Books like You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat
You Exist Too Much, a Lambda Literary Award‑winning debut, traces the life of a Palestinian‑American woman as she moves between Brooklyn and the Middle East. Told in a series of vignettes, the novel follows her from a shy teenage girl to an adult grappling with love, queerness, and the ache for belonging. After sharing a comfortable relationship with her first serious girlfriend, she confronts long‑hidden desires that ignite a pattern of reckless romance and obsession. In the face of these challenges, she seeks unconventional help to confront past traumas and present demons. The story opens the fantasies and desires of a young woman caught between cultural, religious, and sexual identities, mapping her dual longings for love and a place to call home.
First publish date: 2020
Genre: LGBTQ+ Fiction/Lesbian Fiction
Authors: Zaina Arafat
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