[photo credit: Pasadena Public Library]
The virtual program welcomes adults ages 50 and older. Prospective attendees must register in advance by providing an email address where Zoom login instructions will be sent through CityOfPasadena.net/Library/Calendar.
“Martyr!” follows Cyrus Shams, a newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants who is a queer poet living in Indiana recovering from addiction. His mother was believed killed on Iran Air Flight 655, a passenger plane shot down by a U.S. missile during the Iran-Iraq war in 1988. The narrative pivots when Cyrus discovers the performance artist he sought was actually his mother Roya, who had swapped passports with her lover Leila to escape Iran.
Since publication, “Martyr!” has achieved significant literary acclaim. The novel was named a New York Times bestseller and ranked among the New York Times “Ten Best Books of 2024.” It won the Brooklyn Public Library Book Award (2024), the Dayton Literary Peace Prize (2025), and the American Book Award (2025).
Participants can access limited physical copies from the Hill Avenue Branch Library. The book is also available in eBook and audiobook formats through Libby.
For accessibility accommodations, contact the Hill Avenue Branch at (626) 744-7264 at least 72 hours in advance.
PPL Online Book Group will run on Saturday, January 24 at 10:30-11:30 a.m. via Zoom. For more information, call (626) 744-7264 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/library/branches/hill-avenue-branch/?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D193762310.
