Rose Quartz Reads: Darius the Great Is Not Okay // a stunning exploration of family, culture, and mental illness

Darius the Great Is Not Okay has healed the deepest parts of my soul. I've never cried writing a review before, but this beautiful book changed me, and I am so, so grateful to it.

The novel follows Darius, a biracial teenager embarking on his first trip to Iran, visiting a family he has previously only seen through blurry video calls. Throughout the novel, he tries to navigate the space between his American and Persian identities and find a place where he can feel like he belongs.

My connection to Darius was immediate, heightened incredibly by the fact that I had timed my reading of this book to coincide with my own trip to visit my family in Iran. I have read other books with Persian protagonists before, but none of them made me feel as truly seen as Darius did. Our identities are not identical (I live in England and am not biracial, just to name a few), but his experience in feeling like a fraud, a 'Fractional Persian', a tourist - it all felt real and, well, me. But my connection to Darius wasn't only because of his cultural identity. He is awkward and nerdy and his narrative voice reflects his wit even when it isn't obvious in his speech. The connections he makes between Star Trek and Tolkien to his own life are creative and amusing, and though I am not a fan of either franchise myself, it brought his character to life in a unique way.

Khorram doesn't hold back from sharing all the little details of Iranian culture. This book named every Iranian sweet I could think of and more - and made me hungry for so many dishes. Moreover, the book mentions celebrations like Nowruz and social cues like taarof and place names like the Tehran Airport - somewhere I have been! It felt surreal to have these things acknowledged by something other than a family member, like a reminder that this part of my life, the Iranian part, was real. By far the most impactful things for me to read were the subtler aspects of culture, like how most Persian households smell like rice, how Iranian soap operas are ridiculously dramatic, and how getting everyone to assemble for a family photo is utter chaos. It felt incredibly validating to read about things that previously I'd kept to myself.

This book is one with emotion at its core, one of the main emotional strands being family. Darius' family is big and loving but also flawed. A language barrier separates him from his grandparents, and an emotional one lies between Darius and his father. Whilst trying to navigate his own identity, Darius also slowly begins to close the distance between him and his family, both physically and emotionally. It is slow and difficult and something many readers can relate to. Family is complicated, and there is something so lovely about showing characters, particularly the male ones, allowing themselves to be emotionally vulnerable with one another.

Another major discussion within the novel is Darius' experience with depression. Darius' depression is genetic. There is no cause, and he feels ashamed because of it. Having stories where mental illness has no root cause is so important, and I'm glad this novel exists to show the nuances of this. The only other example I've seen of a child genetically inheriting a mental illness from their parents is in the show One Day at a Time, so seeing that be discussed in Darius the Great is not just refreshing, it's necessary. The novel also acknowledges how different cultures don't always react the same way regarding mental illness. Darius' need for medication isn't understood by his grandparents, and whilst it seems ignorant, it isn't malicious. Khorram shows that there is a distinction to be made here and that just because there is a lack of understanding does not mean there is a lack of love.

The final strand at the heart of this novel is friendship. The friendship Darius forms with Sohrab is so sincere. Darius can be himself around Sohrab, and it was heartwarming to read about two boys be so open with one another. I also want to note how important it was to show that the boys had different religious backgrounds and beliefs as well. Iran is mostly Muslim, so it was wonderful to see Darius' Zoroastrian family visit their temple, and also immensely important to address the discrimination that Bahá’í families like Sohrab's experience on a personal and political level.

Whilst the relationship between Darius and Sohrab is platonic, the novel is also queer-coded, although not explicit, which is something I wanted to take a moment to address. In Iran, the expression of physical affection between friends of the same gender is very normalised, and Khorram shows Darius' confusion at experiencing this for the first time. But aside from that, there are a few scenes where questions are left unasked or unanswered with Darius regarding his feelings about romantic relationships. Although it is never stated that Darius is questioning, I think that never fully addressing it is significant. Firstly, because when you're young, you don't always verbally acknowledge that you are questioning. But also because, from what I have seen, queer identity is not spoken about in Iran. It feels reflective of the culture to have some things left unsaid, even more so because Darius is still trying to pick up on the different social cues regarding affection between boys in Iran.

This being said, the author put it best in this interview (where he discusses this issue specifically): "Darius is and always has been about all kinds of non-romantic love. It was important to me to show that the love between friends can change your world every bit as much as romantic love can." The power of platonic and familial love is the very heart and soul of this book, and it completely comes across.

I struggled for a long time to find the words for this review because of how much Darius' story means to me. I never believed in soulmates, but I think I've found mine in this book. The genuine heart within this story has spoken to me more than any other book has done in a long time. Darius the Great Is Not Okay has found a home in my heart, and I hope it does for you too.