MARTYR! is one of the most unique books I’ve read in a while, but it falls victim to some common pitfalls. Its protagonist, Cyrus Shams, wants to die. He can’t stop thinking about his own death. Yes, he’s suicidal, but more than that, he wants his death to mean something: Martyrdom is on his mind. His parents both died in ways that he felt lacked meaning, providing kindling for his fixation on death. Cyrus is a poet, so he decides to channel his questions about death into a piece of art, exploring Iranian cultural traditions, famous martyrs, and performance art along the way.

When have you read a summary like that before!? I’ve read a lot of book summaries but never one like that. A lot of the book delivers on the premise. Early chapters are witty and snappy, not at all flowery like you might expect from a book by a poet. Characters find themselves in memorable scenarios and have frank conversations. There’s exploration of identity and addiction that feels novel and layered.

Enter the subplots. And the flashbacks. And the dream sequences. And the chapters where Cyrus has the same conversation over and over. And the overly convenient plot developments that strain credulity. All of this extra stuff is an attempt to put the reader in Cyrus’s mind and explicate the book’s themes, and while I appreciate that, it’s not well-executed. These extraneous chapters interrupt what’s working about the plot. They’re repetitive, too, making their inclusion feel even less necessary. They steal focus from the heart of the story when they should be bolstering and explaining it.

There’s a fantastic novel in here to go along with the fantastic cover… I just wish it wasn’t obscured by a whole lot of clutter.

An interesting, engaging look at love, loss, and acceptance. Both funny and touching, this book was so much more than I expected.

This is deeply moving and engaging; I can see Kaveh Akbar's poetic impulses at work here in the different POVs and descriptions. Admittedly, I found Orkideh's chapters the most intriguing, but the way Akbar interweaves them with Cyrus' personal journey is masterful.

A moving and poetic novel, really contemplative and well woven. I liked the shift in narration perspective and the snippets of Cyrus's book. Overall unique and memorable.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for early access!


What a fantastic debut novel. I loved the writing so much! You can tell that Akbar is a poet, the sentences are beautiful and I could have picked each one apart. Martyr! covers a lot of big stuff: addiction, love, death, grief but it doesn’t totally bum you out. Cyrus was so voicey and gets into a lot of messes but discovers himself in the end. Worth the read!

Martyr was an absolutely phenomenal novel. This story was beautiful and heart wrenching all at the same time. It was full of culture, identity, recovery and art all intertwined beautifully as the main character comes to terms with his own identity and sobriety after being orphaned in his 20s. An excellent read

It took me a long time to get through the book, not due to the quality of writing (which was excellent from start to finish), but due to its meandering, nonlinear nature and its skipping back and forth between several characters. I did find the main character to be compelling and sympathetic and someone to root for from start to finish, but this book may not be for everyone due to its nonlinear structure.

I did not enjoy this novel as much as I hoped. It is story of a flawed man struggling with and self-examining himself. The prose is beautiful. However, the writing is choppy and does not flow. I found this difficult to read – not the subject, but the writing itself. I suspect that this choppiness is part of the story of self-discovery, forgiveness – it is not straight path. Nonetheless, it took me 3 weeks to read a book a I would usually finish in a few days.

The book is excellent – just not my cup of tea. I am hugely appreciative of reading different genres. Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for an early read in exchange for a fair review.

I was excited to read a novel written by a poet and was not disappointed. Thank you again to Netgally and the publisher for the early access.

Martyr! is a big story with a big heart, with sweeping prose and a protagonist in Cyrus Shams that we can't help but root for.

Cyrus is kind of obsessed with death and dying, with loss. His mother died when he was young and his father moved them from Iran to the United States. We meet Cyrus at rock bottom, in Indiana, contemplating the combination of pills and booze that will keep him in oblivion, looking for a miracle. Fast forward a few years and Cyrus is in recovery, wanting to make a difference, wanting to make art that matters.

Told with chapters interweaving Cyrus' linear story, official government bulletins for the shot down Iranian passenger plane in which his mother died, Cyrus' poems, conversations he uses to fall asleep, excerpts from the Book of Martyrs that Cyrus is writing (yep, a book within the book), Martyr! draws you in. I loved this book, pulling for Cyrus on every page. It's not an easy read - he's an addict in recovery - yet the richness and depth of the story transcends.

