{"product_id":"no-god-but-us-9781761154096","title":"No God but Us","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Desire, belonging and sacrifice knot tight. Sensual, political and beautifully wrought.’—\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Australian, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘the big books of 2026’\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘\u003c\/b\u003eyou’ll see what all the fuss is about. This book is \u003ci\u003ealive\u003c\/i\u003e.’\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this seductive, provocative debut, two Afghan men—cast out of their respective countries of birth by circumstances beyond their control—collide in Istanbul, a city that will test their willingness to sacrifice everything for the ones they love.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Delbar—a hapless twenty-something with dreams of becoming a drag queen—is 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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Mansur also nurses a wounded heart, having left his own family, and his first love, behind in Iran. This time, Mansur’s learned not to dream bigger than his own survival. He’ll keep a low profile, work hard to send money back, and remain faithful to Leif—at least until his refugee status is granted. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen 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: \u003ci\u003ewhat constitutes a life well-lived, and how high is the price of freedom? \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTold through the alternating viewpoints of Delbar and Mansur, Bobuq Sayed’s 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, \u003ci\u003eNo God but Us\u003c\/i\u003e is an ambitious introduction to a bold new voice.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePRAISE FOR \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNO GOD BUT US\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘I can’t remember the last time I was so moved by a book. I am lucky to count this story among my literary kin.’\u003cb\u003e—ARIA ABER, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGood Girl\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Extraordinarily moving, astute, and often very funny, \u003ci\u003eNo God but Us\u003c\/i\u003e is an exhilarating debut from a writer whose work I’ll always want to read.’ \u003cb\u003e—R. O. KWON, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eExhibit\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Incendiaries\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Bobuq Sayed moves between voices and continents with rare confidence, tracing how exile and desire shape who we become. This is a story alive to contradiction—ferocious in its longing, unsparing in its honesty, and deeply attuned to the ways love and belief survive their own undoing.’ \u003cb\u003e—GARRARD CONLEY, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eBoy Erased\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll the World Beside\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e ‘\u003ci\u003eNo God but Us\u003c\/i\u003e 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.’ \u003cb\u003e—PATRICIA ENGEL, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eInfinite Country\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Faraway World\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Impish yet deadly serious, \u003ci\u003eNo God but Us\u003c\/i\u003e is a tessellation of borders and longings, love and danger—a novel that stays in the body long after its final page has turned.’ \u003cb\u003e—SARAH THANKAM MATHEWS, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eAll This Could Be Different\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘A new kind of novel, with vast geographies of nation and heart.’ \u003cb\u003e—SARAH SCHULMAN, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘\u003ci\u003eNo God but Us\u003c\/i\u003e moves beyond the family’s carbon-copy dedication to the state and ultimately returns us, with impressive grace and compassion, to one of fiction’s central concerns: our attempts to imagine formative change against the banal expectations of power.’ \u003cb\u003e—JOSEPH EARL THOMAS, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSink\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eGod Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e ‘A polyphonic dream of a novel, spanning borders, language, and time, with rich, lyrical prose that brings to life the harrowing journeys of its protagonists. Sayed beautifully captures the pains of dislocation and hierarchy, gifting us with a work that has been sorely missing from the queer and literary canons.’ \u003cb\u003e—ALEJANDRO VARELA, author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMiddle Spoon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e and \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Town of Babylon\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘Stunning.’ \u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781761154096\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: \u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 26 May 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Ultimo Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: Australia\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)362\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): 362\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eBobuq Sayed is a writer, editor and artist. Born in Perth to Afghan refugee parents, they have lived in Melbourne, the Virginian suburbs of Washington DC, Istanbul, Miami, Berlin and, most recently, New York City. They are a graduate of the University of Miami MFA program in Fiction, where they were a James A. Michener Fellow and won the Irene Pines Award. They received a 2022-23 Steinbeck Fellowship from the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies at San José State University.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBobuq's short stories have appeared in\u003ci\u003e Gulf Coast\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Drift\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGuernica\u003c\/i\u003e. Their chapbook, \u003ci\u003eA Brief History of Australian Terror\u003c\/i\u003e, was published by Common Room Editions in 2024, and their debut novel, \u003ci\u003eNo God but Us\u003c\/i\u003e, will publish in 2026.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘An important book with a fresh perspective.’\u003c\/p\u003e -- Caroline Overington * The Australian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘The buzz around Bobuq Sayed’s debut novel is mighty loud. But when you read the opening chapter of No God But Us – set backstage at a drag bar in Washington DC – you’ll see what all the fuss is about. This book is \u003ci\u003ealive\u003c\/i\u003e.’\u003c\/p\u003e -- Beejay Silcox * The Guardian *","brand":"Bobuq Sayed","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48852124369113,"sku":"9781761154096","price":34.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781761154096.jpg?v=1782390701","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/no-god-but-us-9781761154096","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}