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A review by starryeyedenigma
Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. This story is about Darius - a boy who is an American but has Persian ancestory. A boy who loves tea, Star Trek and Lord of the Rings. A boy who is a gem of a person, but is also dealing with his depression. The story made me laugh, because of the way Darius thinks. I think all book lovers will be able to relate, because he thinks in book terms. He thinks in Lord of the Rings and Star Trek language all the time and it completely cracked me up! Because I think in book terms too. From any recent book that I read and loved!
The other great thing about this story are the various relationships that Darius has. They all read so positive. Flawed but positive. There isn’t a romantic angle in the first book, but we get some hints about Darius questioning his sexuality. Maybe in the second book we will see more of Darius’s love interest. But I really loved his platonic relationship with Sohrab. His father-son dynamics with his father. His brotherly love for his younger sister Laleh. His love for the sweetest grandmother who he meets for the first time. His awkward yet loving and respectful relationship with his grandfather. I just lapped it all up.
But this book is not about relationships. It is about a sweet boy dealing with depression. I think most people who are either brought up in the Eastern countries or have some roots from here, will hear this at least once in their lifetime. There is no such thing as mental illness, or anxiety or depression. It’s all in your head. It is in our head alright, but it isn’t something one can fix by being different. Trust me, its really hard. And it is harder when friends and family don’t understand it, or don’t get your being sad for ‘no reason at all’. But on the other hand, we also see from Sohrab’s perspective, how hard just living is, in many of these countries. When one can be killed or jailed just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Through both Darius and Sohrab, we see the power of friendship and being there for each other.
Finally, I loved all the touristy details about Iran and its cuisine mentioned in the book. I googled it all, because I have no idea if I’ll ever get to visit Iran in this lifetime. And I sure ate a lot of chips, while reading and googling about all the delicacies mentioned in the story. Yummm!
The other great thing about this story are the various relationships that Darius has. They all read so positive. Flawed but positive. There isn’t a romantic angle in the first book, but we get some hints about Darius questioning his sexuality. Maybe in the second book we will see more of Darius’s love interest. But I really loved his platonic relationship with Sohrab. His father-son dynamics with his father. His brotherly love for his younger sister Laleh. His love for the sweetest grandmother who he meets for the first time. His awkward yet loving and respectful relationship with his grandfather. I just lapped it all up.
But this book is not about relationships. It is about a sweet boy dealing with depression. I think most people who are either brought up in the Eastern countries or have some roots from here, will hear this at least once in their lifetime. There is no such thing as mental illness, or anxiety or depression. It’s all in your head. It is in our head alright, but it isn’t something one can fix by being different. Trust me, its really hard. And it is harder when friends and family don’t understand it, or don’t get your being sad for ‘no reason at all’. But on the other hand, we also see from Sohrab’s perspective, how hard just living is, in many of these countries. When one can be killed or jailed just because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Through both Darius and Sohrab, we see the power of friendship and being there for each other.
Finally, I loved all the touristy details about Iran and its cuisine mentioned in the book. I googled it all, because I have no idea if I’ll ever get to visit Iran in this lifetime. And I sure ate a lot of chips, while reading and googling about all the delicacies mentioned in the story. Yummm!