As research for his book, a friend suggests that Cyrus go to New York to an exhibit of performance art where the artist is...dying. Museum visitors "will be invited to speak with the artist during the final weeks and days of her life, which she will spend onsite at the museum". This arc is the heart of the story, a story that already has a lot of heart.

Martyr! is the debut novel from Kaveh Akbar, an award-winning poet. The beauty of his words is a gift. This novel is gut-wrenching, funny, anguished, and hopeful. It defies genre. I didn't want it to end. My thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the ARC.

"It seems very American to expect grief to change something. Like a token you cash in. A formula. Grieve x amount, receive y amount of comfort. Work a day in the grief mines and get paid in tickets to the company store."

MARTYR! by kaveh akbar is a poetic masterpiece and an existential tour de force. akbar abandons the traditional linear plot in favor of cerebral character studies that explore the complicated connections we form within ourselves, between each other, and with the universe itself. the best advice i can give you for this book is to go in without expectation -- don't hype it up, don't get discouraged by its unconventional nature. just let it exist as something you experience -- that's where you'll really feel it's immense power take hold.

this is the story of a conflicted 20-something iranian-born and american-raised recovering addict named cyrus shams. cryus is determined to make his life matter, or die trying. as you move through his thought processes and coping mechanisms, you can't help but see this novel as a collection of some of the most beautiful, evocative, charming, and heartbreaking writing on the subjects of identity, liminal spaces, and the search for meaning.

i love when poets write prose. like ocean vuong before him, kaveh akbar's writing stopped me in my tracks. this book covers a ton of big topics, but akbar's devotion to the economy of language manages the unmanageable like only a poet can. i've been a devoted fan of his poetry for years, but his foray into fiction was genuinely stunning. i took so many notes and highlighted so much of this book that it almost felt interactive. i also gave myself the gift of listening to the audiobook -- arian moayed's narration skills really added a beautiful texture and level of immersion that made this novel an instant five star read.

5/5 genre-defying stars ✨

I am a big fan of this author's poetry so I was excited to read his first novel! Unfortunately, this read like a Poet writing a fiction book, instead of a fiction book in its own right. The middle third was slow, until Cyrus went to New York. The final third was beautiful and a great fulfillment of the seeds planted in the first part of the book.

I am always eager to read a novel written by a poet. Generally, you can expect well-written sentences and big theoretical ideas explored within the confines of a plot. Even more interesting is when a poet's novel draws upon their own personal experiences. Martyr! is one of those novels. Akbar is a well-established (and celebrated) poet and this book is his first foray into longer-form writing. In Martyr, he explores some of the same themes as his poems -- particularly addiction, mental health, and identity -- while giving the reader an engaging story.

When we meet Cyrus, he is recently sober and struggling through life, trying to make it as a poet. He has become obsessed with the idea of martyrs, writing a poetry collection inspired by the lives of different martyrs throughout history. When he learns of an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of a dying woman living out her last days in the museum and holding conversations with visitors, he travels from Indiana to interview her for his collection. What he finds in his time in New York transforms his life has he knew it.

There is a lot to love about Martyr!, particularly the writing. The conversations between Cyrus and his friends, as well as Cyrus and the artist were some of the best parts of the story. I loved their meditations on life and martyrdom. Where the book lost a little steam for me was in the different interludes between chapters. There are different vignettes including excerpts from Cyrus' poetry project and some somewhat unhinged dream sequences. I appreciate what Akbar was trying to do in experimenting with different prose forms, but these didn't always work for me. I wanted less of this and more of Cyrus himself.

That said, I really enjoyed this book. I think Akbar is a strong writer, with a lot of excellent ideas. I look forward to seeing what else he does in the future!

"Martyr!" by Kaveh Akbar, is absolutely a departure for me, but the early reviews blew me away. This book explores deep topics like abandonment, secrets, drinking, writing, art, immigration, war and, yes, martyrdom.

