Set in seventeenth-century Iran, The Blood of Flowers is the powerful and haunting story of a young girl's journey from innocence to adulthood.

The novel begins in the 1620s in a remote village where the narrator (whose name, in the Iranian storytelling tradition, we are never to know) lives with her mother and rug-maker father. On the sudden death of her father, our heroine and her mother fall upon hard times and are forced to travel to the bustling, beautiful, exotic city of Isfahan where relatives take them in.
Everything is new: the grudging charity of her aunt, the encouragement of her uncle, one of the finest carpet-makers in the world, who begins to teach her his craft, the treacherous friendship of the daughter of rich neighbours. And there's an adventure ahead which will introduce her to the sensual side of life as well as to the cruelty of betrayal and rejection before she finds her way to contentment and possibly, even, to happiness, in a world full of contrasts and dangers.

Thankyou for choosing this book! I'm so glad you're checking out what all this bookcrossing business is about! Please enjoy the book then if you'd like, leave a journal entry & let us know what you think. If you love the book you're welcome to it but if you want to join in the fun release the book somewhere else & leave a journal entry letting us know where you left it.
Ps, if you join bookcrossing you get to see where the book gets to on its journey!

Thank you for this (four year old Wishlist) book. I look forward to reading it.

This book jumped to the top of my reading pile as I am currently seeking books to read for the 666 reading challenge.
A very quick read, unlike the nine years it took to write. I enjoyed the story of the unnamed young Persian woman’s life with all the detail and intricacies of carpet making and life in 16th century Persia. As a woman she had no independence and after her father’s unexpected death, we watched her and her mother navigate a world where men had all the power.
A well researched book, it all seemed believable and unfortunately women in Iran are once again without independence 600 years later.

To the finder of this book -
Please let me and previous readers know it is in safe hands by journalling that you have caught it; you are under no obligation to read it.
Bookcrossing is completely free and anonymous and members have been releasing books all over the world for more than 20 years.
If you choose to become a member you will also be able to follow this book’s future story.

This looks like an interesting read. I love Persian carpets and I love Isfahan - Half the World - more. Such a beautiful city full of whimsical people.

Bit like Melbourne, really.
Thank you.

Released at our monthly BookCrossing meetup - a group, incidentally, which has held regular meetings since 2004 - as part of the pile in the middle of the table. I think it was snaffled for stocking a pet Street Library and could go anywhere.

Picked up at the Labor Club, Civic today. Thank you