Cyrus Shams lost his mother early in life, when the US shot down an Iranian plane over the Persian Gulf. His father died shortly after Cyrus went to college. Now he‘s a recovering alcoholic and, to make his death mean more than his parents‘, he starts writing a book on Matyrdom. He flys to New York with his friend and makes a life-changing discovery.
I loved this book. The way Akbar writes is beautiful and make me smile. He paints a picture of a life, switching to other perspectives to fill out the corners, and creates something special.
Expand quote (content warning: suicide)
If the mortal sin of the suicide is greed, to hoard stillness and calm for yourself while dispersing your riotous internal pain among all those who survive you, then the mortal sin of the martyr must be pride, the vanity, the hubris to believe not only that your death could mean more than your living, but that your death could mean more than death itself—which, because it is inevitable, means nothing.
—from BOOKOFMARTYRS.docx by Cryos Shams
