book review: you exist too much by zaina arafat

You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

(no star system)

STORY ✔️

CHARACTERS ✔️

PROSE ✔️

Synopsis: beautiful story of learning how to love, against personal, cultural, and romantic heartbreak. 

One-sentence review: I was captivated by the prose and completely bought into the seamless unraveling of the story. Probably a top five read for me this year (out of 80 so far).

Overall storytelling/structure: gorgeous meandering story that moves us through time in a seemingly normal life with a compelling main character.

Writing style/prose: gorgeous sentences. Readers are bought into the characters own bad decisions because we are so inside her thoughts that they blend with our own. She touches on a lot of larger cultural issues, but is not overtly discussing them or seeking to influence. Inspiring for those who want to write about social change in a way readers will enjoy.

Characters: well developed and whole. Described as we observe, through all five senses. 

Mood: the narrator is struggling with depression and addiction in a search for identity, love, and confidence, which is never an easy journey. She sees interpersonal violence in her parents marriage and suffers from shared trauma of a displaced people as a Palestinian. 

Best quality of this read: many might complain it is plotless, but it just doesn’t fit the normalized arch pattern, and that is is greatest strength. Most arc stories do not resonate with non-white-man stories and we need to change our expectations on plot and storytelling. 

Books Similar/Read if you like: Know My Name, High Achiever, Roxane Gay, and the Women’s Prize for Fiction long list.

Goodreads rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️