The Blood of Flowers in Around the World

May 27, 2018 Gaijinmama rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction

This book has sat on my shelf for around three or four years. The title fits a Reading Challenge I'm doing, but more importantly, in the past year or two a few lovely, brilliant, fierce Iranian women have crossed my path and made my world a much more interesting place. They're all very different people, and have made me more aware of the rich history and ethnic/ cultural diversity of Iran.
In short, the timing was right and this book really resonated with me.
I connected with the narrator, too, e ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 14, 2010 Marieke rated it really liked it

Shelves: mena-lit, 2016, fiction, e-book, iran, mena-women-s-lit-2016

I struggled a bit with my rating for this one. Something about this book didn't work for me while I was reading it. I liked the story and the layers of the story, especially the parts about carpet weaving (I love textiles!), but I didn't like the first person narration and somehow the writing felt a bit contrived to me--that's the best I can do to explain what I didn't like about it. It did not feel like other Iranian novels to me, which have always sucked me in so that I feel totally lost and i ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 13, 2011 Shomeret rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-reviews, historical-fiction

A GR friend complained of the central character's misjudgments. I never forgot that she was 16-17 when she was making the decisions described. This is an age when many people make mistakes due to inexperience and lack of knowledge about how the world works. I think that what seems to be common sense to older people is actually wisdom acquired through the process of maturation.

I also think that the largest mistake that impacted the main character's life wasn't hers at all. It's due to a cross-cul ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Nov 29, 2013 Jenny (Reading Envy) marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: speed-date-3, nanoreadmo-2013

I read the first 50 pages in a book speed-dating project, and decided to keep this one. Beautiful language and setting, and an interesting story so far about a poor female carpet maker in 17th century Persia.

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 21, 2010 Rebecca Huston rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nook, 17th-century, 2013-12-2-challenge, historical-fiction, iran-persia, 2013-mt-tbr-challenge

A moderately good, but not great, historical novel set in 17th century Persia. The narrator (who is never named) is just fifteen when the story starts, her hands clever at making rugs, and struggling to learn how to dye and design them. But when her father dies, she goes to the city of Isfahan with her mother to the home of a distant relation. There life turns out to be nothing what she expected. I found the details on making rugs and the little details of life in Persia of the time, but the cha ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 08, 2008 Lynne rated it liked it

Shelves: audiobooks, middle-near-east-fact-fiction

I found the plot rather predictable, but the discussion of carpet making in the 17th century intrigued me. I want to find a non-fiction book on the subject.

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