Service95 Recommends is the home of the books we love and reviews from our contributors. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar follows Cyrus as he navigates the shards of his life and the grief of losing his mother after her plane is senselessly shot down over the Persian Gulf.
What We Say: “Cyrus Shams is a recovering addict and poet obsessed with death. Little wonder, when we find out that before his father moved them to the US from Iran, his mother was killed when the US military accidentally shot down on an Iranian passenger plane. His search for identity and a belief system – explored through faith, heritage and the clash of cultures – provokes deep questions and leaves us equally frustrated and fascinated by Cyrus’s quest. Like nothing else I’ve ever read.” – Katie Teehan
What They Say: “Smart, dazzling, different... a novel of depth and complexity, tragedy and humour . . . This book is thrilling. There’s no other word for it. It’s like watching the novel itself be reinvented” – Ann Patchett
Available on Bookshop.org, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble
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Katie Teehan is Editorial Director at Service95
