Review
With the publication of Khalid
Hosseini’s
The Thousand Splendid Suns and Lisa See’s
(author of
The Snow Flower and Secret Fan)
newest novel,
Peony in Love, it might be easy to overlook
a hidden gem in Amita Amirrezvani’s new novel,
The Blood of Flowers. I began the book early in
the morning and could not come up for air until I
had finished all 384 pages. Part Arabian nights
fairytale, part historical fiction, and part
feminist treatise, this novel combines different
motifs in a delightful and captivating manner.
Written in plain, earthy, yet colorful prose,
interspersed with Persian folktales, Amirrzvani's
strengths come from her ability to make the sounds,...
Beyond the Book
A Short History of Ancient
Iran
Evidence of settled communities
in Iran date back to at least
the 5th millennium BC (as
evidenced by 7,000 year-old
wine jars that have been
excavated in the Zagros
Mountains).
Cyrus the Great is credited with
establishing the first unified
empire during his 21 year reign
beginning in 550 BCE. He is also
remembered for the
Cyrus Cylinder (discovered
in the 19th century and housed
in the British Museum) which
some consider to be the "first
charter of...
