I felt quite battered by this novel. Author (and poet) Omar Sakr wields his words with intensity, as he portrays the life of a young bisexual Arab Australian drowning in a weighty combination of family, faith, domestic abuse, racism, displacement, self-hatred, police brutality and homophobia. Sakr’s vivid depiction of the narrator Jamal’s life (which seems born from the author’s own first-hand experience), is initially gripping, the force of dysfunction across his sprawling Lebanese family palpable, the dark humor he uses as a weapon thrilling. But, although I wanted to love this novel, I felt it drifted. I felt Jamal’s quest for belonging was at first, absorbing, only to become exasperating, his friendships confusing, his relationships unsatisfying. I give full credit to Sakr for capturing such a brutally raw depiction of how difficult it is to navigate the conflicts between faith and sexuality, but I also felt thwarted in my wish to come away from Son of Sin with some deeper understanding of how that conflict may be resolved. Having said that, given Sakr's obvious lyrical talents displayed in this debut, I have no doubt he is an author to watch.