Darius The Great is Not Okay

by Adib Khorram

Darius the Great is Not Okay is the book we need today. If you want to understand Iran, READ THIS BOOK. If you want to understand depression, READ THIS BOOK. Need to understand friendship? READ THIS BOOK. Need to understand other cultures? READ THIS BOOK. Like to drink tea and eat food? READ THIS BOOK. There is no problem that this book can’t solve. No wonder it’s won so many awards!

Our hero, Darius, is not the most well liked kid in his school. But when forced to travel to Iran to visit his ailing grandfather, Darius learns much about himself, his family, and his Persian heritage. What strikes me the most about the book is the tea. They are always drinking tea and I’ll admit it made me want to learn to brew tea the way they do. I probably have a tea leaf growing in my stomach because I tripled my tea consumption while I was reading this book.

Most importantly, Darius has depression. And what I love about the author’s depiction of this depression is that it’s not the same as everyone else’s. It shows that depression is as varied as people are and it’s as natural as breathing, meaning it’s not something you can just “stop doing.” And for that I’m grateful to the author for getting this version of depression right.

Now, why are you still here reading about the book? Get to your local bookstore and snag a copy or three, TODAY. Give one to a friend. Then make tea and tell me about it on insta or twitter: @pamlovesbooks