Martyr!

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar is one of the most talked-about recent releases readers keep adding to their lists and it is easy to see why: a newly sober Iranian American poet chases meaning and a mysterious dying artist.

What it's about

Kaveh Akbar, one of the finest poets of his generation, turns to fiction with the story of a newly sober Iranian American writer obsessed with martyrdom and meaning, whose search leads him to a dying artist in a museum. It is funny, aching and linguistically alive, a novel about addiction, grief and the hunger for a life that matters.

Why everyone's talking about it

Martyr! was one of the most celebrated literary debuts of its year, a bestseller and a fixture on prize lists and best-of lists. Akbar's crossover from acclaimed poet to novelist was a genuine event.

The verdict, for now

If you love ambitious, verbally dazzling literary fiction with real soul, this is a must. Come for the search for meaning, stay for sentences only a poet could write.