Darius the Great is Not Okay

As a fan of Alexander the Great, I have heard of Darius the Great from biographies, documentaries, and history class. I would be lying if I said I knew anything about him, but this book definitely piqued my interest right away, especially after reading the summary.

This book details the life and travel plans of Darius Kellner, a half white, half Persian teenage boy that lives in America but is going to Iran for the first time in his life to visit his mother’s family.

The trip, while exciting, it being undertaken under grieving times as Darius’ grandfather is currently dying of a brain tumor. Darius is simultaneously looking forward to the trip as he is petrified of not fitting in, which is a reflection of how he feels in America. Being half-Persian, Darius had been the target of many slurs at school such as being called “d-Bag” and “terrorist” by his classmates.

The book largely details Darius’ stay in Iran and the very classic bildungsroman plot-line where he befriends the boy next door Sohrab, learns about his love for soccer, makes his first real friend, spends time with family he’s always known, but never met, increases his tea making skills, and truly feels Persian (and himself) for the first time in his life.

In addition to this however, the book tackles some very real and very controversial topics. Darius laments about the fact that his mother taught his younger sister Farsi, but how she did not teach him, his troubled and fractured relationship with his father, his inability to feel Persian or American, and his struggle with depression and being open about therapy, medication, and his feelings.

While most of the time, the book is light-hearted and happy, there are incredibly poignant moments where Darius is struggling with issues that many teenagers, and people in general, face on a day-to-day basis.

This book can lend a great strength to others who feel marginalized, isolated, alone, or simply not good enough. The end of the book makes a valiant effort to resolve all the demons that Darius is facing, but many of the demons are not ones that can be defeated with one trip to Iran.

The ending instead leaves a promise of a bittersweet feeling on the tongue. You know Darius is not perfect nor perfectly happy, but he is okay. As a harkening back to the title, the journey of Darius really goes from his being NOT OKAY TO BEING OKAY.

And sometimes that is all we can ask of life. Sometimes things will go wrong or we will face troubles, but in the end, we all just want to be okay. And Darius the Great is Not Okay teaches us that it’s alright to feel that way.

Recommendation: Not a terribly deep story, but one that will definitely get you thinking about more serious things. If you want a more light-hearted story about a boy finding himself this might just relate to you on many different levels whether it be relationships, family, identity, race, religion, or marginalization then I would definitely give this a check and a plus.

Score: 8/10