Kaveh Akbar

A very thought provoking book. Cyrus lives his life thinking that his mother died in a terrorist attack on an airplane. His father raises him and dies also. Cyrus is finally a recovering alcoholic who has strokes of genius in viewing and writing about the world. He is fixated on martyrdom. The book goes back and forth between narrators and time periods but it flows really well. Because of my time schedule it took me longer to read this book than it should have. I may have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t lost the flow.… (mere)

4.25] This moving debut novel was penned by a poet I was unfamiliar with until I saw him in an interview on PBS. Akbar is a skilled word merchant who has managed to create a work that is creative, oftentimes hilarious and impressively thought-provoking. I had high hopes during the first third of the book that it might land on my sparsely populated 5-star list. Sadly, it sagged a bit at the midway point. But the stunning conclusion and overall originality of Akbar’s work earns it a high rating. One of the most riveting subplots involves the young protagonist’s struggles with substance abuse. During the televised interview, the author confided that his addictions to alcohol and drugs in his 20s nearly destroyed him. There’s no doubt that his firsthand experiences helped him to brilliantly chronicle the challenges of addiction. During the interview, Akbar said writing his first novel was “thrilling,” adding that he studied an eclectic selection of narratives in an almost maniacal fashion. This poet’s maiden voyage into fictional waters will entertain, enlighten and impress readers.… (mere)