Review: Darius the Great Deserves Better

Darius the Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I almost didn't expect that Adib Khorram would write a second book about Darius the Great, but after the well-deserved acclaim his debut novel got, why the hell not? And so it goes, two years down the line in real time, and months enough that Darius has actually grown up quite a bit. Physically and psychologically. He's not only six foot three, he's also lost some weight from taking up soccer at school - a bit of Sohrab's influence there, am I right? - though he's still pretty self-conscious about having a little more tummy than he'd like. God, that's so relatable. And as for his mental health, he's got a new and improved balance of medication, he's taken several levels in self-confidence, and he's openly gay and has a boyfriend now.

But of course, there's always a string of teenage trials, tribulations, and confusions to screw everything up. Darius has a new internship at his favorite tea company, which might well translate to his first paying job soon enough. He's got that loving boyfriend Landon, but it becomes pretty clear that they're not looking for the same levels of physical intimacy. Meanwhile, the unexpected friendliness of Chip Cusumano right at the end of the first book translates into him becoming Darius's best friend in Portland, though Darius is confused by how affectionate Chip is, and how much he's attracted to him, and his complicated feelings for Sohrab influencing that as well...and speaking of Sohrab, it's sad to see how hard it is for Darius to reach out to him. As much as they truly care for each other - platonically, but no less lovingly - the barrier of being halfway around the world from each other rears its ugly head so much in this book. Then there are even greater issues to confront - like how Darius's sister, Laleh, has to put up with increasing racist bullying and microaggressions, and her teacher doesn't really know what to do to help her because she's white. (At least once, Darius comments on how overwhelmingly white Portland is, though he's got a pretty diverse group among his classmates, not to mention the Portland Persian Cultural Center, which serves as the location of one particularly long, key scene.) And meanwhile, his grandmothers - his dad's parents, one cis woman and one trans woman who came out and transitioned relatively late in life - are living with his family for a while, and Darius suspects that not only are they somewhat looking down on his family for whatever reason, but that his father's own depression is getting worse with his mothers around...

It's not the happiest book, but it also proved a pretty fast one-sitting read, if only because of how infinitely relatable Darius is. And how well-developed Khorram makes all of his characters, except maybe Trent, obviously. That god-awful Soulless Minion of Orthodoxy. The only character I ended up not liking quite as much was Landon, Darius's boyfriend, whom I felt kinda leaned a little too much into the "bi = promiscuous" stereotype, having had multiple partners in his time and placing too much emphasis on sex as the most important part of any relationship. Which...I'll be honest, I found that relatable too, but maybe it was my own experience having to fend off that stereotype on occasion that made me much happier shipping Darius with Chip.

So if Khorram could write this sequel, who's to say he won't give us another? Or, just as well, a spinoff about Sohrab. Let's just say, without spoilers, that the story Sohrab doesn't tell in this book could fill a whole book on its own, and I'd be absolutely down to read that...

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