Martyr! Audiobook By Kaveh Akbar cover art

Martyr!

A Novel

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Martyr!

By: Kaveh Akbar
Narrated by: Arian Moayed
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About this listen

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR • A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Electrifying, funny, and wholly original, Martyr! heralds the arrival of an essential new voice in contemporary fiction.

“Kaveh Akbar is one of my favorite writers. Ever.” —Tommy Orange, Pulitzer Prize–nominated author of
There There

“The best novel you'll ever read about the joy of language, addiction, displacement, martyrdom, belonging, homesickness.” —Lauren Groff, best-selling author of
Matrix and Fates and Furies

Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past—toward an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as the angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying, and toward his mother, through a painting discovered in a Brooklyn art gallery that suggests she may not have been who or what she seemed.

Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! is a paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning—in faith, art, ourselves, others.

©2024 Kaveh Akbar (P)2024 Random House Audio
Family Life Fiction Heartfelt Funny Tearjerking Thought-Provoking
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Critic reviews

“Incandescent . . . Akbar has created an indelible protagonist, haunted, searching, utterly magnetic. But it speaks to Akbar’s storytelling gifts that Martyr! is both a riveting character study and piercing family saga . . . Akbar is a dazzling writer, with bars like you wouldn't believe . . . What Akbar pulls off in Martyr! is nothing short of miraculous.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A dazzling, thrilling debut novel about identity and loss . . . Martyr! thrillingly depicts why we cobble selves from alloys of words and cultures.”Minneapolis Star Tribune

“A brilliant and blisteringly alive novel about not just how we go on, but also why. Kaveh Akbar's first novel is so stunning, so wrenching, and so beautifully written that reading it for the first time, I kept forgetting to breathe. I will carry this story, and the people in it, with me for the rest of my life."—John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars

What listeners say about Martyr!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Arian Moayed served with his voice. Really great read.

The characters were all very good. The story was really easy to get into and to follow. It made me more curious about what Iran was like during the time Cyrus’ mother and father and uncle lived prior to his being born. Really great novel I cannot wait for more.
Please someone hire Arian Moayed to read more books

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Marvelous, Haunting Story

I loved this book from beginning to end. The prose sounded as poetic as the poetry, and the haunting narration increased my enjoyment. I was hoping that the poetry books that are also available would be available, narrated by the same narrator. As far as I can tell, however, no Audible version is available. I will order as a physical book.

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Bars

Bars bars bars fire fire fire bars bars bars fire fire fire I can’t wait for his next boom

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Wow, beautiful

This book is beautiful, human, and very well written. Can’t wait to read this again.

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Great storytelling

I went into this book expecting to be disappointed because of the hype, but love the storytelling and characters.

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I like a lot!

Maybe I love this book! Or at least close to love this book! I’d like to read the hard copy to decide for sure!

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Gorgeous story, gorgeously read

I love Arian Moayed’s work as an actor, and his skill shines in the telling of this complex and delicate story.

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Very unique

An unexpected story, which is beautifully written, in the voice of various characters, and a third party narrator. It explores a multitude of themes, including addiction, guilt, racism, loss, sexuality, dreams, escapism, art, war, and the immigrant experience. It resonates as deeply personal and intense, and in many ways is strange in a wonderful way, original and unique.

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Gorgeous language, riveting story revealed at just the right pace, richly developed characters and perfectly performed

Didn’t dislike anything. Poetic but narrative drives you forward with perfect narrator…gives a moving, clear performance that serves the story well

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Captivating

Story held me tight and hyper-focused through every twist and turn. Truly emotionally captivating.

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