O Sinners!

“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

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.