...illuminate again and again the wide gulf between the image on his dust jacket and the story inside.

"He hated it, like everyone was supposed to. But it was a hate that made nothing happen."

"In Iran it was called taarof, the elaborate and almost entirely unspoken choreography of etiquette that directs every social interaction. The old joke, that two Iranian men could never get on an elevator because they’ll just keep saying “you go,” “no you,” “no no please,” “I insist,” as the doors opened and closed."

"“I don’t mean what do you do for school or money,” Zee said. “I’m asking what do you do. What do you love?”"

"how Black people in America always have to be mindful of how racist white people see them. And how that applies to a lot of marginalized people, always having to see themselves through the eyes of the folks who hate them."

"The earth is a sphere where every spot is west of every other—calling America “the west” and Iran “the Middle East” placed the center squarely in Europe) had to do with notions of an infallible Christian God." (Kaveh Akbar, Martyr!)

"Cyrus prided himself in descending from people comfortable sitting in uncertainty. He himself knew little about anything and tried to remember that. He read once about a Sufi prayer that went “Lord, increase my bewilderment.” That was the prayer in its entirety."

"Eight of the ten commandments are about what thou shalt not. But you can live a whole life not doing any of that stuff and still avoid doing any good." (Kaveh Akbar, Martyr!)

"It’s hard not to envy the monsters when you see how good they have it. And how unbothered they are at being monsters.”"