A review by 10000bees
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was undeniably beautiful. There were whole passages that I read and read again and highlighted so I can read them again in the future. The story itself is a fluid collection of vignettes about Cyrus and his family and the deaths that led to his obsession with martyrs. It's all tied together by his trip to new york to talk to an artist making her slow death from cancer into an art exhibit itself.

 If the mortal sin of the suicide is greed, to hoard stillness and calm for yourself while dispersing your riotous internal pain among all those who survive you, then the mortal sin of the martyr must be pride, the vanity, the hubris to believe not only that your death could mean more than your living, but that your death could mean more than death itself—which, because it is inevitable, means nothing. 

But in his search for a meaningful death, he invariably searches for meaning in life. Martyr! weaves together stories about addiction, sobriety, grief, art, history, and love to show how it all makes Cyrus who he is. This was a fantastic book, and I think it would be even better on a reread some day.