A review by malignantmoon
Son of Sin by Omar Sakr

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Hard one to review because so much of this felt like a real story, like my story. I'm sure 30-something-year-old Australian millennials who grew up Muslim and queer (especially Lebanese and Turkish ones) will read this book and feel like they are looking into a mirror. I saw my cousins in Jamal's as the police continually hounded them. I saw the 'we all know but won't speak of it' sentiment of Turkish culture regarding sin. 

I saw the beauty too, of found family, of unbreakable familial bonds, of God and love, self-acceptance and love, of Sakr's origins as a poet feeling into the verse of this novel.
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