Book Description
A Most Anticipated Read: Autostraddle, The Millions, them, SheReads, Daily Kos, Debutiful, Mizna, and LGBTQ Reads
A Publishers Weekly Writer to Watch
 
“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.
 
About the Author
Bobuq Sayed is the author of A Brief History of Australian Terror and the novel No God but Us. They were a 2022-23 Steinbeck fellow at San José State University, a Lambda Literary scholar, and an award-winning James A. Michener fellow in the University of Miami's MFA program. Bobuq currently lives in New York City.
 
Reviews
“[An] impressive debut . . . Sayed skillfully balances the personal with the political." —Publishers Weekly
 
“In a powerful debut, Bobuq Sayed reveals how forces of rejection from state and family meet the alchemy of attraction, desire, and belonging. No God but Us not only expands American literature, but also Muslim, gay male, and migration writing. A new kind of novel, with vast geographies of nation and heart.” —Sarah Schulman, author of The Fantasy and Necessity of Solidarity
 
“A sprawling, tender debut about queer refugees finding each other across continents. . . . Sayed weaves together geopolitics, queer history, Persian poetry, and the textures of daily life in exile, but those expecting Delbar and Mansur to ride off into the sunset together will be disappointed. The novel is too wise for such easy comforts. Their connection is real but provisional, like everything else in exile. At its core, this is that rare thing: a political novel that remembers to be a human one.” –Kirkus
 
“Audacious, propulsive, and tender-hearted, No God but Us explores the bonds we create and destroy around love, desire, country, and community with startling honesty. Pulsing with hope, desire, and fury, Bobuq Sayed boldly interrogates 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 World
 
“I can’t remember the last time I was so moved by a book. Bobuq Sayed’s No God but Us asks what might happen to one's consciousness when it's mangled by the forces of empire. The deeply felt and irreverent story traces two Quixotic journeys through personal pain, faith, exile, and queer self-discovery, all the way from the Afghan refugee community in Tehran to the suburbs of Northern Virginia. At its heart, this is a novel about family—chosen and not—and I am lucky to count this story among my literary kin. This book is simply necessary, and very gorgeous.” —Aria Aber, author of Good Girl
 
“No God but Us is a bold, tender novel about queer kinship and the fragile architectures of faith. 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.” —Garrard Conley, author of Boy Erased and All the World Beside
 
“No God but Us moves beyond the family’s carbon copy dedication to the state, threading a spate of overburdened needles between necessity and promise, romance and desire, and ultimately returns us, with impressive grace and compassion, to one of fiction’s central concerns, our attempts to imagine formative change within and outside ourselves, always against the banal expectations of power.” —Joseph Earl Thomas, author of Sink and God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer
 
“No God but Us is a polyphonic dream of a novel that spans borders, language, and time, with rich, lyrical prose that brings to life the harrowing journeys of its protagonists. Sayed captures with beauty and tremendous dignity the pains of dislocation and hierarchy, in the process gifting us a work that has been sorely missing from the queer and literary canons.” —Alejandro Varela, author of Middle Spoon and The Town of Babylon
 
“…[an exploration of] freedom and authoritarianism from a new voice in fiction.” —She Reads, “Traci Thomas’ Most Anticipated Books of 2026”
 
“I received a PDF of this months and months ago and can’t stop thinking about it. It moved me to my core. Sayed’s emotional intelligence provides a strong backbone to a tender story.” —Debutiful, “The Most Anticipated Debut Books of 2026, Part One”
 
“One of my personal most eagerly anticipated books of 2026, Bobuq Sayed’s debut novel follows two gay Afghan men whose lives intertwine in a shared exile in Istanbul, and who must navigate the antagonisms of many states and oppressive forces that shape their lives. Sayed’s writing is vibrant, hilarious, and sharply critical, presenting a rich and real set of characters reeling across the world. I can’t wait to see this book get the readership it deserves!” —Mizna, “30 New SWANA Books to Read in 2026”
 
“Desire, belonging and sacrifice knot tight. Sensual, political and beautifully wrought. Controversial themes that challenge the stereotypes.” —The Australian, “Most Anticipated Books of 2026”