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annaptobias's review against another edition
2.0
The narrator was incredibly annoying, and even when she was supposed to be likable and humble, it didn't seem to me that she was. Loved the descriptions of the city and all of the food (I am so craving fesenjan like you wouldn't believe), but overall, I didn't love it as much as I thought I would.
sortasamm's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn't keep my hands off this book while I was reading it. It's out of the realm of what I normally read, but the author's style of writing is so unique and many of the passages in the book are imagery, which I enjoy in a book because it allows me to connect to the characters and become involved with the plot of the book. A wonderful story that I highly recommend.
hiltzmoore's review against another edition
4.0
What an interesting book - this definitely didn't take the easy way when it came to the story. Nothing was predictable about this and I appreciated the main character NOT taking the normal path of this style of historical fiction. I loved that she remained unnamed throughout, and loved even more that this was done to honor anonymous Iranian authors in history after reading the acknowledgements. Definitely a time and region I haven't read much about, and that's always a bonus of historical fiction.
ponderinstuff's review against another edition
3.0
Just finished this book and really liked it except for the ending. A better ending would have made this a 4-star read, instead of the 3-star read that I finally settled on.
I'm sure the folk tale at the ending was a metaphor that was intended to tell the fate of the main charactor, but I couldn't figure out what the tale meant, so I am left a bit bewildered and more than a bit disappointed. I fully admit that I am a fan of books with happy endings that wrap up nicely with no loose ends, so maybe I'm not being fair when I say the ending is disappointing. Maybe if I think about this a little more, the meaning of the folk tale and how it relates to the main charactor will come to me. Maybe.
The Blood of Flowers is still a good read and I will definitely look for more by this author.
I'm sure the folk tale at the ending was a metaphor that was intended to tell the fate of the main charactor, but I couldn't figure out what the tale meant, so I am left a bit bewildered and more than a bit disappointed. I fully admit that I am a fan of books with happy endings that wrap up nicely with no loose ends, so maybe I'm not being fair when I say the ending is disappointing. Maybe if I think about this a little more, the meaning of the folk tale and how it relates to the main charactor will come to me. Maybe.
The Blood of Flowers is still a good read and I will definitely look for more by this author.
lawyeranthropologist's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting and well told story which takes place in a time and land about which I know little.
ryn_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
yellab1026's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
emilyusuallyreading's review against another edition
4.0
What I Liked
Anita Amirrezvani is a beautiful wordsmith. Her sentences and stories held me captive. What a lovely piece of historical fiction.
I learned so much about 17th century Persia and the history of the beautiful Persian carpets that I've seen and admired. I also love that Amirrezvani chose to leave her narrator nameless, to honor those artisans who created such rugs and did not sign their work.
What I Didn't Like
There were some erotic scenes in this book. Too explicit for my taste and frequent enough to cause me to hesitate to recommend this novel to my friends and family.
Anita Amirrezvani is a beautiful wordsmith. Her sentences and stories held me captive. What a lovely piece of historical fiction.
I learned so much about 17th century Persia and the history of the beautiful Persian carpets that I've seen and admired. I also love that Amirrezvani chose to leave her narrator nameless, to honor those artisans who created such rugs and did not sign their work.
What I Didn't Like
There were some erotic scenes in this book. Too explicit for my taste and frequent enough to cause me to hesitate to recommend this novel to my friends and family.