Accompanied by colored illustrations, The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams is a lyrical narrative of adventure on The Silk Road. The format is a first person recounting by the boy, Monkey, telling someone (whose identity is not revealed until the end of the book) why he killed his master. This is the hook that is set in the very first chapter. For lovers of adventure, action, and the mystique of the middle east, this novel is just the ticket. Pacing of the narrative is strong so the story clips right along. Is Samir deserving of the assassination attempts on his life? Monkey is a clever character and a perhaps a slightly unreliable narrator so that leaves some room for twists at the end. This book is a fresh entry into the current middle grade literature landscape.
The style of the writing with the accompanying illustrations make this book an excellent choice for a read-aloud. There is also a nice author’s note at the end of the book with some brief explanations on the setting, history, and characters.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Extended scene in which a boy is being pursued and stoned, injuries with mention of blood; person shakes a cage with a bird in it; discussions about assassins; assassin chases and attempts to kill someone, destruction of property, injury; several assassination attempts; fire with destruction of property and death; scene in which arrows and explosives are used to attempt and kill someone, injuries; attempted poisoning; death by poison; discussion about how characters had killed and undermined people in the past; attack by raiders, deaths; an ear is cut off of a dead man’s body (illustrated image accompanies); character recounts how he killed someone; scene in which someone stabs another, mention of blood, showing of a cutting off an ear, and fall from bridge (this is all staged, but reader does not know that until later); man-made rock slide with intent to kill, injuries; report of a death by mountain lion.
Sex/Nudity: A boy finds a girl beautiful; light teasing about a boy and a girl.
Mature Subject Matter:
Assassins, death, murder, lying, stealing.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Reference to insanity herbs used by berserkers; poison; drinking game.
