Review: The Blood of Flowers

The Blood of Flowers
by Anita Amirrezvani
Published by Little Brown and Company
Publication Date June 5, 2007
Source: Library
Genres: Historical Fiction
Goodreads

In the fabled city of Isfahan, in seventeenth-century Persia, a young woman confronts a dismal fate: Her beloved father had died and left her without a dowry. Forced to work as a servant in the home of her uncle, a rich rug designer in the court of the Shah, the young woman blossoms as a brilliant designer of carpets. But while her talent flourishes, her prospects for a happy marriage grow dim, and she finds herself faced with a daunting decision--to forsake her own dignity or to risk everything in an effort to maintain it.

Both a sweeping love story and a luminous portrait of a city, Tthe Blood of Flowers is the mesmerizing historical novel of an ill-fated young woman whose gift as a rug designer transforms her life. Illuminated with glorious detail of Persian rug-making, and brilliantly bringing to life the sights sounds and life of 17th-century Isfahan, THE BLOOD OF FLOWERS has captured readers' imaginations everywhere as a timeless tale of one woman's struggle to live a life of her choosing.

The Blood of Flowers was spellbinding and really took you to 17th century Persia. The descriptions of the process of rug making was very interesting and the colors and patterns the characters used sound gorgeous. I loved the idea of the girl’s ”secret marriage” and had me holding my breath every time her marriage contract was up for renewal; especially since that was both her and her mother’s bread and butter and earned themselves their keep in the Uncle’s home. Although, I was extremely surprised to learn that when the “husband” did choose a first wife it was some very close to his mistress which caused conflict between the two women and led to the girl’s decision to leave the marriage and try to better her life and started anew. This was such a fulfilling novel with surprises and twists behind every corner.