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The Blood of Flowers: A Novelby Anita Amirrezvani |
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In 17th-century Persia, a 14-year-old woman believes she will be married within the year. But when her beloved father dies, she and her mother find themselves alone and without a dowry. With nowhere else to go, they are forced to sell the brilliant turquoise rug the young woman has woven to pay for their journey to Isfahan, where they will work as servants for her uncle, a rich rug designer in the court of the legendary Shah Abbas the Great.
Despite her lowly station, the young woman blossoms as a brilliant designer of carpets, a rarity in a craft dominated by men. But while her talent flourishes, her prospects for a happy marriage grow dim. Forced into a secret marriage to
a wealthy man, the young woman finds herself faced with a daunting decision: forsake her own dignity, or risk everything she has in an effort to create a new life.
"Anita Amirrezvani has written a sensuous and transporting first novel filled with the colors, tastes and fragrances of life in seventeenth-century Isfahan...Amirrezvani clearly knows and loves the ways of old Iran, and brings them to life with the cadences of a skilled story-spinner." -- Geraldine Brooks, author of March
"An engrossing, enthralling tale of a girl's quest for self-determination in the fascinating other world that was seventeenth-century Iran." -- Emma Donoghue, author of Touchy Subjects and Life Mask
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Lyrical and inspiring -  |
The Blood of Flowers: A Novel Review |
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I won't go into a plot synopsis for this book because those can be found from the publisher and several of the readers' many reviews. What I would like to convey is an urge for someone contemplating this book to do so. I found it to be captivating, inspiring, informative and written with a lyrical beauty too seldom found. I couldn't put this book down and found myself unprecedently dreaming about it when I finally fell asleep, only to awaken with it on my mind again. I also found that it inspired my creative impulses. I am a needlepoint designer and an avid knitter, and I found myself getting up at 4am to sketch and then to stitch! That is not something I can say about most (any?) books I have read.
I have been disappointed so often of late in the books I have read, so it is refreshing to be able to whole-heartedly recommend one! Please give it a try - I think you will enjoy it. |
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A flying carpet into 17th century Persia - |
The Blood of Flowers: A Novel Review |
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Carpet making. What does it entail? How is the design created? Wool or silk? Which colors? A carpet maker in seventeenth century Persia was an artisan whose name was woven into the carpet only if he worked for the Shah and was a master.
The unnamed narrator of "Blood of Flowers" is a fourteen-year-old girl at the beginning of the novel and a nineteen-year-old master of her own destiny by the end. Yes, this is Persia, land of men who are in control, land of men who have all the rights. But, occasionally, in even such a land comes a woman willing to do what it takes to direct her own life. This is a novel of unusual techniques that weave carpets, tales, and lives. It took Anita Amirrezvani nine years to tell this tale. An Iranian by birth, an American by citizenship, she traveled with her parents to Iran several times to clarify points in her novel. Plus, her extensive research and scholarly reading infuse this story with additional authenticity. When the narrator lives with her parents in her idyllic country village, all is well. She even learns carpet weaving and breaks rules to learn secrets from a respected elderly male weaver, like urinating on certain flowers to create an exquisite blue. Then the tail of a comet and subsequent death of her father bring despair to the young fourteen-year-old and her mother. Eventually, they are reduced to seeking safety with distant relatives in Istafan, home of the Shah of Abbas, the ruler. Treated as servants, the two at least have shelter and food for as long as Gordiyeh, the woman of the house, favors them. The young narrator uses her wits to show Gostaham, her uncle, that she is willing to learn carpet making from every aspect. Because he has no son or no willing daughters and she is talented, he teaches her. Everything the author learned of medieval Persia is woven into this plot: the sigheh, a three-month concubinage renewable every three months; foods which the narrator and her mother helped prepare daily in the kitchen; clothing descriptions, both daily and special; what happens to people out of favor; sexual customs (somehow I expected Persian women to be like Puritans and not be allowed to fully participate--wrong! Men bored of such women and contracted a new sigheh with another woman); married life, both in high places and low; markets and how they were run; hammans, single-sex massage salons where modesty was not practiced; and most important, every phase of carpet making. When the narrator is adult enough to refuse renewal of the sigheh against her uncle's will, she and mother are thrown out on the street to live in dire poverty and sickness until the narrator is at the point of prostitution. She finally earns enough to turn around the tail of that comet. The Shah of Abbas was a strong ruler of Persia from 1571 to 1629. One of the building blocks of his reign was to elevate carpet making to a fine art. He established royal carpet shops and even allowed masters to weave separate carpets on their own. The fictional character Gostaham, the uncle, was a carpet maker in one of these shops and thus able to provide the narrator with the best of instruction. Modern experts account the carpets from this period as the finest ever made. Perhaps you understand now why flying carpets figure in so much Arabian literature! |
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Entrancing -  |
The Blood of Flowers: A Novel Review |
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This. Book. Was. Amazing. It really, really was. I mean, everything about this book was amazing: the characters, the plot, the world. It felt so real, authentic, and exotic. The writing was so beautiful, probably some of the best writing I think I've ever read. It was so hard for me to put this book down, that sometimes I found myself reading into the late hours of the night when I should've been asleep. The only complaint/disappointment I have about this book is what happened with the narrartor and her "husband" behind closed doors. I think I was blushing when I read those parts, and I was frustrated because this book didn't need those things in it! But considering that, it was still a great read and has opened up a fascinating and mysterious new world for me. Hopefully, it will for you, too. |
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Blood of Flowers - |
The Blood of Flowers: A Novel Review |
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The Blood of Flowers: A Novel
I am overwhelmed with the admiration I have for the writer of this book. The simple words are: "The Blood of Flowers is absolutely beautiful." There is not a word out of place, and all words are carefully selected to weave this intricate, sensual story to its conclusion, just as the rug weavers select the design and colors to complete their gorgeous carpets. June Stephenson Bailey |
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Bravo Anita! Incredible tale. - |
The Blood of Flowers: A Novel Review |
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Wonderful story about coming of age and following your destiny. I really enjoyed the story and found myself unable to put it down. Would highly recommend. |
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