A short analysis of Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

 

    Last week for Health class, I finished a YA novel by Adib Khorram called Darius the Great Is Not Okay. It’s about a high school boy who struggles with depression, fitting in, and his relationship with his father. Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of recently written YA books. I often find them uncreative with lazy plot points and unremarkable writing. For the most part, I wasn’t incredibly impressed by Darius the Great Is Not Okay, but I thought a few elements of the story were worth mentioning. 

    One of the most unique aspects of the story was the setting. Darius and his family travel to Iran to visit a dying family member, which allows the majority of the book to take place there. I appreciate that the author chose to set the book mainly outside of the US and included Persian words and culture throughout the novel. In doing so, another level of cultural complexity was added to the story, and I was able to learn some about Iran through Darius’s lens. 

    In Iran, Darius navigates meeting his grandparents in person for the first time. While his grandmother is a loving, if not a slightly one-dimensional character, Darius’s grandfather is the opposite, acting instead a bit removed. Darius never becomes extremely close with his grandfather, and I was grateful for this. I liked that the author chose to make this relationship more realistic than sappy. 

    On the other hand, Khorram was unsuccessful in creating other well fleshed out characters. Much of the story revolves around Darius’s poor relationship with his father, yet somehow in the process, the nuance in their father-son connection was lost. Like his grandfather, Darius’s father was also emotionally distant, and appeared only to judge his son’s actions. However, unlike Darius’s relationship with his grandfather, which steadily grew over the course of the book, his relationship with his father takes a sudden positive turn at the end of the book. After one scenic chat and a good cry, it’s unrealistic that two people could immediately overcome years of disconnect. If it was that easy it would have happened sooner. 

    In my opinion, the most interesting relationship in the entire book was Darius’s friendship with a boy his age named Sohrab. Sohrab is different from other boys in Darius’s life because he isn’t afraid to be vulnerable and to show emotion. On multiple different occasions, Darius seems almost in love with Sohrab, enchanted by his charisma. At times like these, I wondered whether Sohrab would become Darius’s love interest, but I was relieved when they never ended up getting together. While I would be fine with the concept of their relationship, I prefer not to read about teen romance and I find that many times platonic relationships are actually more interesting. 

    Overall, I thought Darius the Great Is Not Okay was just okay. It has a handful of unique aspects, but the plot and writing are nothing to write home about. If you like pretty lighthearted YA novels, then maybe you’ll like it. I wouldn’t bother reading it if you’re looking for something a little deeper or, like me, don’t care much for the entire genre. 

- Bonnie