Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • SELECTED AS A MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR BY TIME MAGAZINE

Martyr! introduces Cyrus Shams, a recently sober young man son of Iranian immigrants whose grief and struggle with loss, addiction, and displacement propels him toward an extraordinary quest for truth. Guided by the wisdom of poets, kings, and artists, Cyrus seeks out hidden family secrets that eventually draw him to an enigmatic terminally ill painter spending her last days inside the Brooklyn Museum. Brilliantly original, compellingly humorous, and profoundly moving, Martyr! announces Kaveh Akbar as a vital and unforgettable new voice in contemporary fiction.

Cyrus’s existence is shaped by tragedy and complexity: his mother’s death when her plane was accidentally shot down over the Persian Gulf and his father’s life restricted to a harsh job slaughtering chickens at a Midwest factory farm. Cyrus, deeply drawn to poetry, martyrdom, and artistic expression, moves toward an unsettling exploration of his heritage. He searches for answers in the figure of his mysterious uncle, who once rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as an angel of death to inspire courage and solace among the fallen soldiers—and in a haunting discovered painting in Brooklyn that suggests his mother may have hidden truths of her own.

Rich in language and insight, Martyr! is Kaveh Akbar’s poignant and powerful meditation on the ways we pursue meaning—through faith, through art, through connection with others, and ultimately through understanding ourselves.

Praise for Martyr!

“Kaveh Akbar is one of my favorite writers. Ever.” —Tommy Orange, Pulitzer Prize–nominated author of There There

“The best novel you’ll ever read exploring the delights of language, the gravity of addiction, the anguish of displacement, the complexity of martyrdom, and the longing for home.” —Lauren Groff, bestselling author of Matrix and Fates and Furies