Review: Darius the Great Is Not Okay

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Adib Khorram debuts strongly in this story of a biracial Persian boy coming to understand his own identity a bit better - not only as a Persian, but also as a depressed young man. There's a lot of talk in this book about what's passed down genetically, and in addition to certain deep aspects of Persian culture - Nowruz festivities, the game of Rook, daddy issues rooted in certain legends of warrior fathers accidentally killing warrior sons - Darius can also tell you that depression is genetic too, because he and his (white, German) dad both take medication for it.


There's a lot of culture shock that Darius confronts when he goes to visit his family in Iran, a lot of which owes to his parents trying to raise him more American - something they didn't do with his little sister Laleh, who is far more fluent in Farsi and can talk better with the family in Yazd. But yeah, there's a lot he doesn't expect, and a lot of that lot tends to throw him for a loop. Like taarof. Or the fact that most in Iran look at him funny for being medicated for depression, and that he's depressed because of his brain chemistry. Or, humiliatingly, the scene where he showers in a locker room with his new friend Sohrab and some of his football buddies, and they make fun of him for being uncircumcised.

But hey. We're all human. We're all flawed in some way. And just about everyone in this book displays such a flaw, often through no fault of their own. As is the case with Darius and his depression, of course - a combination of out-of-whack brain chemistry and too many people making fun of him for his geekboyishness, his weight, etc. (Been there.) And I was especially moved by Babou's story, especially his brain tumor and resulting dementia-like symptoms - something that, to some degree, I've now seen in both of my own grandfathers.

My favorite part of this book, though? The Star Trek references. But a very close second is the scenes between Darius and Sohrab. They form a pretty strong bond right from the word go, and coming from a largely friendless background like Darius, it was super touching. I especially loved how Sohrab wasn't afraid to be physically close to Darius - seriously, such affection between guys, especially platonic, needs to be more normalized. Something I write into my own books too, wherever possible. Though the book leaves it ambiguous whether or not Darius and Sohrab share a platonic or possibly romantic connection - it's also hinted, though not explicitly clarified, that Darius might be gay - it's still a sweet bond they have, even if they hit a roadblock or two. A massive one at that, even, but I won't spoil it other than to say that part, more than any other, brought me to the point of tears. What I will happily spoil, though, is that in the narrative, at least once, Darius says, "I loved Sohrab." Interpret as you see fit.

Now, after reading this book, I'll next be picking up another #ownvoices Persian-American story - Tahereh Mafi's A Very Large Expanse of Sea. And I'll also be doing a little more research into the Zoroastrian and Bahá'í faiths, both of which get some spotlight here to showcase Iran's cultural diversity.

View all my reviews