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Paperback. Desire, belonging and sacrifice knot tight. Sensual, political and beautifully wrought.The Australian, the big books of 2026In this seductive, provocative debut, two Afghan mencast out of their respective countries of birth by circumstances beyond their controlcollide in Istanbul, a city that will test their willingness to sacrifice everything for the ones they love.When Delbara hapless twenty-something with dreams of becoming a drag queenis spectacularly outed, he flees the insular immigrant-dense suburbs of Washington, DC, to seek refuge with his sympathetic aunt in Istanbul. There he discovers a vibrant community of dissidents, sex workers, activists, poets, and heretics. Among them are Leif and his boyfriend, Mansur, with whom Delbar quickly develops a blazing fascination. But Mansur also nurses a wounded heart, having left his own family, and his first love, behind in Iran. This time, Mansurs learned not to dream bigger than his own survival. Hell keep a low profile, work hard to send money back, and remain faithful to Leifat least until his refugee status is granted. When riot police descend on attendees of the annual Istanbul Pride march, Mansur and Delbar are thrust into dangerous proximity. With the country surging into authoritarianism, each person must ask themselves: what constitutes a life well-lived, and how high is the price of freedom? Told through the alternating viewpoints of Delbar and Mansur, Bobuq Sayeds debut is a story of borders and boundaries transgressed, and a deeply engrossing exploration of what it means to make a home at the margins of society. At once an immigrant family saga, a thwarted love story, and a searing portrait of politics made intimately personal, No God but Us is an ambitious introduction to a bold new voice.PRAISE FOR NO GOD BUT US:I cant remember the last time I was so moved by a book. I am lucky to count this story among my literary kin.ARIA ABER, author of Good GirlExtraordinarily moving, astute, and often very funny, No God but Us is an exhilarating debut from a writer whose work Ill always want to read. R. O. KWON, author of Exhibit and The IncendiariesBobuq Sayed moves between voices and continents with rare confidence, tracing how exile and desire shape who we become. This is a story alive to contradictionferocious in its longing, unsparing in its honesty, and deeply attuned to the ways love and belief survive their own undoing. GARRARD CONLEY, author of Boy Erased and All the World Beside No God but Us explores the bonds we create and destroy around love, desire, country, and community with startling honesty, boldly interrogating the sacrifices one must make to live according to the truth of the human heart. A simply dazzling and unforgettable debut. PATRICIA ENGEL, author of Infinite Country and The Faraway WorldImpish yet deadly serious, No God but Us is a tessellation of borders and longings, love and dangera novel that stays in the body long after its final page has turned. SARAH THANKAM MATHEWS, author of All This Could Be DifferentA new kind of novel, with vast geographies of nation and heart. SARAH SCHULMAN, author of The Fantasy and Necessity of SolidarityNo God but Us moves beyond the familys carbon-copy dedication to the state and ultimately returns us, with impressive grace and compassion, to one of fictions central concern Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.
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