Martyr (2024)by Kaveh Akbar

Book Review

Martyr (2024)

by Kaveh Akbar

  The strength of the novel as an art form is that EVERYONE wants their own bildungsroman and their own inter generational family saga written from their own particular POV.  The market place agrees- both publishers and audiences are eager to embrace the "first" or a novel POV.  I'm not complaining about it- I'm in favor of it.  I love the flexibility of the novel, the bildungsroman and (to a lesser degree) the intergenerational family saga.  Please, let me read about people who aren't wealthy white urbanites.  Martyr is an Iranian-American, LGBTQ themed bildungsroman with a genuine plot twist- the kind of book that earns attention from both publishers and audiences.  It's one of those books that is diminished the more you try to explain it- an occasion of a book being more then the sum of its influences.   I was dubious almost halfway through the book, but third act really gave me an appreciation for the sophistication of the author.  You think it's one thing, and it is that thing, but it is also something else.   Better if you just read it, rather then spend time thinking about whether you want to read it.  Just do it.

  Also, I listened to the Audiobook, which was good- it works because the narrator is also the protagonist and the chapters that go back to Iran are themselves narrated by the particular family member who is the subject of the flashback.