I Love You Too Much

I knew I was in Paris, I knew that was the Seine beneath me, the sky above, but when I looked around for help, the grand apartment buildings of the Quai Voltaire stared back at me, indifferent.In the sixth arrondissement everything is perfect except for the loneliness. This is the Paris of thirteen-year-old Paul. Shy and unloved, he quietly observes the lives of the self-involved grown-ups around him: his glamorous Maman, Séverine, her younger musician lover, Gabriel, and his fitness-obsessed Papa, Philippe. Always overlooked, it's only a matter of time before Paul witnesses something that he's not supposed to see.Seeking solace in an unlikely friendship with tear-away classmate Scarlett and the temptation of the numerous patisseries in his elegant neighbourhood, Paul searches for unconditional love. But what will he do if he can't find it?Alicia Drake evokes contemporary Parisian life with the subtlety of a latter day Francois Sagan, and she captures in Paul the pains of adolescence as poignantly as Salinger's Holden Caulfield. I Love You Too Much is a novel of extraordinary intelligence and heart, a devastating coming of age story told from the sidelines of Parisian perfection.

Long-listed for Waverton Good Read Award 2019 (UK)

“Funny, waspish, astute, l Love You Too Much is a heart breaking tale.”

Funny, waspish, astute, l Love You Too Much is a heart breaking tale. -- Denise Mina, author of The Long Drop
There’s an elegance to Drake’s writing that marks her out as a writer to be reckoned with and she shows fearlessness as she explores the mind of that most troublesome of creatures, the teenage boy . . . I Love You Too Much is a considerable achievement. -- John Boyne Irish Times
There is the most extraordinary sensibility in this book. It is the author's but she gives it to the reader as thirteen year old Paul's out of kilter, isolated, yearning perception. Denied love, this vulnerable boy floats, adrift, through Paris like a lost, living ghost. We see - and feel - through his eyes, and the experience is unsettling, unnerving, strangely delicious. Alicia Drake has achieved something very rare. -- Tim Pears, author of In the Light of Morning.
The enfant naturel of Henry James’s What Maisie Knew and Deborah Levy’s Swimming Home -- Anne Korkeakivi, author of Shining Sea
Drake’s characters are richly drawn and she writes insightfully about teenage angst, the superficiality of wealth, compulsive consumption and familial neglect in a coming-of-age novel that’s replete with evocations of adolescent loneliness and insecurity Observer
Drake nails the plight of a protagonist caught between childhood and the alarming onset of adulthood, but also elicits a pang of sympathy for Paul’s shambolic parents, bruised by their own upbringings . . . the shine of a very enjoyable first novel. Daily Mail
I Love You Too Much is an atmospheric deep dive into longing, betrayal, and the shattered illusions of youth. Alicia Drake's Paris is haunting, and her writing soars -- Charlotte Rogan, author of Now and Again
Occasionally I choose to intercept a gift destined for my boyfriend. I’m glad I stole this. Drake dissects a postcard-perfect Paris as the ugly innards of a modern family are gradually exposed. We follow Paul, 13, lonely and lovestruck, as his fragile real and fantasy worlds unravel whilst his mother laments a lost youth rather than the lost child in plain sight. -- Laura Bailey Vogue
An astute and poignant portrait of adolescence People
Memorable, heartfelt . . . poignant and uplifting Publishers Weekly
In her compelling fiction debut, Drake, a formerly longtime Paris resident... crafts Paul's hometown with a true insider's care, and she believably narrates as a boy resisting the confining forces of his self-involved parents' narrow paths and stingily shared love for him Booklist
Not often do you come across a protagonist who you want to hug and shield from the world. Drake creates a character who is sure to bring out the maternal instinct in every reader -- Janice MacLeod, author of the New York Times bestseller Paris Letters
A dark coming-of-age story that will break your heart - and not let you forget it Hello Giggles

Alicia Drake is a British fashion journalist and author. She was educated at Cambridge University, and she recently returned to the United Kingdom after residing and working in Paris for the past eighteen years. Drake has been a fashion journalist, writing regularly for a variety of publications, including the International Herald Tribune, Travel and Leisure, W, and British Vogue. This is her first novel.

In the sixth arrondissement, thirteen-year-old Paul is adrift in a sea of wealth, pretence and an obsession with status. Struggling with a self-absorbed mother who doesn't pay him any attention and her new boyfriend Gabriel who is chasing his dream of becoming a rock star, all while trying to form a connection with his own narcissistic father, Paul is desperate to be loved. Always overlooked, it is only a matter of time before he sees something he isn't supposed to see . . . Longing for connection, Paul comforts himself with the beauty of Paris - gorging on its sweet confections and elegant patisseries - and in an unlikely friendship with his rebellious classmate, Scarlett. A moving story set in one of the world's most beautiful cities, I Love You Too Much is told with humour, grace and unflinching honesty. 'Drake's characters are richly drawn in a coming-of-age novel replete with evocations of adolescent loneliness and insecurity.' Observer

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