Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

 

Cyrus Shams is an Iranian immigrant, although he came to the United States as a baby so identifies with both his Middle Eastern and his American backgrounds.  His mother was shot down in a plane by the American military on a commercial flight when Cyrus was four months old so he has no memory of her.  His father decided to come to the United States to make a new life for he and Cyrus but could only find factory work, killing chickens in a processing plant.  Cyrus has one uncle left in Iran, his mother's brother.  He suffers from PSTD from his role in the war with Iraq where he rode the battlefield dressed in black, offering comfort to those left dying there.  

Now as an adult, Cyrus isn't sure what he will do.  He went off the deep end for quite a while, drinking and doing drugs.  He has been sober for about a year now and considering writing a book about martyrs as he feels he has extensive knowledge of them.  Cyrus is a poet and unsure if his book will be in prose or verse.  He also plays with the idea of doing away with himself as another example of a martyr.

Cyrus hears of an art installation in New York.  An Iranian female artist is dying, a victim of cancer.  She is choosing to live out her life at the museum, sitting and willing to talk with any of the museum patrons.  Cyrus is fascinated with this and along with his best friend and sometime lover, goes to New York to see what the woman has to say about martyrship.  Will she change his mind?

Kaveh Akbar is an Iranian immigrant himself, born in Iran but now in the United States where he teaches in Iowa.  He has two books of published poetry and his work has appeared in many magazines.  He is the poet editor of The Review.  This is his debut novel and it is shortlisted for the National Book Award, a Times Best 10 Book and a New York Time's Book Review 10 Best Books of the Year.  Cyrus will pluck the heartstrings of the reader as they cheer him on, hoping that he can find peace and a reason to live.  Poetry, the immigrant experience and the high rate of addiction among those whose lives start in chaos are discussed.  This book is recommended for readers of literary fiction and those interested in the lives of those from other cultures.