Customer Reviews

Flowers in the Blood: 2

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Flowers in the Blood" enthralled me. Aside from its being well written and engaging from the very first page, it is an exotic account of a little know piece of world history: the J opium trade in turn-of-the-century India. In addition, its descriptions of the countryside, the mountains, the cities of that place and time make "Flowers in the Blood" an armchair adventure. I was drained by the end of the journey.

From the moment that I began reading this book, I related to the main character, Dinah Sasson. At 5 years old, she said what was on her mind. And she asked questions that her father became mesmorized by.

And as she grew,in every sense of the word, she developed a resolve that became the final word.

While this novel is 630 pages, when you read it, you really will feel like you are there, part of each of the families, the business, the culture, and all the drama.

There were so many "lines," that I have picked up from this author, Gay Courter, in several of her books, that have become part of my life.

I especially appreciate a line in this book that says, "Advise me well in this matter, but don't advise me against it."

The power of that assertion says that we must seek the advise of experts, while we maintain boundaries, and while we make decisions based upon who we are.

I also learned from reading this novel how to be political and quick witted, while I remain true to what I believe.

I read this book almost two years ago. Since then I have read quite a number of novels but Flowers in the Blood still stands out as an all time favorite. I rememeber the characters and the story so vividly. Dinah Sasson's strong character and her ethics. The story was even more appealing to me since my husband is from India and is Jewish. Events and situations in this novel coincided with many of the stories I had heard from him and his family during their period in India. Very good story.

This book is great as a textbook; I learned a lot about Jews in India and the opium trade. However, the characters leave very, very much to be desired. The way Dinah Sassoon is just thrown from one situation to another without any character development whatsoever is very off-putting. At the end of 627 pages, I asked myself: how can I describe the main characters? And I couldn't. They are cardboard cutouts with no real personalities!

Do not waste your time with this one unless you really want to know about Indian Jewry.

This was an amazing book!!! I read Flowers in the Blood years ago and it still haunts me to this day. I simply can't put this book out of my mind.

I must admit that initially the title and the premise of the book was a "turn off." Reading about the opium trade in India just didn't sound appealing to me. However, once 5 or 6 different people suggested this book, I figured there must be something it to it and I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did!

What I liked most about Flowers is that this book made me feel like the characters were my best friends. I got to know them intimately and when I had finished reading the book, I grieved that my relationship with them was over. This book also opened up an entirely new world and took me places I had never been before.

This is a MUST read for anyone who loves a juicy family saga. I promise you won't be disappointed!

I found the setting, information about the Jews in India and the customs of the time of the Raj to be very interesting-- and certainly learned a lot more about opium trade than I imagined I'd be interested in. I was very interested in Dinah's life, her thoughts and her reactions to what happens to her. One reviewer seems to have made an effort to find obscure lines to criticize. I could hardly put this down and found it utterly fascinating. I read one of her midwife books and am now looking for more of her work.

I wish I could give this book a 6th star or a score of 10. Although it is quite lengthly, it is a marvelous insight into life in India in the 1800's, with super travelogue descriptions of various regions and a wonderful intriguing story line. The pages kept turning themselves and I greatly enjoyed it.

Very easy and interesting reading. Learned a lot about the opium trade, India and China in a deightful read. Went to Shanghai afterwards and it made it so much more interesting.

great book full of life and great characters. A real love story with twists.