Flowers in the Blood

by Gay Courter

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 the growing and selling of opium.

Genres: Historical Fiction, India, Fiction, Historical, Book Club, Jewish, 19th Century

626 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 1990

Reviews

[Jennefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

At a very young age Dinah Sassoon finds her mothers body brutally murdered by her lover and as a result Dinah's position in her family and community is forever changed. Being the daughter of a cheating, weak willed, opium addict who came to her ends in such a violent way leads the rest of her Jewish community to see her in a different light. Her life has been touched by the evil-eye and she is likely to follow in her mothers footsteps. Poor un-marriageable Dinah has to fight for her happiness. She lives with the memory of her mother whom she dearly loved and the knowledge that her killer is still free while she also struggles with the fact that her family makes its wealth from the opium trade, a drug that helped lead to her mothers downfall.

This book really grabbed me from the very first page and kept me in its clutches until the very last. The characters are well developed, their struggles are very real and understandable. The characters grow and change as the story progresses. The story is tightly plotted and the narrative really moves along, not a dull spot in sight! I can't say enough good things about how much I enjoyed reading this!

Buuuuuut...... This is one of the books where the ending just came too easily. The story is written in first person from Dinahs point of view looking back on her life, and you are told right from the beginning that she gets revenge on her mothers killer. When it happens, its just so anti-climatic. It's almost incidental to the rest of the story. Throughout the story you are kind of lead to believe that all the events she goes through, and all the experience she gains will help her bring her mothers killer to justice. But that's not how it happens, its almost accidental and Dinnah really had next to nothing to do with it other that she is there when it happens. And then all of a sudden her mothers killer being brought to justice somehow magically wraps up some of the other loose ends at the end of the book. The fact that this guy dies somehow helps bring an end to the family's business negotiations. It's explained, but it just seems too easy. They were having all this trouble negotiating with the Chinese and all of a sudden because this one guy is dead everything falls into place! *Poof!* Even her marriage struggles are all resolved all on their own without her really having to communicate with her husband. She just goes on a business trip and comes home to a perfect marriage! *Poof!*

It's a solid 4 star read! I nearly have it 5 stars anyway! Great read! I enjoyed the history of the Jews living in India. I enjoyed the history about the opium trade. Dinah is a wonderful character with strengths and weaknesses. Just a wonderful book! Really! I can't say enough how much I enjoyed reading this! I just wish the ending was a bit stronger. It would have been nice if the events of Dinahs life had been what helped the story come to an end instead of it just kind of happening around her.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gay Courter's "Flowers in the Blood"is a well-researched novel about India's lucrative opium trade during the 19th century, and a powerful Jewish family in the business.

Based on actual events, Courter tells the story of the Sassoon's family through the eyes of eldest daughter Dinah. Beginning with the murder of her mother when Dinah is a small child and wending through adolescence, a disastrous arranged marriage and subsequent divorce, another marriage and becoming a successful businesswoman in her own right, Dinah's story is universally appealing.

There are some frank discussions of the opium trade, which was legal at the time, and addiction, and some sexual situations. Nothing was gratuitous, and the situations advance the story line well.

Highly recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction.

[♥ℳelody]

A Jewish family in India? Fuck yes.

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had absolutely no business being over 600 pages. The author is obviously talented. The book was well researched and the story was beautiful, but it definitely could have been told just as effectively in 300 pages. I almost gave up reading several times and probably won't ever read it again.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical Fiction + Non-European Jews sounded right up my alley. But this book is far too long with descriptions that are unnecessarily long and plain unnecessary. Like a novel combined with a textbook for a course you didn't realize you signed up for.

[linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is an interesting story about Jews in India and the opium trade. it is the story of the very wealthy sasoon family. i liked the author's writing style. i would have given it 5 stars but i felt it was too long and found the constant explanations of the indian words a bit annoying.

[Emily Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It was a book club choice and I really wasn't interested in reading it. However, I started it, and before long it was difficult to put it down. It's a lengthy book, filled with wonderful details, and I learned more about the opium trade in late 19th century India than I ever knew I would be interested in. I am very impressed with the author's in depth research of Jewish family lives in Calcutta during this time. The story is based on an actual murder in Calcutta, and the characters are developed around this shocking event. The reader is immersed in Dinah's life as we journey with her from her lonely childhood to her eventual head of a very successful family. We see her being rejected as a suitable wife for the sons of Calcutta's desirable Jewish families, to an unsatisfactory marriage ending in divorce, to her finding the love of her life. It is a book that stays with me, even now. Today I ordered several more books by this author and look forward to reading more of her work.

[Marion Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This saga gets high marks for its exotic setting - the Jewish community in India in the late 19th century, its revelations about the prominent role of some Jewish families in the opium trade and for telling its story through the eyes of a female protagonist, Dinah Sassoon. But it is weakened by veering too close to melodrama in some instances and belaboring financial details of the opium trade in others. Plus, I could never quite believe one key plot point.

Character development was also a little disappointing. Dinah's emotional responses and inner voice barely mature through the course of the novel, and certain other key characters lack depth. Nevertheless, this tale is compelling, with many entertaining moments. Ultimately, I was glad for what I learned of the Jews in Calcutta and Darjeeling.

