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The Blood of Flowers: A Novel by Anita…
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The Blood of Flowers: A Novel (original 2007; edition 2007)

by Anita Amirrezvani

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1,935898,486 (3.92)184
Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:

A sensuous and richly-imagined historical novel that centers on a skilled young carpet weaver, her arranged marriage, and her quest for self-determination in 17th-century Persia.

In 17th-century Iran, 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.

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Member:bethanne9
Title:The Blood of Flowers: A Novel
Authors:Anita Amirrezvani
Info:Little, Brown and Company (2007), Hardcover, 384 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:excellent south maids race

Work Information

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani (2007)

  1. 10
    The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (elbakerone)
    elbakerone: Another beautifully written historical fiction with a focus around mother daughter relationships.
  2. 01
    Anahita's Woven Riddle by Meghan Nuttall Sayres (infiniteletters)
  3. 12
    The House of the Mosque by Kader Abdolah (sanddancer)
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» See also 184 mentions

English (78)  Dutch (6)  Spanish (2)  Norwegian (1)  Finnish (1)  Danish (1)  All languages (89)
Showing 1-5 of 78 (next | show all)
this was surprisingly compelling when i think about what i usually care about in a story. for some reason, the carpet making was fascinating to me, even as i don't really feel that i learned much about it. but i kind of feel like i could have read about that forever. i was so absorbed in the story that i didn't even notice that the main character wasn't named until over 1/3 of the way through, and then it was easily forgotten again. but i really like this aspect, maybe not quite for the reason the author meant, but because of how anonymous women are when covered from head to toe in a chador. how they are seen for their separate body parts and not who they are, like an unnamed narrator can be, but how we see how much more there is to her.

i really liked the interspersing of the folktales and oral stories passed down; it worked really well here. this was a really interesting look at an iran hundreds of years ago, and what life was like for a segment of the population. the idea of the temporary marriage, the sigheh, was particularly interesting, and i can see how it can both really help and really hurt someone, often at the same time. ( )
  overlycriticalelisa | Jul 23, 2023 |
I wasn't sure I was going to like this as much as I did...for some reason, I thought there were going to be more fantastical elements included in the story (apparently I'm not very good at reading plot synopses...), and I eventually figured out this was just going to be straight up historical fiction. Ha! And for an audiobook, a format of which I'm still trying to become a good listener, I was even more surprised as the plot moved relatively slowly. It was all on account of reader Shohreh Aghdashloo's rich delivery that I swooned over the craft of weaving and the unnamed narrator's awed culture shock of acclimating to Isfahan. I really appreciated how strong and flawed the narrator was and how believable she was written as a teenager experiencing young marriage and class divisions particular to 17th-century Iran. Two thumbs up!

********
Read Harder: Historical fiction set before 1900. ( )
  LibroLindsay | Jun 18, 2021 |
rabck from bookstogive; historical fiction set in late 1600s Persia (Iran) about the coming of age of a girl who is a very good rug knotter. After her father dies, her mother & she leave their village to live with a very distant relative of her father's, who is a master rug designer, in servitude to his family. But what a great opportunity for her to learn all the intricacies of rug design. I will never look at a "Persian" rug the same again. I had no idea of what it takes to make one by hand. ( )
  nancynova | Feb 21, 2021 |
This is the story of a young Iranian woman. The setting is a small village in the 1620's. She is 14 years old and an only child, Later in the year the process of arranging her marriage will commence. sadly her father dies suddenly, leaving she and her mother without visible means of support. They are forced to leave their home and seek shelter with her father's half brother. He is a man of considerable means, a carpet manufacturer of repute. Gostaham, is a kind and generous man, happy to open his doors to his brother's impoverished family. His wife Gordiyeh is not so welcoming and puts them to work in the kitchen with the other servants. However they are safe and warm and well-fed. In fact Gostaham is very taken with his niece, who unlike his own daughters takes a genuine interest in rug making and indeed is experienced as a knotter. she asks if she can observe him in her free time, to learn and even assist him.
A chance encounter with a customer results in a sigheh offer, a temporary marriage of specified length. He is a man of means and the family are hopeful that should she please him, the three month sigheh will be extended and result in a permanent marriage providing security for both mother and daughter.
the book very much reflects the patriarchal society where women have little say over their own fate. Men may have multiple wives and little opportunity to attain financial independence.
I delighted in the descriptions of the rug making process and on completion of the book searched online for examples from this period. Yes many rigs still survive after 400 years. The story is intertwined with oral tales from those times which work well to define the direction and decisions the protagonist is forced to make, This is a wonderful first book providing a fascinating insight into the artisans of a complex and interesting culture. ( )
  HelenBaker | Jan 20, 2021 |
Loved, loved, loved this debut novel. If you liked the Kite Runner, you'll enjoy this book. Couldn't put it down. ( )
  ShannonRose4 | Sep 15, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 78 (next | show all)
"Anita Amirrezvani's first novel is about the costs and consolations of beauty, and is itself so picturesque that it often seems a striking variation on its own theme."
 

» Add other authors (13 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Anita Amirrezvaniprimary authorall editionscalculated
Aghdashloo, ShohrehNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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For my family-
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In the spring of the year that I was supposed to be married, a comet launched itself over the skies of my village.
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Fiction. Literature. Historical Fiction. HTML:

A sensuous and richly-imagined historical novel that centers on a skilled young carpet weaver, her arranged marriage, and her quest for self-determination in 17th-century Persia.

In 17th-century Iran, 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.

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A sensuous and richly-imagined historical novel that centers on a skilled young carpet weaver, her arranged marriage, and her quest for self-determination in 17th-century Persia.

In 17th-century Iran, 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.
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Hachette Book Group

2 editions of this book were published by Hachette Book Group.

Editions: 1594839123, 0316065773

 

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