This novel was trying a little too hard to entertain me while on its way to trying a little to hard to say something profound to me. I was dazzled, then confused, and then made irritable. It was one of those "so much brazen talent, but..." sorts of reads for me, a shelf on which I also keep the works of Jeffrey Eugenides, Brett Easton Ellis, and many other writers of similar brazen talent and imagination.

I know it’s still early, but Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! might be my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. The story centers Cyrus, an Iranian-American twentysomething poet struggling with depression and addiction. Orphaned at a young age—his dad died when Cyrus was in college, and his mom when the U.S. military shot down her plane over Iran in 1987—by the time we meet him Cyrus has become fascinated by the concept of martyrdom and decides to spin this obsession into a book. His literary journey takes him from his Midwest home to NYC, where he encounters a famous Iranian artist, dying of cancer, who has mounted a final, death-confronting performance art exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. The plot spins in many directions—we get flashbacks to Cyrus’ family in Iran, dream sequences featuring (among others) Lisa Simpson and Kareem Abdul-Jabar, and more. But the essential question of this book is profound: What does it mean to live—and die—with meaning and purpose?
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I loved so much about this book. The prose? A fascinating mix of the lyrical and the vernacular. Akbar is a poet, and there were so many passages that were arrestingly beautiful and rich with meaning; I found myself pausing often to highlight and underline (something I don’t usually do when I read fiction). The characters? Frustratingly lovable. Cyrus is such a compelling protagonist: he’s flawed and haunted, but he’s also honest, earnest, and funny. There were so many moments when I wanted to give him a hug, and so many others when I wanted to shout, “What are you doing?!?” I think his distinctive voice will stick with me for a long time. And the themes? So rich. Akbar mines history, theology, mythology, pop culture, and more as we trace Cyrus’ half-baked pursuit of martyrdom. Without spoiling anything, I’ll just say that the book’s conclusion is stunning—deeply human and wonderfully expansive.
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I’m so happy this book has been getting so much buzz—it deserves to be read widely!—and I can’t wait to see what Akbar will do next.

<i>Martyr!<i> centers around the life of Cyrus, a 20-something Iranian immigrant grappling with grief, sexuality, identity, and purpose. He learns of an Iranian artist, living in a museum as a final art piece as she dies from cancer. Intrigued and moved by this, he concocts the idea of writing a novel about martyrs, eventually choosing to embark on an impromptu trip to New York to meet the artist. In addition to his own voice, we get a collection of perspectives that add to Cyrus's story, though at times to detract. It felt like each of these voices could have been a separate novel unto themselves and could be, at times, a bit rushed. Cyrus's narrative was obviously the strongest, but I felt that the ending was a cobbled together pastiche of somewhat maudlin tropes, dangling precariously on the precipice of overt cheesiness.

<i>Martyr!<i> is an ambitious book by a promising writer. It's evident from the way it's written that Akbar's true home is within poetry, which certainly adds flavor to this story. He's able to imbue this story with some fairly accessible insights into existential inquiry, yet this is at the expense of plot. For starting off as strongly as it did, I was disappointed by the somewhat deus ex machina ending. Perhaps if this book was expanded to include more background on some of the side narratives it would've been a full 5/5 for me, but for now, I think this is a strong 4/5 stars. Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for an ARC of this lovely novel.

The novel read like pure poetry, always wading and diving into the next big reveal. Cyrus Shams is the main character, but it is the people who care most for him that are the true stars. Ali Shams sacrifices so much for his child and all of his struggle is often overlooked by Cyrus which is the story of every parent's life. Cyrus truly appreciates him long after he is gone, so I am glad he can just realize it in the end. Roya and Layla's love story was so short and sweet and yet once you see what Roya herself has sacrificed only for it to blow up in her face, this is the true great tragedy.

I was rooting for Zee and Orkideh and Cyrus all throughout and just wanted them to be okay together. The moments where I was a bit confused, I understood it as I can take the text to be my own interpretation of what is happening. Cyrus seems to dream all the time even though he barely sleeps. His dreams are important to him because this gives him purpose and I respect that about him. Cyrus being able to see his mom in his dreams and try to find the connection they had is really beautiful and by the ending, I can understand his frustration for someone who never was who he thought they would be.

Kaveh did an amazing job of interpreting phrases for the general audience and educating us about the way the Iranian people obsess over death and lead their lives, that I grew to understand and sympathize with their culture. The main lesson I took from the book was that all people have inner conflicts they struggle with and can be their own worst enemy if they let it. Surrounding yourself with people who want to see you thrive is the key to your own personal success. This was a very important lesson indeed and needs to be talked about more since we deal with so much depression and anxiety nowadays.

A huge thank you to Kaveh Akbar, Net Galley and Knopf for the ARC, the opinions expressed here are my own.

“we’ve been training for a long time in sitting in the complicated multiplicities of ourselves, of our natures.”

Kaveh Akbar’s debut novel of Martyr! is one of the most electrifying, profound, and insane pieces of literature i have consumed in a long time. Akbar beautifully interweaves timelines, perspectives, poetry, and excerpts from the main characters artistic pursuits to keep you guessing and hungry for more. It felt so very human.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an advanced copy through Netgalley.

