Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

23 reviews

savvylit's review

dark emotional hopeful slow-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

4.5

Martyr! is lingering in my mind as a series of feelings - Big Feelings (capital letters required). Deep empathy, earnest yearning, fierce commitment to art, sacrificial love, overwhelming grief, intense addiction, self-denial, and most of all, the feeling of being undeserving. Akbar's novel is an evocative and searing story comprised of flashbacks, dreams, and multigenerational perspectives. Cyrus - the primary focus of the novel - is a very complex and intensely loveable protagonist. And the rest of the cast of characters are just as complex as Cyrus. I could probably write pages and pages about each of them but you ought to just read the book to find out for yourself!

Ultimately, I would eagerly recommend Martyr! to anyone who has ever felt themselves to be on an existential quest. Or to anyone who has felt absolutely overwhelmed by the cruelty of the world around them. I think you just might leave this novel with more hope than you'd had beforehand; I know I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, War, Suicide, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Addiction, and Xenophobia

cademia's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction and Suicide

marmitecake's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Islamophobia, Drug use, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and War

Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, and Terminal illness

Minor: Xenophobia and Sexism

hiricky's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts

evanlorant's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-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

4.75

this book is so full of beauty and vibrancy and love; it’s what i wanted from every sad girl novel i’ve ever read. the characters felt real and justified in their actions with beautiful development that you can feel, not just see. the writing is also so fantastic, full of  devices that are so creative but make perfect sense. 
the construction of the novel was interesting, it made the book imposing with many small three page sections bracketed by blank pages and section breaks. it broke up the flow a little bit, but didn’t have a huge impact on my reading experience. 
overall, the book felt really well conceptualized and i feel like it followed through on the huge question it sought out to answer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Infidelity, Islamophobia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Self harm

libbylou1201's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicide, and Lesbophobia

saragardinier's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Suicide

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Death

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Grief, Abandonment, Addiction, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Islamophobia, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship

serendipitysbooks's review

challenging 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

4.5

 Martyr! is the story of Cyrus Shams, a young Iranian American man whose mother died when her plane was shot down over Tehran by the United States. He’s a newly sober poet whose desire to write a book about martyrs takes him to a Brooklyn art gallery where a terminally ill Iranian-American woman is living out her final days. A beautifully written, philosophical book exploring what makes a meaningful life and death, and also has interesting things to say about being part of two sometimes conflicting cultures and the making of art. Lots of depth with multiple points of view, some epistolary elements, and quite a few side stories, as well as unexpected twist towards the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Lesbophobia, and Cancer

ukponge's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and War