Though I struggled with some chapters, namely Cyrus's writing about martyrdom, the fantastic ending made me go back and reread early chapters to see how the story weaves together.

I want to thank Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for giving me an early copy through NetGalley. "Martyr!" might not be your typical read, but its mix of powerful themes and a compelling ending makes it worth checking out. Dive in, stay focused, and you'll discover a story that stays with you even after you finish the last page.

Kaveh Akbar is a gifted writer. If you're the kind of reader who is up for some very serious reflections on life you will enjoy this book. Thank you.

Reading this, you can tell that Akbar is a poet, not because he gilds the lily, but because of his affecting precision. Martyr! covers all the big stuff, love, death, addiction, grief, searching for meaning, you name it, but it never feels overstuffed or out of Akbar’s control. Now, I’m off to read his poetry.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf for early access!

CW: substantial reflection on suicide, breast cancer

Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! is an unsettling book in ways both good and not-so-good. I found it a deeply engaging read, but it's also a book I would only want to press on a very specific readership.

Let me try to explain.

Cyrus, the book's central character, was born in Iran, but as an infant he moves to the U.S. with his father after his mother dies in the U.S. attack on Iran Air Flight 665 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655 ). As a young man, he's a poet with multiple day jobs. In connection with doubts about the purpose of life, he's also growing increasingly obsessed with the idea of martyrdom. What is worth dying for? Will the right death give life meaning? What kind of death? Cyrus is also queer and a recently sober alcoholic.

He and his lover/friend-with-benefits Zee find out about a conceptual artist, Orkedah, who is dying of breast cancer and has "installed" herself in a New York museum as "Death-Speak," the idea being to let others see the dying process and to engage in conversation with them. Cyrus and Zee make their way to New York, where Cyrus is able to have several conversations with Orkedah. His questions about life and purpose deepen and and a lasting break between Cyrus and Zee seems imminent.

One other element, his uncle, who still lives in Iran, spent his military service riding through Iranian battlefields dressed as the Angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying—the goal being to prevent them from committing suicide, which would bar them admittance to heaven. (I have not been able to verify whether this is an imagining of the author or something that actually happened. If you know more than I do, please let me know.)

These are remarkable elements on which to build a book.

The promo material describes Martyr! as "[e]lectrifying, funny, wholly original, and profound." It is these, but, even with humor, a read exploring ideas of martyrdom is demanding undertaking. So, to get back to my comment about not-so-good surprises and to stumble into the territory of TMI—I have a history of clinical depression, well-controlled now, but not always so in my past. There are times when reading this book could have pushed me further into the self-destructive world view that was already shaping my life. I don't mean to be melodramatic here. I'm just saying that some of us at some times might find day-to-day life more difficult after spending time with this book.

Kaveh Akbar is a gifted and, as the promo materials says, a wholly original writer. If you're the kind of reader who is up for some very serious reflections (along with occasional laughs), you will probably enjoy this book. I did. If you're in a blue period, wait until you feel stronger before cracking it open.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

iranian-american poet kaveh akbar’s debut MARTYR! is billed as a novel of grief, poetry, art, writing, and queerness following iranian-american poet cyrus shams, a midwestern recovering(ish) alcoholic/addict grappling with the deaths of his parents and the legacies of his iranian heritage when he meets performance artist orkideh, who deepens his obsession with the idea of martyrdom and the pursuit of a meaningful death.

if you’re expecting overly flowery and lush writing from a poet, as i was, akbar defies expectation. i was actually pleasantly surprised by his drier & sharper prose, which broadly ranges from serviceable to striking. structurally, akbar flits between multiple POVs: shams family members (cyrus, his parents, his uncle), narrations of cyrus’s quirky dreams (think a lisa simpson appearance), snippets of his poetry, old news stories. the timeline feels jumpy, almost noncommittal; the interludes only distracted me from the most interesting core narrative (present-day cyrus), a structural fault i could’ve been more forgiving of if every shams family member did not have an almost identical voice. akbar never differentiates them enough to achieve any genuine character depth, which left me cold and disconnected. and because akbar spends so much time extensively detailing cyrus’s circular conversations, the dialogue became repetitive, bogging down the narrative instead of building it up.

