Nayeri, Daniel. The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams. Daniel Miyares, Illus. Levine Querido, 03/2023. 198 [26]pp. Fiction 4 – 8. $21.99. 978-1-64614-303-0. OUTSTANDING.
Omar, who spends most of the book being called Monkey, is a young boy who has been orphaned, rescued, orphaned again, and ultimately driven out of yet another sanctuary by the monks he serves before we even meet him. A battered, bemused, and observant narrator, he becomes the unwilling servant of the likable yet unreliable merchant Samir, who brings him into the strange found family of a caravan traveling the legendary Silk Road. As Monkey relates multiple tales of adventures, angry customers, strange happenings, and the wild philosophies of his new master, readers get a glimpse of just how big the world of the road can be, and how common the themes of belonging, poverty, imagination, and love are. Nayeri’s writing is both humorous and lyrical, and his extensive end notes are a wonderful combination of historical context and imagination.
Lesley Mandros Bell—Unaffiliated