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notthatcosta 's review for:
Martyr!
by Kaveh Akbar
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is remarkable - the way Kaveh Akbar managed to pack so much philosophical, sociological and political depth into this book, while spinning a fairly focused plot is deeply impressive. So many of the musings about life and death resonated so deeply with me.
While Cyrus’ self indulgence and over thinking of every second of his life could be eyeroll inducing (I definitely recognised many of his traits), the narration was always one step ahead.
My one slight issue was that the fine line between realism and fantasy was blurred during the ending in a way I found obnoxious - ‘is it real or not’ is among my least favourite literary devices and it was disappointing to see it sneak in in the 11th hour. Down with ambiguous endings!
While Cyrus’ self indulgence and over thinking of every second of his life could be eyeroll inducing (I definitely recognised many of his traits), the narration was always one step ahead.
My one slight issue was that the fine line between realism and fantasy was blurred during the ending in a way I found obnoxious - ‘is it real or not’ is among my least favourite literary devices and it was disappointing to see it sneak in in the 11th hour. Down with ambiguous endings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail