Palestine United States

You Exist Too Much

Name: You Exist Too Much
ISBN: 978-1646220595

by Zaina Arafat

Identity & Belonging Literary Fiction Contemporary Fiction Psychological Fiction 2026

Summary

Caught between her Palestinian heritage, her queer identity, and an overwhelming hunger for love, an unnamed young woman struggles to find somewhere she truly belongs. When a painful breakup sends her spiralling, she enters an unconventional treatment centre for what is described as love addiction. Through fragmented memories spanning Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and the United States, she confronts her complicated relationship with her mother, the shame surrounding her sexuality, and the emotional wounds shaping her destructive romantic patterns. Intimate, provocative, and darkly funny, this novel explores the fine line between desire and obsession—and the difficult journey toward accepting yourself when you feel you are always too much for the world.

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About the author

Zaina Arafat

Zaina Arafat is a Palestinian-American writer and journalist whose work explores identity, displacement, sexuality, and belonging. Her debut novel, You Exist Too Much, was published in 2020 and won the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Fiction. Her writing has appeared in prominent publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Granta, The Believer, and Harper’s Bazaar. Arafat has received fellowships from the Hawthornden Foundation and Jack Jones Literary Arts, and was named a Champion of Pride by The Advocate. She holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and an MA from Columbia University. She teaches writing at Hunter College and has also taught at Barnard College. Her work frequently examines the intersections of Arab identity, queerness, family, and the search for home. She lives in New York with her family.

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Details

Published: 2026
Author: Zaina Arafat

You Exist Too Much

Summary

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