Good writing and an interesting story idea, but not much of a plot and I found it a bit difficult at times.

This is a book that explores a lot of thing and does so in a very contemporary manner, which always gives me extra pause when it comes to review time!

Cyrus is a young man at a crucial time in his life. He’s at the intersection of addiction, thoughts of self harm, the loss of his father, the old grief of the early loss of his mother, sexuality, and trying to figure out the meaning of life. These themes are explored through a then-and-now storyline that not only leaps through time, but occasionally other characters as well. Although this can feel a bit jumbled, I think it did more harm than good by giving life and context to the people and feelings Cyrus is so deeply contemplating and letting them speak for themselves.

The plot kept my attention the whole time, and I was very anxious to see Cyrus safely on the other side if his story, despite my concerns on how he would get there! What I wasn’t prepared for was the ending. It is one of those endings that you know has a significant intellectual and philosophical meaning. However, your brain clearly was not meant to process that level of complexity and you are just left scratching your head! I’m not sure how I would write the perfect ending to this book, but for me personally what made it to the final copy of the book was not it in my opinion.

3.75⭐️ For an extremely unique book that will no doubt facilitate fantastic discussion amongst book lovers!

This novel centers around Cyrus, a poet who becomes obsessed with martyrs. this obsession leads him into his past.

I normally like more satirical books, but I couldn’t get into this one. I think it was the structure more than plot that made this not as good for me.

Martyr! is a beautifully written, dark, introspective and a window into the Iranian culture via the multiple perspectives of Cyrus Shams and his family. That said, I can't say the reading experience was enjoyable or uplifting. The themes of drug addiction, martyrdom, family tragedy and a pervasive obsession with death weighed heavily on my psyche. There is a satisfying twist at the end providing closure.

A Symphony of Loss and Language: A Review of "Martyr!"
Kaveh Akbar's "Martyr!" is more than just a novel; it's a symphony of loss, identity, and the transformative power of art. Cyrus Shams, our protagonist, navigates a minefield of grief - the sudden loss of his mother, the suffocating expectations of his immigrant father, and his own battles with addiction. Yet, amidst the wreckage, Cyrus finds solace in the echoes of poets, kings, and the enigmatic voices that guide him on a quest for understanding.

Akbar's prose is a revelation. He wields language with the precision of a surgeon and the passion of a poet, weaving together Cyrus's internal struggles with vibrant historical threads and the hushed reverence of museum halls. The Brooklyn Museum becomes a sanctuary, housing not just art, but the ghosts of Cyrus's past and the potential for redemption.

The novel shines in its exploration of faith and fanaticism. Cyrus grapples with the concept of martyrdom, dissecting its allure and dangers through the lens of his family's history and his own artistic impulses. The tension between devotion and destruction, creation and annihilation, hums throughout the narrative, keeping the reader perpetually engaged.

Akbar doesn't shy away from the grittier aspects of Cyrus's journey. His addiction casts a long shadow, its physical and emotional toll palpable on every page. But even in the depths of despair, there's a glimmer of hope - a testament to the human spirit's resilience and the capacity for self-discovery, even in the face of overwhelming odds.

"Martyr!" is not just a coming-of-age story; it's a testament to the power of art to heal, to connect, and to illuminate the darkest corners of our existence. It's a novel that will linger long after the final page is turned, leaving you pondering the complexities of family, faith, and the enduring legacy of loss.

Wow. This was utterly unique. Cyrus came to Indiana from Iran as a child with his father after his mother was killed in a plane crash. This book looks back at his life as well as who his parents were before he was born. Now a recovering alcoholic, he is obsessed with martyrs and writes poems about them as he contemplates if he should become a martyr himself. When he reads about a terminally ill artist who is spending her last days dying in the Brooklyn Art Museum, he goes to meet her. This was dark yet had humor in it and kept me engaged until the end.

Where do I begin... Martyr! is unlike anything I've read before and I have to admit that much of it went over my head. Still, I think it's a great piece of literature that I'm sure will find its ideal reader.

This book is all about structure: with each section it changes the point of view from the omniscient third person narrator back to first person (sometimes a different first person than before) to poems to investigation reports following the downing of an Iranian plane by the US military in late 1980. Despite all this, the book doesn't feel disjointed at all.

Not much happens in the book plot-wise, but it's a powerful piece of literature that explores addiction and sobriety, love and loss, death, grief and why life is worth living.
For someone who doesn't like reading about addiction, this will be a tough read. Akbar's writing is unflinching and his descriptions of what addiction does to a body are vivid, maybe even grotesque at times.

Overall, I think this book will stay with me for some time. It left me with a lot to think about, including beautiful quotes like this one: "Love was a room that appeared when you stepped into it. Cyrus understood that now, and stepped."

Thank you to NetGalley and A.A. Knopf for the ARC!

This is stellar debut novel. I loved the writing so so much. Just glorious sentences. The book switches between perspectives and the voices all sounded the same with the same tone and that annoyed me a hair. Overall thrilled about this book and think it’ll be on lots of lists come years end.

