Martyr by Kaveh Akbar is a contemporary fiction novel that follows the existential journey of Cyrus Shams, an Iranian American man seeking answers in New York City after the tragic death of his mother. The book delves into themes of martyrdom, suicide, death, and seeking meaning in life. It is beautifully written with lyrical prose and incorporates the author's poetry throughout the narrative. The protagonist, an aspiring poet, navigates through his struggles and questions about his family, death, and sexuality, ultimately seeking understanding and resolution through his own poetic exploration.
The plot of Martyr by Kaveh Akbar revolves around the young protagonist, Cyrus Shams, who is portrayed as a thoughtful and curious individual facing existential challenges. The book explores his personal journey through the lenses of family, death, and self-discovery, with a poignant and engaging narrative that is punctuated with poetry. Akbar's writing style is described as beautifully written, with a unique blend of lamentation, melancholy, and poetic flair that captivates readers and provides a fresh perspective on contemporary themes of life and meaning.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for Martyr! include themes of death, violence, and suicide, reflecting the protagonist's struggles with loss and meaning.
From The Publisher:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR FOR 2024 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Electrifying, funny, and wholly original , Martyr! heralds the arrival of an essential new voice in contemporary fiction.
"Kaveh Akbar is one of my favorite writers. Ever." -Tommy Orange, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of There There
"The best novel you'll ever read about the joy of language, addiction, displacement, martyrdom, belonging, homesickness." -Lauren Groff, best-selling author of Matrix and Fates and Furies
Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother's plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father's life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past-toward an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as the angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying, and toward his mother, through a painting discovered in a Brooklyn art gallery that suggests she may not have been who or what she seemed.
Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! is a paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning-in faith, art, ourselves, others.
Ratings (11)
Incredible (3) | |
Loved It (5) | |
Liked It (3) |
Reader Stats (46):
Read It (15) | |
Currently Reading (1) | |
Want To Read (26) | |
Did Not Finish (1) | |
Not Interested (3) |
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