Book review: You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
Like the best literary novels, You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat encompasses several big topics in what might seem like a simple, quiet story. I saw this book recommended on several social-media posts about Palestinian books and it is to some extent about being Palestinian, but much more too.
Arafat, like her main character, is Palestinian-American and grew up between the US and the Middle East. Her unnamed narrator has for years struggled to reconcile her queerness with her mother’s conservative values. Now she is finally in her first serious relationship with Anna, even living together in New York City, she feels ready to tell her mother she is bi. She is not close to her mother but does speak to her every day, so this is a big step. One that she has been avoiding for years. But she finds herself sabotaging what she and Anna have by obsessing over a potential new love interest.
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