Darius the Great Is Not Okay

Darius the Great Is Not Okay is a coming-of-age novel by Iranian American writer Adib Khorram. Originally published in 2018 by Dial Books, the novel echoes Khorram’s experiences growing up in a multiethnic family with a history of mental illnesses. The book, which is Khorram’s first, won the William C. Morris YA Debut Award in 2019 and is a popular BookTok read. A sequel entitled Darius the Great Deserves Better was published in August 2020. 

Content Warning: The source material and this guide include discussions of mental illness and suicidal ideation.

Plot Summary

Darius Kellner is a high school sophomore in Portland, Oregon; his little sister Laleh is in second grade. Their mother, Shirin, is an Iranian immigrant to the US, while their father, Stephen, is of European descent. Darius’s ethnicity, weight, and clinical depression make him a target at school, and his home life isn’t much better; although his father is also living with depression, he is often critical of Darius in ways that lead Darius to believe his father sees his struggles as his own fault.

The Kellners observe many Persian customs and holidays and regularly video chat with Shirin’s relatives in Yazd. After one such call, Darius learns that his grandfather Ardeshir has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.