Synopsis
Acclaimed author of CHLORINE, Jade Song, returns with her latest literary exploration of the Gen Z condition, I LOVE YOU DON'T DIE - a lyrical, poignant, and heartfelt novel about the meaning of love, friendship, debt, depression, and death in New York City.
Seeing death as the only inevitable thing in life, Vicky has always found it fascinating. She surrounds herself with it - living above a Chinatown funeral parlour, working at a celebrity start-up for bespoke urns and collecting zhizha (paper creations meant to be burned for the dead).
Despite living in Manhattan and working her dream job, she struggles to find meaning in her life or make connections outside of her best (and only) friend Jen. That changes when a dating app leads her into a throuple with an artist and a labour organiser, who seem to offer exactly the kind of love she needs.
For some time, it's perfect, but no one understands better than Vicky that all things must end. When her doubts grow over her love life, her friendship and her job, Vicky must decide whether to try and hold on to what she has, or to do what she does best . . . destroy.
Seeing death as the only inevitable thing in life, Vicky has always found it fascinating. She surrounds herself with it - living above a Chinatown funeral parlour, working at a celebrity start-up for bespoke urns and collecting zhizha (paper creations meant to be burned for the dead).
Despite living in Manhattan and working her dream job, she struggles to find meaning in her life or make connections outside of her best (and only) friend Jen. That changes when a dating app leads her into a throuple with an artist and a labour organiser, who seem to offer exactly the kind of love she needs.
For some time, it's perfect, but no one understands better than Vicky that all things must end. When her doubts grow over her love life, her friendship and her job, Vicky must decide whether to try and hold on to what she has, or to do what she does best . . . destroy.
Details
19 March 2026
9781804443538Imprint: Footnote Press
Reviews
Achingly, urgently, Jade Song probes at loneliness with some of the most poetic prose I've ever had the good luck to read. A dizzying and yearning story of love and loss, I can't remember the last time a book made me gasp like this one did. Death, sex, student debt - I Love You Don't Die is unflinching
A necessary and moving work about how death can be our greatest teacher for how to live, I Love You Don't Die is an ode to the power of friendship and community's ability to be the bridge we build on our way to death . . . This book made me seek out my loved ones and hold them a little closer.
This book messed me up; and it is messy. The relationships are grotesquely intimate, deep friendships full of selfishness and radiant grief that often knocked the wind out of me. It's so good. And I hated it
With wry wit, Jade Song satirises corporate culture and the commodification of everything, even death. They so wonderfully capture the capitalist malaise - and the rare, wonderful moments in life that burst through it . . . The beating heart of this story is the enduring friendship at its center. More than anything else, I Love You Don't Die will make you want to call your best friend
