Week 4
Week 4 has been fun. I’ve eaten too many vegan burritos. I don’t eat red meat but they’re exactly how I remember red meat tasting like? I’m about to start season 2 of Mad Men (still watching Gilmore Girls when I need something easy on the brain). I’ve been decluttering my wardrobe for the second time in a year. Work has brought a lot of change, and with it comes an awkward transition period.
Because I’ve been busy - not much reading. I’m about halfway into My Friends by Hisham Matar, though, if that counts.
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
Truthfully, finishing this book made me dizzy. I couldn’t quite believe what I’d read, the cleverness and quickness of it all and I immediately wanted to read it again.
Martyr! is about Cyrus. Cyrus is an orphan. His uncle, still alive, suffers with his mental health following his service in the Iran-Iraq war. Cyrus finds sober life difficult, and becomes attached to the idea of martyrdom. Of his death meaning something, of his death being remembered, a contrast to the aftermath of his parents’ death.
I can’t write more without it becoming a spoiler and truthfully, I’ve rewritten the above paragraphs many times, trying to convey the plot without spoiling anything. This book takes time, and the beginning leaves you with more questions than answers. I felt very little for Cyrus. But as the plot begins to become clear, it takes an entirely new shape and form. It’s incredible work, and Akbar writes beautifully through Cyrus, of being caught between the cultural identity you inherit from your parents, and the identity you make for yourself in a first world country. Of how who you are and the art you make can become something else entirely. The confusion of it all. The ending is fast, but in a very good way, and I raced through the final 20%.
After finishing this, I completely understand the praise. It’s a different kind of ‘excellent’ to Brotherless Night, which ticked every box for me. Martyr! doesn’t span generations, or sprawl a story across decades. It tells a very short story with very good writing.
Rating: ★★★★★