O Sinners!

In this "engrossing" (Los Angeles Times) novel that sweeps from present-day California to the Vietnam War and back, a grieving young man is drawn into the orbit of a charismatic cult leader who forces him to reconsider why people give up control--and what it takes, ultimately, to find one's place in the world. ONE OF THE SEASON'S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS: Time, Rolling Stone, Vulture, Men's Health, WNYC, Electric Lit, Feminist Book Club, Lit Hub "A gorgeously written literary excavation of belonging and belief."--Emma Donoghue, The Boston Globe Faruq Zaidi, a young journalist processing the recent death of his father, a devout Muslim, takes the opportunity to embed himself in a cult known only as "the nameless," because its members refused to label themselves. Based in the California redwoods and shepherded by an enigmatic Vietnam War veteran named Odo, "the nameless" adhere to the 18 Utterances, including teachings such as "all suffering is distortion" and "see only beauty." Faruq, skep