Description:
A Most Anticipated Read: Autostraddle, Goodreads, Southern Review of Books, The Millions, them, SheReads, Daily Kos, Debutiful, Mizna, and LGBTQ Reads
A Publishers Weekly Writer to Watch
"Stunning."--The Atlantic, "The Summer Reading Guide"
"One of the year's buzziest LGBTQ+ novels." --Goodreads
"An exhilarating debut from a writer whose work I'll always want to read." --R.O. Kwon
In this wry, provocative debut, two gay 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.
When 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.
But 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.
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 Sayed's debut is a story of borders and boundaries transgressed, and a seductive 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.
"A new kind of novel, with vast geographies of nation and heart." --SARAH SCHULMAN
"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." --GARRARD CONLEY
"I feel lucky to count this story among my literary kin." --ARIA ABER
Brief description: Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, to parents who journeyed from India to the United States, Nas Mehdi is an American actor of Indian descent who also has Turkish, Persian, and Afghan heritage. Inspired by his love of films, he pursued the performing arts early on in his adolescent years via theater/speech tournaments and, subsequently, as a lead actor in professional theatre in Dallas. He carried that passion into television, playing numerous guest and recurring guest star roles in shows such as Graves (Epix) opposite Nick Nolte, 24: Legacy (Fox) opposite Corey Hawkins, Nashville (ABC) opposite Chris Carmack, and Drop Dead Diva (Lifetime) opposite Brooke Elliott, and films such as Focus (Warner Bros.) opposite Will Smith. Coming off the success of narrating Payam Zamani's bestselling novel Crossing The Desert, Nas has also successfully ventured into the world of commercials, including a national network spot with Verizon, and voice-over. Trained at the Groundlings, Upright Citizens Brigade, and the Markland Studio, he regularly performs stand-up comedy in the San Fernando Valley and is on the board of the Classics Theatre Project. He also enjoys beekeeping and not zealously referring to himself in the third person.