A review by jayisreading
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

I am so grateful that Akbar published such a heartfelt and beautiful book to explore the importance of being earnest (not to steal Oscar Wilde’s title here), in spite of everything that has happened, in spite of the world being the way it is. I am thankful that Akbar created a protagonist like Cyrus, who wears his heart on his sleeve and relentlessly feels the blistering pain of hope. Martyr! is, in many ways, a messy novel. It’s messy in how Cyrus navigates the world and feels everything, the way it oscillates between the past and present, how it plays with different perspectives, and more. I know this novel won’t be for everyone because of its structure and lyrical prose (after all, Akbar is a poet), but I personally thought it all came together really well to show how earnestness means dealing with life’s wonderful and horrible messiness.

I do think it’s worth picking this novel up—regardless of what your reading preference is—to contend with what life and death might mean to you, and what it means to sincerely look for meaning in your aliveness. With that said, I do recommend checking the content warnings, as Akbar dives deep into these themes to get his points across.
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