Book Review: The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams
Posted by Kaila W. on Sep 7th 2023
“To everyone we love we give a knife.” - Monkey
Narrated from the perspective of a twice orphaned young boy affectionately called Monkey, The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams takes us through Monkey’s tale of love, sorrow, betrayal, and family. Monkey tells us the story of his time on the Silk Road and of the many attempted assassinations of Samir, the seller of dreams.
In Daniel Nayeri’s latest novel, a merchant named Samir saves the young main character Monkey by buying him with the accumulated price of six bolts of silk, consequently turning Monkey into Samir’s servant. After being forced to join the caravan of tradesmen, Monkey quickly finds out that Samir is a liar and a cheater and has made many enemies. After Monkey discovers one plot to kill Samir, it is revealed that there are six other killers hired from the vexed victims of Samir's cheats and cons. These killers include a viking berserker, a Persian mystic, a Mongol Gunner, a Bedouin Chieftain, an Abolitionist, a rogue legion, and most frightfully a mystery killer called Sid.
Samir ends up making a deal with Monkey. Everytime Monkey can prevent a killer and save Samir’s life, Samir will take a bolt of silk away from Monkey's debt. If Monkey saves Samir's life six times he will be able to buy his freedom. Middle readers will enjoy the suspense of waiting to see if Monkey is able to successfully secure his freedom, while recognizing it is cruel that he has to fight for it in the first place.
This adventure book is 218 pages long. The beautiful illustrations created by Daniel Miyares before each chapter give the reader a better understanding about who and what they are about to read.
This book is perfect for a middle school classroom with the targeted age being 8-12. With pretty standard language it shouldn't be a challenging read, but will engage the reader. The many cultures and communities mentioned in the book are sure to get a kid interested in exploring world history, different cultures, and especially the Silk Road.
The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams is written by Daniel Nayeri and illustrated by Daniel Miyares. This book was published by Levine Querido On March 7, 2023
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Kaila W is a recent high school graduate who enjoys sewing and creative writing. In her free time she likes to read about world religion. She was a Cappies Critics (High School Play Critic) for two years before joining Wunderland Books as a book reviewer.