This book was a first for me: the first time I ever tabbed a book. I had avoided doing so in the past because I thought it required some kind of system, but this novel is just so quotable that I couldn’t resist (though I didn’t develop a system). It’s largely about Cyrus, an Iranian-American man whose life has been shaped by tragedy, generational trauma, and addiction. Now two years into recovery, he is focused on trying to find meaning and purpose in life and thinking about what might make death meaningful—particularly his own. There are also chapters from other characters’ perspectives.
Kaveh Akbar is a poet, and that shines through in prose that is beautiful, eloquent, clever, and at times intensely piercing. Here’s a small sampling of some of the lines I tabbed:
- “Her voice sounded the way wild rabbits look, just on the cusp of tearing off out of sight.”
- “She was Christian but American Christian, the kind that believed Jesus had just needed a bigger gun.”
- “I want to be worthy of the great terror my existence inspires.”
I have read other 5-star books that I appreciated but am not likely to re-read, most recently Giovanni’s Room. Some books, like that one, are well-crafted but don’t resonate with me emotionally. Martyr! hits a sweet spot of being phenomenally written and emotionally moving. It is also chock full of content that I still want to unpack, from themes explored to the messages that Akbar wants to leave us with to the writing choices that he made. I will definitely be revisiting this book in the future.