Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

I don't remember where i heard about this novel originally but I had put it on my Amazon wishlist and my spectacular husband got it for me for Christmas.  I finally got around to reading it (yes about five months after the fact, but I have a ton of books that I want/have to read and so little time!).

This book is easily one of the best that i have read this year. It is told through the eyes of a 14 year old girl in 17th century Persia. Interestingly, this girl remains nameless even though we are intricately involved in every aspect of her life and she really looks forward to getting engaged by the end of the year, in order to protect herself and her family from poverty. This young girl is also, perhaps most importantly, a rug maker, and even though she still has a lot to learn about the art, she is widely considered to be talented. When her father dies suddenly, she and her mother travel to live with a distant family member and his wife in their household as slaves. Even though they are treated as servants, her relative is a carpet maker that breaks with tradition, takes our protagonist under his wing and teaches her the art of rug making.  Our protagonist's luck does not last and she is sold into a a three month long marriage contract that is renewable by her husband - renewal is based upon how much she pleases him -= making the contract hedonistic and ruining her chances for a more permanent marriage. The contract is entered into in order to ensure her family's finanicial security; however, her own self worth and self respect violently conflict with that.

I really enjoyed this novel.  I loved the images that I got and I grew to admire and empathize with the protagonist even though we grew up and live/lived in different times and cultures. The author also writes beautifully and seemed to have meticulously researched her subject matter.  It was a beautiful tribute.