The Blood of Flowers, by Anita Amirrezvani

This book is about a girl from a small village in 17th century Iran that moves to the city. She is a carpet maker, which provides imagery throughout the book as the story is "weaved."

I loved this book. People are touting it as the female counterpart to The Kite Runner. I compeltely disagree; that comparison does not do this book justice. The Kite Runner was an enjoyable, but mediocre, tale with far too many neat coincidences. This book is far more real. The protaganist makes some very controversial (for her time and place) decisions, which come with very real consequences, both good and bad. There is no neat, pretty ending, although I found the ending to be very satisfying and beautiful. The plot was always exciting; this was definitely a page turner.

The relationships were so wonderfully complicated in this book. Her cautious love for her friend, and her friend's conditional love for her. Her mother's unconditional but sometimes reserved love for her. The feuding relationship with her caretaker aunt. Her strong desire and equally strong repugnance for the male character. And, my favorite, her relationship with her teacher uncle, which I can't quite describe in a little fragmented sentence.

Each chapter ends with a folk tale. I really liked the stories, but sometimes I rushed through them because I was so anxious to get back to the plot. My favorites were the one about chopping down the rosebush and the last one (about the bird). The author in the notes says that she made up two of the tales (the first and last) and the rest were Iranian folklore. I'm not sure if the rosebush one was first; it might have been. In which case, I obviously like her stories best - her two tales and the substantive novel itself, of course.

I definitely recommend this book.