Sahil Muthukrishnan and Claudia Casal Montserrat

Culture and People Editors

SPOILERS AHEAD:

Iranian-American poet Kaveh Akbar’s 2024 debut novel Martyr! offers an interesting take on death, addiction, and martyrdom. Akbar burst onto the literary scene as a contemporary poet, with his early works, Calling a Wolf a Wolf and Pilgrim Bell, garnering praise nationally for their exploration of identity, faith, and addiction. Since 2017, Akbar’s work has been published in prestigious journals such as The New Yorker and The New York Times.

Martyr! begins with the protagonist, queer Iranian-American Cyrus Shams, a recovering alcoholic struggling to find purpose in his life. Cyrus grapples with the passing of his emotionally absent father, whose wife the U.S. Military killed while on a passenger flight. Pursuing meaning and inspiration for a novel about martyrs, Cyrus takes his closest companion, Zee, to New York in search of an exposition by Orkideh. Orkideh, a terminal cancer patient, chats with visitors during her final days in “Death Speak.” Throughout his meetings with her, Cyrus forms a kinship with the artist, conversing over Persian culture and his obsession with death. After Orkideh commits suicide, Cyrus learns that Orkideh, whose true name was Roya, was really his mother all along. She switched places with her mistress, Leila, on the flight that took Leila’s life and subsequently fled to the United States to become a celebrated artist. Cyrus is forced to process his life through a new lens, learning to appreciate the people around him, especially his steadfast partner Zee.

The book features both a non-linear timeline and frequent point of view shifts to various characters important to Cyrus or to Persian folklore. These aspects let the novel flesh out the Iranian history of martyrdom and Cyrus’s desire for his death to have meaning. Akbar’s background as a poet is clearly conveyed within the narrative, both in the prose and the plot.

Akbar finds a way to succinctly yet thoroughly develop his side characters despite keeping his protagonist painfully one-dimensional. Throughout the story, Cyrus constantly falls victim to the same pitfalls he has in the past. His newfound appreciation for Zee’s constant help and grace feels shallow. Cyrus’s last-minute promises to be better to Zee fall flat without any actions to demonstrate his commitment, giving the impression that Cyrus only cares about his own life and how Zee can improve it. Though the story is not without flaws, Akbar’s work is nuanced in its exploration of martyrdom and death, providing some of the most engaging discourse throughout the entire novel. Though the themes he covers are complicated, Akbar presents them candidly; he offers his commentary eloquently, leaving space for interpretation.

Akbar’s novel is critically acclaimed by the literary community, being shortlisted for the National Book Award in 2024 and winning the 2025 American Book Award. Martyr! is ideal for readers seeking a short but thought-provoking exploration of addiction and martyrdom.

(Sources: NYT, Poetry Foundation)