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Martyr! is the debut novel by poet Kaveh Akbar and was named one of The New York Times’ 10 Best Books. Its protagonist, Cyrus Shams, is the son of Iranian immigrants who has just gotten sober after losing both parents. Driven by an obsession with “martyrdom,” he begins tracing a family secret, and the clues eventually lead him to a dying artist at the Brooklyn Museum. The novel weaves grief, addiction, exile, and identity into a story that is both poetic and absurd, with dream sequences, fragmented chapters, and multiple perspectives. Filled with inventive beauty, vivid characters, and surprising plot twists, it is a contemporary novel that is both sharp and funny.