In Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar (Pilgrim Bell), destinies collide in a most spectacular fashion when an Iranian-American poet from Indiana meets a dying artist. Akbar's first work of fiction is an electrifying drama swirling with themes of sobriety, sexuality, and the meaning of art as the story travels from Tehran to Indiana and New York.
Martyr!, set in the recent past and alive with crafty, energetic prose, follows Cyrus Shams, a former raging alcoholic who, approaching 30 and feeling directionless, decides it's high time he created something big and meaningful through his writing. Until now, his existence has been defined by the death of his mother in 1988, during his infancy, when the U.S. Navy accidentally shot down the commercial airliner she was traveling on from Tehran to Dubai. The meaninglessness of her death haunts him and belatedly inspires him to make his own life--and death--matter.
Cyrus is determined to write a book about real-life martyrs, or "earth martyrs," and travels to New York to interview the mysterious painter Orkideh. Orkideh has terminal cancer and is spending her final days at the Brooklyn Museum in an exhibit called "Death-Speak," inviting museumgoers to spend time with her and, essentially, watch her die. Talking about death with the artist transforms and unsettles Cyrus, setting the stage for a radical moral reckoning for both parties.
Like the delicate shards that make up Iranian mirror art, Martyr! pieces together multiple narratives to deliver a stunning work of enduring literary beauty. --Shahina Piyarali