O Sinners! - by Nicole Cuffy (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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.

FINALIST FOR THE WESTPOINT PRIZE FOR LITERATURE - A TIME BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR - 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

After the death of his father, a young journalist named Faruq Zaidi takes the opportunity to embed himself in a mysterious cult based in the California redwoods and known as "the nameless," whose strikingly attractive members adhere to the 18 Utterances, including teachings such as "all suffering is distortion" and "see only beauty." Shepherding them is Odo, an enigmatic Vietnam War veteran who received "the sight"--the movement's foundational principles--during his time as an infantryman. Through flashbacks that recount the cult's wartime origins, we see four soldiers contend with the existential struggles of combat and with their responsibilities to each other, and by the end of the novel we learn which one becomes Odo.

Faruq, skeptical but committed to unraveling the mystery of both "the nameless" and Odo, extends his stay by months, and as he gets deeper into the cult's inner workings and alluring teachings, he begins to lose his grip on reality. Faruq is forced to come to terms with the memories he has been running from while trying to resist Odo's spell. Ultimately this immersive and unsettling novel asks: What does it take to find one's place in the world? And what exactly do we seek from one another?

Review Quotes

"When Faruq Zaidi, a grieving Muslim journalist, seizes the chance to embed himself in a California cult, his determination to get a story pushes him into the world of its mystical leader. But by trying to escape from his bad memories, Faruq's story brings him closer to potential ruin."--Rolling Stone

"O Sinners! is driven by three alternating narratives: Faruq's present day work trip, Odo's tour of duty in Vietnam, and the screenplay of a documentary about a legal battle between the cult and a fundamentalist church in Texas. In weaving together these stories, Cuffy explores the varying shapes that grief, belief, and belonging can take."--TIME

"A young journalist sets out to embed himself a cult called 'the nameless' for a story. But as he delves deeper into its teachings, he realizes he must confront the memories of loss he has been running from."--EBONY

"A journalist reeling from the death of his father decides to venture into California's redwoods and investigate a strange cult run by a Vietnam War Veteran. But his intentions become marred by his increasingly close relationship with the cult's leader, and a growing urge to join the group rather than just be an observer."--Men's Health

"What's the line between a religion and a cult? . . . One of the most engrossing elements of Nicole Cuffy's second novel . . . is how it dwells comfortably in the fuzziness, making for both a clever literary mystery novel and a meditation on the nature of faith."--Los Angeles Times

"A gorgeously written literary excavation of belonging and belief."--The Boston Globe

"While there have been quite a few novels approaching the subject of cult indoctrination lately, Nicole Cuffy's literary marvel stands head and shoulders above the rest."--Literary Hub

"A fresh, multifaceted perspective . . . a well-guided journey along the boundary between faith and doubt."--Kirkus Reviews

"Nicole Cuffy has opened a door into a world where mares and wolves live alongside grief and love and memory, each its own creature, each equally dreamlike and real."--Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning

"Dances, Cuffy's first novel, explored the physical and psychological toll felt by a Black ballerina in a classical company. Cuffy brings that same clear-eyed honesty and fearlessness to O Sinners!, but on a whole new level, exploring the ways rage and racism can shape a life, and how doubt can lead us to new paths of belief."--BookPage

About the Author

Nicole Cuffy is the author of Dances, longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. Cuffy has an MFA from The New School and is a lecturer at the University of Maryland and Georgetown University. Her work can be found in the New England Review; The Masters Review, Volume VI (curated by Roxane Gay); Chautauqua; and Blue Mesa Review. Her chapbook, Atlas of the Body, won the Chautauqua Janus Prize and was a finalist for the Black River Chapbook Competition. She lives in Washington, D.C.