Martyr! By Keveh Akbar

Cyrus Shams has a lot going on before he even reaches puberty.  His mother is in a plane that is shot down in a terrible incident between the US and Iran and he and his father move to America.  In Martyr! By Keveh Akbar, we catch Cyrus a bit later as a recovering addict and current poet still trying to figure out his place in the world, like we all are.  In an attempt to kickstart his writing project on martyrs he flies from Indiana to Brooklyn to meet an artist there who is dying of breast cancer and spending her last days talking to all comers about death.  Meeting this artist takes Cyrus on a very different trajectory and makes him question his current reality. What an awakening. With some of Cyrus’s poems and fragments sprinkled throughout, Akbar gives his protagonist real depth.  You don’t always like him, but that is what makes him so relatable.

Chapter & Scene is your daily stop for cozy, intelligent reviews of books, movies, and TV shows. Each weekday we share a short, spoiler-free recommendation designed to help you discover your next great story. Whether you’re looking for a novel to curl up with, a binge-worthy series, or a film worth watching, our reviews combine thoughtful insight with genuine enthusiasm for storytelling. Subscribe to get fresh reviews delivered straight to your inbox, and explore our growing archive of book and screen recommendations.