Martyr!

An instant New York Times Bestseller Shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Prize Book of the Year in The Observer, The New York Times, and The New Yorker A National Book Award Finalist A young man uncovers the truth behind his mother's death in this haunting debut that takes you from New York to Tehran. 'Playful, soulful, kaleidoscopic, honest and profoundly moving' - Elif Shafak, author of There Are Rivers in the Sky Cyrus Shams has always been lost. He's grown up tangled in the mysteries of his past - an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields, a haunting work of art by an exiled painter, and his mother, whose plane was shot down over the Persian Gulf when he was just a baby. Now, newly sober and maybe in love, he's headed for an encounter that will transform everything he thought he knew. Can a final revelation change the truth of Cyrus's life? Electrifying, funny, and all-consuming, Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! is a masterpiece. 'Dazzling' Ann Patchett 'Gorgeous' Tommy Orange 'Radiant' Lauren Groff 'Stunning' John Green 'Miraculous' The New York Times 'Sensational' Daily Mail 'Kaleidoscopic' The Guardian * Martyr! was an instant New York Times bestseller w/c 27/1/24

Kaveh Akbar has been awarded multiple Pushcart Prizes for his poetry, and his collection Pilgrim Bell was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Poetry. He is a recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, and his work has been featured in The New Yorker and The Paris Review, on BBC Radio 4's Start the Week and Front Row, on The New Yorker Radio Hour, and in The Kindergarten Teacher starring Maggie Gyllenhaal. His debut novel, Martyr!, was a New York Times bestseller and a most anticipated book in 2024 for TIME, NYLON, Oprah Daily and Marie Claire. Born in Tehran, he lives in Iowa.