Martyr!: A novel

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar is a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist—a darkly funny, lyrical novel about faith, identity, and the search for meaning.

Cyrus Shams, the newly sober son of Iranian immigrants, is haunted by his family’s past: his mother’s death in a plane crash and his father’s quiet life in America. Obsessed with the idea of martyrdom, Cyrus sets out to uncover a long-buried family secret—one that leads him to a dying painter in the Brooklyn Museum and challenges everything he believes about love, loss, and belonging.

Electrifying and profound, Martyr! explores addiction, art, faith, and the human need for connection, marking Kaveh Akbar as a bold new voice in contemporary fiction.