Questions About Martyr!

by Kaveh Akbar

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Brenna O'Brien

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What does the ending mean??

Pete Fisher Sorry SPOLIER ALERT. I have seen a long trail of comments on Goodreads about the ambiguous ending of Martyr!
There were numerous theories ecpounded, in…moreSorry SPOLIER ALERT. I have seen a long trail of comments on Goodreads about the ambiguous ending of Martyr!
There were numerous theories ecpounded, including Cyrus dying of a drug overdose, sepsis from his untreated foot injury, dying of shock following the death of Orkideh.
Noting that if the end is not a fever dream, Zee is at Cyrus' side when he dies, holding him.
Now consider where he dies.....Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Author Kaveh Akbar would know one of the most notable features of this park is the "Angel of Death" statue, part of the Prospect Park War Memorial which depicts an angel holding a dying soldier.

Is Zee the angel supporting his friend Cyrus as he achieves the Martyrdom he craves?There is also a link between this statue and Cyrus' Uncle Arash riding his horse amongst the dead and dying, like an angel of death, through the WWI battlefields.

Rather than being a disappointing end to the novel I think it ingenious yet ambiguous. (less)

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