cocoonofbooks 's review for:

Darius The Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

5.0

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I really love this book. I enjoyed the read more on rereading it; Darius' repetitive way of talking bothered me less in print than on audio, and I didn't go into this expecting a queer story this time, so I was able to appreciate Darius and Sohrab's friendship for what it was. I'm more familiar with Khorram's writing now and the realistic characters and stories that he writes. He captures so many things in this book, from the day-to-day reality of living with (medicated) depression to the complicated experience of seeing your grandparents in person for the first time as a teenager and trying to figure out where you fit into their culture. I appreciate the realism of Darius' relationship with his father and how his father mistakenly tries to save him through constant critique. And Mamou just jumps off the page as the warmest, most loving grandmother. I sped through this reread in a day and I'm looking forward to my book club's discussion.