bisexual characters can be few and far between in literature, but You Exist Too Much isn't just worth reading for its efforts in representation. It's a stunning debut . . . It's a devastating portrayal of what it's like to feel as though you never fit in - both in terms of the narrator's sexuality and racial identity. Arafat handles these weighty topics with real compassion
Press Association

Arafat's writing is fresh, witty and packs a heavy punch
The Skinny

An elegantly written debut . . . a thought-provoking exploration of love and belonging, and how the two come together to
create a sense of self
New European

A stunning debut . . . Arafat handles . . . weighty topics with real compassion
Scotsman

You Exist Too Much is a first novel that is exquisitely written and crafted with a compelling lightness of touch
Living Magazine

Type
BOOK
Edition
Hardback original
Keyword Index
Palestinian Americans - Fiction.|Lesbians - Fiction.
Country of Publication
England
Number of Pages
320

FREE Delivery on all Orders!