The Blood of Flowers

By: Anita Amirrezvani

Narrated by: Shohreh Aghdashloo

Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

In 17th-century Persia, a 14-year-old woman believes she will be married within the year. 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.

©2007 Anita Amirrezvani (P)2007 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Sumptuous imagery and a modern sensibility...make this a winning debut." ( Publishers Weekly)

Fab characters

Fell in love with the characters. went back and forth between not liking the main character for making stupid mistakes to realizing over and over that she was a child.

Great Story, Great Reading

What made the experience of listening to The Blood of Flowers the most enjoyable?

Shohreh Aghdashloo did a fantastic job of reading this story She used just the right amount of inflection without attempting to change her voice into other voices for different characters

What other book might you compare The Blood of Flowers to and why?

I would compare The Red Tent to this book It has similar feminine themes and is also a great read

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes The plot was great!

Beautiful and touching

What made the experience of listening to The Blood of Flowers the most enjoyable?

It takes a little time to get really wrapped up in this story - it is set in such a different time and place and your brain has to sort of "sync" up with this very different world. But once you get the sense of the world you have entered, the story is utterly engrossing and Shoreh's voice really pulls you in and leads you on to the point that it is hard to stop.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the mix of middle-eastern folk tales into the narrative of the plot.

Which character – as performed by Shohreh Aghdashloo – was your favorite?

I definitely liked the heroine best, but since she is never named, I can't name her here! There is a view of 17th century Persian women in this book that I think would be hard to find in any other easily accessible story which is enlightening and fascinating. However, the male characters are only sketched - not enough detail to care about them much - and because the culture of that period was so completely oppressive to women, most of the women characters exhibit little strength or imagination. This is really not a book much focused on characters beyond the main character. Setting (time and place) drives most of the story and the real beauty of it is the lushness of the language and the intermingling of folk tales.

If you could take any character from The Blood of Flowers out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I don't think I'd really want to take any of these characters out to dinner, but I sure would like to throw a pie in the face that wicked aunt! This book is about people living in a world dictated by a 1000 years of religious tradition and a couple thousand years of cultural tradition that most of them simply accept independent of how unfair or just plain horrible some parts of that tradition are. It is an illuminating story, but I can't see wanting to spend time with people who can accept the level of injustice that many of these characters do.

Any additional comments?

This story takes place 400 years ago when virtually every society on earth was structured much like the Persian culture portrayed in the book - women treated as chattel, no safety net for the poor or handicapped, individuals holding no rights. It's sad that this should still be the state of affairs in much of the world. However, The Blood of Flowers without a cliched happy ending is a story about the ability for one person to rise above and for all the sadness in it, it is a really hopeful story. I highly recommend it.

Excellent novel!

I loved this book. Everything is good about it. I loved the reader’s melodious voice. I loved the descriptions of the rug designing. I highly recommend it!

Very enjoyable story!

I listened to the audio book version and was glad to hear the correct pronunciation of names and places that I would have stumbled over if reading myself. Although a bit hard to understand at times, overall I found the reader's voice pleasant and well suited to the story. She brought the young female protagonist alive.

A beautiful story

I listened to this story a second time in 2023. It is beautifully written. It’s a unique story that I treasured even more the second time listening.

Engaging and beautiful

This novel is very engaging and it's beautifully written. I could see the images in my mind as I listened to it. Of course, listening to the voice of Academy Nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo, is an unforgettable and unique experience in itself, which in combination with the story provided a very enjoyable experience. I highly recommend this book.

A beautiful, fascinating education

This book totally transported me into another world. It has become one of my favorite books and I have recommended it to a number of friends. I would advise you to listen to the sample first as the narrator's voice is very different. I found her voice to be very soothing and the accent to be beautifully musical and I would listen to another read by her but it may not be fore everyone. It was a fascinating listen.

good narrator

the voice of the narrator brought the exotic beauty of iran to life. she sounded like someone who had immigrated to the states from iran. it made the narration very personal.

Brilliant sensuous storytelling

What a wonderful, dynamic, lavishly written epic story. So much beauty in the words, painting pictures of a time gone by, in a place whose culture is so mysterious to much of the world. A powerful protagonist who makes lemonade from lemons and rises up with inspiration, in the face of oppression. Lush evocative depictions of exotic lands, beautiful stories, wonderful characters that you care for, great story arcs :) the narrator was gorgeous, never wanted her to stop speaking with her rich sultry accent!