Reviews with content warning for Eating disorder - You Exist Too Much

Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat

156 reviews

brotestantethic's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The true definition of raw. Arafat achieved a stream of consciousness, across several years of plot, that will ring true with some part of the reader, no matter how small. The main character is selfish, traitorous, and destructive, and yet you root for her. Her huge personality is a major draw of this book.

This would have been five stars, but it is possible to be too raw, and this teeters the line. There is a lot going on, like in life, and it is hard to grasp what the meaning is of a particular chapter. I also found the treatment center confusing, with predictable characters and dialogue. Still I loved the unconventional structure and will be thinking about this book for a very long time.

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queergoth_reads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I could not put this down. I picked it up when I was struggling to read anything else and I finished it in one sitting.

It wasn't exatly an easy fun read. It was incredibly emotional and it was fantastic.

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errie's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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sjbshannon's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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reading__queerly's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m so glad that I chose this book as my first read of 2024. The story is about a bisexual and Palestinian-American narrator who deals with an affliction termed a love addiction. In many of her relationships, she dwells on her attraction to her current fixation’s potentiality rather than their reality, often leading to obsession and then disappointment. At the same time, the narration consistently interweaves stories of the past with her present, entwining experiences of familial love, especially between her and her mother, with her current struggles. Her past gives a potential explanation for her affliction and the interconnection of narratives shows the relentless impact of history – both her own and her mother’s – on her present state as she confronts herself, enters treatment, and continues to live her life.

I liked how the story truly showed the narrator’s struggle with this affliction; she’s an unlikable and messy narrator for most of the book, and she doesn’t get better the moment she asks for help. Her mother is similarly flawed but humanized. The narrator comes to an understanding of the effects conflicts have had throughout her mother’s life, but that doesn’t excuse her cruel actions. As an LGBTQ+ person, the narrator’s continual desire for her mother’s love at the same time that she is hurt by her was really heart wrenching to read. Her mother’s parting words after she comes out – “Good luck finding someone to love you like I did” – have been echoing in my mind for days after finishing this read.

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cjwitch's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Going into the book, I expected something different from what it is. What I found was a book about emotional, particularly parental, trauma and the very human responses to it. This book was difficult in the beginning, the FMC deeply unlikeable and her perspective both unhealthy and unenjoyable through much of the book.

What I did love about the book, and what kept me engaged from the start, was the non-linear storytelling, which flashes between the FMC's present and her past. It allows us glimpses into the traumas that fuel her present day actions and allows the reader to see the vulnerability behind the FMC's rough edges.

Despite her flaws, the FMC's drive to self-analysis and personal growth is admirable. Even when she knows that the growth won't fix her most recent relationship, she recognizes the need to improve for herself and her own future.

By the end, my dislike of the unnamed FMC had diminished somewhat, though I never gained a true love of the character. Still, somehow I found that I enjoyed this book; enjoyed the journey that the FMC took and the growth that she achieved and the way her view of her mother evolved.

1st Generation Palestinian-American
Bisexual FMC
Generational Trauma
Therapy and Healing
Introspection

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moodyromancereader's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

This book follows a queer Palestinian-Woman who was raised in New York. Throughout the book, we witness the character making bad decisions and hurting the people she loves. We see how the main character wants to be loved so desperately that it leads her to be interested in emotionally unavailable or unattainable people. But her desire to be loved so desperately stems from her childhood and her relationship with her mother, which led her to believe she isn’t worthy of love. We watch the reader make questionable decisions and witness her trying to break this cycle of self-sabotage. We also learn about her Palestinian heritage, and there are moments in the book where she visits the West Bank and discusses the hurdles she has to go through to visit her family.

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