The Blood of Flowers: A Novel | 
| Author: Anita Amirrezvani
Creator: Shohreh Aghdashloo
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Category: Book
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $15.93
You Save: $24.05 (60%)
New (28) Used (13) from $7.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  45 reviews
Sales Rank: 723294
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 11
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 5.7 x 5.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 1594839123
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781594839122
ASIN: 1594839123
Publication Date: June 5, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW!!!!! Factory sealed. Ships media mail same of next business day.
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Product Description
At the age of fourteen, a young woman in 17th-century Persia believes she will be married within the year. But when her beloved father dies, collapsing in the field where he works with the other men from their village, there is no hope for a dowry. Alone and penniless, she and her grieving mother are forced to sell the brilliant turquoise rug the young woman has woven,meant, of course, for her married life, to pay for their journey to Isfahan. There they will work as servants for her uncle Gostaham, a rich rug designer in the court of the Shah, and be lorded over by Gostaham's wife. Despite her lowly station, the young woman blossoms as a brilliant weaver of carpets, a rarity in a craft dominated by men. But while her artistic gift flourishes, her prospects for a happy marriage grow dim. Forced into a secret marriage with a man who will never take her as his first wife, the young woman is faced with a daunting decision: forsake her own dignity, or risk everything she has in an effort to maintain it. Amirrezvani infuses her story with lush detail, brilliantly bringing to life the sights sounds and life of 17th-century Isfahan: The dazzling architecture; the exotic Persian foods; the breathtakingly beautiful rugs. A sweeping love story, a powerful coming-of-age story, and a luminous portrait of a city, this is a universal tale of one woman's struggle to live a life of her choosing. (2007)
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| Customer Reviews: Read 40 more reviews...
 Wonderful Characters In A Compelling Story July 16, 2008
I would have given this book five stars but for some problems I have with the writer. Firstly, the protagonist is left unnamed, for no apparent reason. She's an amazing young girl, and the book is essentially her coming of age story. To leave the main character unnamed requires a compelling reason. There wasn't one. Secondly, the author's poetic descriptions are repetitive. How interesting is it to hear someone described as looking like the moon, sun or stars? And to hear it repeatedly? That said, I loved this book.
The protagonist and her mother were struck with tragedy in their contented lives and had to leave their southern Persian village to live with distant relatives in Isfahan. Despite their wealth, Gostaham (the protagonist's half uncle) and Gordiyeh, his wife, treat their relatives like servants and begrudge the costs of keeping them. Desperate, and penniless, there are few ways for two lone woman to provide for themselves. But the protagonist has a talent for knotting rugs and an unquenchable desire to excel at it. Her uncle, who is the head of the Shah's rug workshop, teaches her, and marvels at her abilities, and bemoans the fact that she's a she. Despite her skills, she is also head-strong, and ultimately gets herself and mother banished from their relatives' home.
Ultimately, it's her desire to excel at rug making that makes her examine her life, requiring the same standards for her personal expectations that she requires for her work. Getting there is painful, but like learning a craft, worth it.
This is a wonderful first novel. I look forward to her next book.
 Beautiful read July 16, 2008
This is a beautifully written debut novel. Just read it! I love reading about different cultures and was mesmerized by this book. I'm always looking for books to compare with my all-time favorite "The Kite Runner" and this one did just that from a womans perspective.
I really LOVED this book.. July 14, 2008
Anyone who enjoyed Memoirs of a Geisha, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, or A Thousand Splendid Suns will love this book. I highly recommend you read this book if you are thinking about whether or not you should!
 Good, but not a great read July 6, 2008
8 out of 16 found this review helpful
The Blood of Flowers is the story of a young girl (never named) in 17C Persia whose father dies unexpectedly and left destitute. She and her mother are forced to seek shelter from her uncle, a wealthy rug maker in the city of Isfahan. Despite their status in the household as nothing better than servants the girl shows a talent for rug making and design and with no male heir of his own to succeed in his craft her uncle takes the girl under his tutelage. Enough of the reviews recap the story sufficiently that I don't need to rehash it again, but suffice it to say that a series of bad choices made by the girl lead her and her mother into extreme poverty and to the brink of making the most difficult choice of all.
Apparently the author spent nine years researching and writing this book and those details do show throughout the book, and it's always nice to get an inside look at a lesser known country and it's culture and customs, and most especially the art of rug-making. I really did enjoy this book and had a hard time putting it down whilst reading it, but I have the same issues the other three star reviewers had. The ending was too rushed; another 50-100 pages carrying it to a more successful conclusion would have really rounded it out much better. I also didn't care for the little "short stories" that the author inserted to shed additional light on her story. Frankly, I ended up skipping them and I don't feel I missed anything in doing so. And last, but not least, the behavior of the main character and the selfish choices she made really didn't endear her to me, nor did any other character in the book - I just flat out didn't like anyone but the mother. I'm glad I read it, but it's not a book and characters that are going to stick with me long after I've finished it. Three stars.
Beautifully written June 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great tale that weaves rug making history with fiction. It is a "knotted" story of family, honesty, work ethics and friendship.
Can't wait for her next book.
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