the first ~30% of this had glimpses of brilliance; i was optimistic that akbar could bring all of the disparate threads together, developing cyrus and his family enough to give the intriguing ideas at the book’s heart some emotional heft. sadly, its choppy structure and shallow characterization made for unevenness throughout. the ending was especially disappointing, with obvious reveals predictable from the outset and an undeserved demand of emotion and belief from the reader that rang so hollow to me. ultimately, MARTYR!’s themes remain only that - good ideas never elevated above their conceptual frameworks, faux profundity and plot contrivances reigning over any genuine exploration of what martyrdom means to cyrus.

’Do you worry about becoming a cliché? ‘
“’How do you mean?’
“’Another death-obsessed Iranian man?’”

My thanks go to Doubleday and NetGalley for the invitation to read and review this singular debut novel. This book is for sale now.

Our protagonist is Cyrus, an Iranian immigrant who comes to live in the U.S. as an infant. He is raised by his father, Ali; his mother’s plane was shot down shortly after Cyrus was born, an accident on the part of the U.S. military. His father dies suddenly while he is away at college, leaving him rootless. He spends a lot of time anguishing over death, wondering what is worth dying for. He doesn’t want to waste his “one good death.” Later, he points out that “If I died trying to kill a genocidal dictator tomorrow, the news wouldn’t say a leftist American made a measured and principled sacrifice for the good of his species. The news would say an Iranian terrorist attempted a state assassination.”

And you know that he’s right.

The thing that attracted me to this story is its difference from everything else that I have read. Persians almost never show up in American novels, and when they do, the Persian is the other, the bad or weird person, pretty much like the quote above suggests. So I was all in.

However, I have to say that the amount of angsty inner dialogue makes this a slooow read in places. There is also dialogue between Cyrus and friends, but most of it basically the same thing with a different format. I was primed for humor, since that’s how the book is being promoted, but didn’t find much of it.

The story wakes up a bit when Cyrus leaves Indiana for New York, but the writing remains inconsistent, and the transitions are sometimes a bit ragged.

The revelation about his mother, which occurs toward the end of the story, is startling, and I didn’t see it coming, but it also presents a credibility issue; I won’t go into details here, because it would be a spoiler. Still, apart from this one reservation, the ending is nicely rendered.

Akbar is an interesting writer, and I look forward to seeing what he writes next.

There is no real way for me to describe how strange and beautiful this book truly is... The words flow across the page poetically, but the book is structured in an Avant Garde way so that when the two styles combine you are left with this heartbreakingly real story that feels a little disjointed while you’re reading it. The book centers on an Iranian immigrant, and recovering addict, in Indiana named Cyrus Shams. Cyrus has lost both of his parents. His mother’s plane was accidently shot down by the Americans when he was a baby, and his father passed away shortly after he started college. Cyrus finds himself alone in the world and searching for meaning. He is struck with this belief that his death must mean something and be meaningful to the world, since both of his parent’s deaths meant nothing to the world. He decides to write a book that will focus on martyrs, people whose deaths meant something, in the hopes of finding the purpose of it all. To help him get his life moving his friends tell him about an artist in residence at a museum in New York with a piece called Death Speaks. The artist is dying and will live out her last days in the museum talking to visitors about death. His friends believe that this is the meaning in death that Cyrus is looking for and encourage him to travel to New York. His grief and obsession with death lead him into a short-lived friendship with the artist that will change his life, and the world, forever.
With such heavy subject matter, you would think this book with be a depressing slog, but there are moments of humor, beauty, anger and joy wrapped into the story that makes the soul feel a little lighter after reading. Yes, I cried but I also think that was the point of this book. Grief isn’t something you just get over, there is no fancy way to skirt around the sad parts. Grief is disjointed and messy, and ultimately as meaningless as death. It is love that gets you through and in the end this book is about love. If you want to feel all the emotions and to live a life that isn’t yours then this book is the perfect book for you. I think this book is an amazing debut and I can’t wait to see what Kaveh Akbar will bring to the book world in the future.