The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and violence.

Monkey insists that love is extremely powerful and hard to define, and the love he felt for Mara was strong because it was the only love he had to feel. He insists that this story is a love story, even though it is also full of betrayal and sadness.

The caravans reach Turfan and rest at the caravanserai there, and Samir does well for himself—he settles an agreement between two feuding families, cons people into buying painted “basilisk” eggs, and rents Rostam out to an artist in need of a model. Monkey considers running away but decides to stay for Mara. That night, Monkey sees Rasseem paying off a guard, but Samir laughs this off as a highly unlikely possibility.

Samir trades badly made tea to the furrier for breakfast for himself and Monkey and then they pack up their supplies; he tells Monkey to slit their wool so that it will get weighed down with sand and sell for a higher price. Monkey is horrified at being asked to cheat someone. He is disappointed that Samir is a swindler and more disappointed that Samir isn’t ashamed of it.