MARTYR! by Kaveh Akbar was my last read of 2023, which I requested largely based on its striking cover. I was also very interested in the formatting concept of plot, poems, and interstitials as I am finding format to be a bigger draw for me.

I will say there’s a lot here to like. As individual pieces, a lot of this works; however, I thought this was lacking cohesion. While some of this may be impacted by eARC formatting issues, I didn’t think everything blended.

Trying my very best not to spoil, the back third also did not end up working for me. I was more disappointed than gagged.

Finally, for a novel by a poet about a poet writing a novel, I was not wowed by the language.

Overall, I did like this, and please check out the lovely reviews I mentioned earlier!

Awesome writing. Even though it seems disjointed at times, I like the way Akbar weaves together each character’s story. So much angst in Cyrus’s quest to find himself after his mother’s loss and his addiction. However, the structure of this novel with the interspersion of poetry really helped to make this a good read. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Martyr!
Kaveh Akbar


The reader meet Cyrus Shams immediately. He is a Persian American (or Persian and American) who came to the United States with his father, Ali. Ali worked in an Indiana poultry farm enduring this horrible job. He left Iran after his mother, Roya, died. She was the victim of mistakenly fired United States missile when she was a passenger on a domestic Iranian flight.

When Ali dies, Cyrus becomes an orphan. The reader meets Cyrus when he is thirty, trying to escape his realities with drugs and alcohol. He desperately wants his life to become meaningful. There are two women in his life. One is Zee, his lover and friend and the other is fascinating. She is an American artist who is also Iranian American. However she has a terminal illness. Cyrus finds her online and she lives her days in the Brooklyn Museum attracting people who want to talk to her.

This is an intense novel that is unusual and intelligent. However, there are too many coincidences, dreams and unclear narratives. I found it difficult to follow at times.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Knopf for this pre-published book. All opinions expressed are my own.

"An alphabet, like a life, is a finite set of shapes. With it, one can produce almost anything."

I went into this book with almost no expectations besides a lifelong interest in Iranian culture and the recommendation of a friend who had read it, but I was absolutely blown away. This book contains so much, and it is written in the beautiful language of a poet.

Cyrus grows up in the Midwestern U.S. with his single father, after his mother was killed by the American military, who shot down an Iranian passenger plane when he was 2 years old. The specter of U.S. empire hangs heavy over him because of this, but so does the concept of dying, both a "meaningful" death and a completely meaningless one, such as his mother's murder. Cyrus struggles to get his head above water, and is a recovering addict who loosely thinks of ending his life, maybe after he writes something about death and martyrdom. He is determined to make his death meaningful, unlike both of his parents.

The novel moves back and forth in time and space, from his parents' youth, to Cyrus' dream scenarios with celebrities, historical figures, and family members. A lot of reviewers said this didn't work for them, but I found them to be interesting glimpses of Cyrus' unconscious, the kind of imagining we have when we are desperate to reconnect with lost loved ones or make meaning out of the unimaginable. Cyrus' uncle was in the Iran-Iraq war and had the most bananas role you could imagine, which plays a big role in the conception of death here. We also see the queer backstory of his mother, and this is tied together in a beautiful way with the love of Cyrus' life, his best friend Zee.

This is a must read, and I am so glad I had a chance to read an early copy. Highly recommend.

Cyrus Shams is a recovering addict, poet, and orphan living in the Midwest and searching for a way to give his life (and death) some meaning. Haunted by the senseless death of his mother, whose plane was shot down on accident by the American military when Cyrus was a baby, he embarks on researching and writing a book on martyrs. Woven in with Cyrus' suffering and searching are stories of the lives, sacrifices, and longings of his mother, father, uncle, friends, other poets, and an enigmatic performance artist whom Cyrus becomes compelled to talk to about what meaning can be found in dying. Akbar's first novel touches on many of the same themes as his poetry - addiction, queerness, Iranian-American identity, the history of Persian poets - and his sentences here sparkle with the same cleverness, humor, observation, and empathy. While the main character's destructive personality and self-absorption may be off-putting to some readers (and all too relatable to others), this novel is a pleasure to read and is bursting with language and humanity.

Martyr! is a trip with grief, through grief, and a man named Cyrus. From a post-revolution Iran to the US under the Trump administration, his story and his quest to make meaning of death are woven together with the lives of his mother Roya, his father Ali, uncle Arash, and a few other with brilliance and care by Akbar. Martyr! is an affecting and poetic debut that will leave you to ruminate on what it mean to die and what it means to be alive.

First book of the year! And wow it was really good. It’s about this Iranian American man, Cyrus, that is on his sobriety journey and hyperfixated on having a death that means something. The story is told pretty disjointedly (a little confusing at times) along a timeline and told from many perspective it’s also kinda sparse on plot but lyrically written and I highlighted so many incredible lines. Being a martyr and having a death that means something special to you or others isn’t something I have ever thought about and it was so interesting to see the thought process and conversations Cyrus had with others to cement and change his thinking.
Overall it was an interesting, thought provoking, gorgeously written book-it comes out Jan 23
Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for an eARC