Books › Darius the Great is not okay
Darius the Great is not okay
487 pages
A tender, tea-steeped exploration of diaspora, depression, and the quiet magic of being truly seen by a friend.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sitting on a sun-warmed rooftop with a cup of mint tea, slowly realizing you are safe to just be yourself. It is a deeply tender, character-driven experience that moves at a steady, thoughtful pace, allowing the reader to fully sink into the sensory richness of Iranian culture and the quiet aches of clinical depression. The narration is wry and self-deprecating, peppered with geeky pop-culture references that mask a profound vulnerability. It perfectly captures the liminal space of the diaspora, feeling not quite enough for either side of your heritage. Ultimately, it is a warm, bittersweet, and incredibly hopeful read that will delight anyone who loves stories about the life-saving power of a gentle, platonic friendship.
- Mood
- warm
- bittersweet
- intimate
- hopeful
- Tone
- wry
- earnest
- self-deprecating
- tender
- geeky
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- navigating diaspora and identity · living with clinical depression · transformative male friendship · family expectations · feeling like an outsider
- The writing
- Conversational and highly accessible, blending nerdy pop-culture touchstones with rich, sensory descriptions of Persian food and culture.
- The arc
- The protagonist moves from a place of profound isolation and self-doubt to a quiet, hard-won sense of belonging and self-acceptance.
- Who it's for
- Anyone who has ever felt like they don't quite belong in their own life, and who appreciates gentle, character-driven stories about mental health and friendship.
Content notes
- clinical depression
- grief
- body shaming
- bullying
About the book
Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He's a Fractional Persian--half, his mom's side--and his fist ever trip to Iran is about to change his life.
Darius has never really fit in at home, and he's sure things are going to be the same in Iran. His clinical depression doesn't exactly help matters and trying to explain his medication to his grandparents only makes things harder. Then Darius meets Sohrab, the boy next door, and everything changes. Soon, they're spending their days together, playing soccer, eating faludeh, and talking for hours on a secret rooftop overlooking the city's skyline. Sohrab calls him Darioush--the original Farsi version of his name--and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he's Darioush to Sohrab.
By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Adib Khorram's brilliant debut is for anyone who's ever felt not good enough--then met a friend who makes them feel so much better than okay.
Description from Open Library.
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