Flowers in the Blood [Paperback]

Gay Courter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2002

Beautiful Dinah Sassoon, daughter of an affluent opium trader and pillar of Calcuttas tight-knit Jewish community, sees her privileged future destroyed when her mother is mysteriously murdered. This tragic event leaves Dinah dishonored and virtually unmarriageable. After being thrust into a loveless marriage that soon disintegrates, she meets the irresistible Edwin Salem, who joins with her in a passionate but tempestuous union between equals. Although Dinah finds fulfillment, she must wrestle with the challengeand the crossof managing the family business: the growing and selling of opium.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First met at the turn of the century, Dinah Sassoon, heroine of Courter's fourth novel (after River of Dreams ), is a member of one of Calcutta's richest Jewish families, its fortune built on opium trading. Her opium- and sex-addicted mother is murdered by a jealous lover early on in this hefty volume; Dinah herself acquires two husbands (the first is homosexual, the second satisfyingly ardent), has a run-in with a dissolute and wily maharajah, and takes control of the family business in an attempt to legitimize its interests. By all rights, these ingredients should add up to heady reading, but Dinah is a bloodless narrator, merely shuffled from one incident to another. Courter scatters italicized words and phrases as if to exhibit her extensive research of the place and period (one wonders, however, how even the most curious reader can be edified by such sentences as "When the spoon glowed, the cook was told to hold a large dekchi , or pot, over my head"). Its literary shortcomings aside, the book has plenty of commercial potential, and may prove attractive to those who like elaborate romance in exotic settings. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-- An epic, well-researched historical novel of the life of a wealthy Jewish family set in 19th-century India. The first-person narration grabs readers from the start with the murder of the mother of the main character, Dinah Sassoon. Readers then follow Dinah's life for a half century through her loveless first marriage, to her stormy romance with her second husband. The book takes YAs from the crowded streets of Calcutta to the serene mountains of Darjeeling, through the exotic world of India's flourishing opium trade to the business world of Hong Kong. Through this book, readers will gain insight into India's culture, cuisine, and lifestyle while enjoying a romantic, adventurous novel.
- Roberta Lisker, W. T. Woodson High Sch . , Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 626 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse (September 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595242499
• ISBN-13: 978-0595242498
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #873,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exotic account of little-known part of world history, October 2, 1998

By 

Lauren Kermode - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flowers in the Blood (Signet) (Paperback)

"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.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Precocious Little Girl Becomes An Empowered Women, May 28, 2002

By 

Carmen Matthews "The Serene Samurai" (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flowers in the Blood: 2 (Hardcover)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I remember everything so vividly!!, March 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Flowers in the Blood (Signet) (Paperback)

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.