You Exist Too Much

A wonderfully written queer coming-of-age story * iNews *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 DeskReal, 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 *

Zaina Arafat is an LGBTQ Arab-American writer. Her debut novel You Exist Too Much won a 2021 Lambda Literary Award and was named Roxane Gay’s favourite book of 2020.

Arafat’s stories and essays have appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, Granta, Harper’s Bazaar, and VICE. In recognition of her work, she was awarded the Arab Women/Migrants from the Middle East fellowship at Jack Jones Literary Arts and named a Champion of Pride by The Advocate.

She lives in Brooklyn, New York.