[S R · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I read this 600+ page book aloud while we were traveling and enjoyed it very much. We enjoyed learning about the Baghdadi Jewish community in Calcutta, Cochin and Darjeeling in India in the late 1800's; the customs, the history, the relationship with the Hindu population and the role that the Sassoon family played with the opium trade to China. The main character, Dina is a very fascinating figure. We laughed at the Harlequinesque scenes of sex and romance: "his bronzed body and chiseled chin", etc since it was not effective nor necessary for the likability of the characters and plot. We enjoyed the intimate portrait of the events which unfolded in India and China. They were vividly drawn and compelling.

[David L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I had the talent to write fiction and could w rite in any genre I desired, I'd pick historic fiction and would want to handle my exotic subjectmatter as adroitly as Gay Courter does in this novel. A Baghdaadi Jewish family's entanglement in the opium trade is intricately detailed along with bits about the world of 19th-century India. I mentioned this book in my A Year in the Life of a Blind Bibliophile as an example of the kind of sweeping historic fiction I most enjoy reading or listening to. I must find out if this author is still writing and if her agent is still an Episcopal priest as I learned while finishing a nonfiction book she wrote about being a court appointed guardian.

[Judy Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost 5 stars but towards the end it bogged down a bit, but that is just a bit in a very long epic tale. The story of a Jewish woman living in Calcutta in the late 1800's, this book combines both Jewish and Indian rituals and opens us up to the very large and influential Jewish-Indain community there. It's chock full of facts, descriptions, history and the inner workings of the opium trade. We follow Dinah, a bright and precocious child as she develops into a tough young adult, very daring for a woman of her time. I couldn't get my nose out of the book. I highly recommend.

[Gina Anstee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting discovery in to the world of the Anglo Indians and the opium trade. A love story and historical novel that makes for an easy read. Was so fascinated by the Jewish Indians that I wasn't until now familiar with

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Didn't know much about the existence of Jews in India. Sure learned about it in this historical fiction!

[Kati Berman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this book in preparation for a book club discussion. I was awed by the author’s research on India, specifically Jewish life and trade in India in the late 19 th century. I have learned a lot about that culture from the novel and even more from the author’s note of why most of the Jews left India after it’s independence from the British and the establishment of the State of Israel.
The legal opium trade between India and China is described in maybe more detail than it had to. Many many Indian expressions, words were not explained and I had to look up multiple words to understand the story. A glossary at the end of the book would have been helpful. Overall, Avery educational historical fiction book.

[Jennifer I. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book has been around for while but is exactly the kind of story I love to read!! It is set in 19th century Calcutta, about a family of Jewish traders who's beloved daughter gets involved with opium
& the opium trade and is subsequently murder. Her daughter Dinah who is raised by her grandparents eventually discovers the mysterious connection of her family to her mother's dealth. The author weaves in the history of Calcutta's prosperous Jewish community, particularly the Baghdadi Jews who established themselves as successful merchants in the city which is so fascinating. I really loved vivid descriptions of bustling bazaars, elaborate mansions, and family traditions, and the grand finale of the book is a REAL zinger.

[Judy Goodrobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book years ago in a thrift store. Just the description on the back cover captivated me instantly, and the story kept me hooked. I've read it several times, and it never gets old. It was if karma put the book in my hand. Such an exotic combination: Jewish people living for generations in India, having migrated from the Middle East. Courter's writing transports you to the heart of the Asian subcontinent and a world you never imagined existed.

[Lorena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time to reread this book, many years after having picked it up! I still remember how this saga, set in India in the 19th C, gripped me. This wealth of history lends a glimpse into India's Baghdadi Jewish community, as well as a peek at fortunes made by opium and tea commerce. The fictional world of Dinah Sassoon, born to an affluent household of merchant traders, was very compelling.

[N]

Just a line to say that this book, which I read decades ago, set me on a path of interest in the nexus of Jew + India + Opium. It has a significance for me much more now than when I read it.
I was struck with Jennefer's comment - *poof*. The author is falling back on the age-old device of Deus ex Machina, that dates back to Aeschylus and Greek Drama.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable saga that held my interest throughout its many pages. At times the narrative was overly wordy, but didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. I also learned a lot about the Jews of India.

[Sary · Rating 4 out of 5]

a beautiful, albeit, long tale of the Jews in Victorian India and the opium trade. Romance, adventure, feminism, culture, and religion. I learned an incredible amount about a time and a place I knew little to nothing about.

[Darlene Zimmermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family history chronicled

The plot was slow to unravel..but unravel it did...page-turner , gripping love story..romance, sex and twists and turns all bound together by historical fiction and the opium trade...exotic and educational.

[Tracey S Choat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

I really enjoyed this book. I love reading history and this book is full of interesting information about a Jewish familyin India, the Opium Wars, the Opium trade, and the tea industry during the late 1800's.

[Arlene Handler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book

In spite of its length, it was a compelling book to read. The story was fascinating and the history of the Indian Jews was wonderful. Ms Courter put it all together so beautifully that it was not a difficult read. It kept your interest!

[Edie Light · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure when I read book, probably in the early 1990’s. One of the best books I’ve ever read. About a Jewish family in India and their involvement in the Opium trade. Fantastic story and I learned a lot. Highly recommend it.

[Paula Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it. writing style and story line!!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended by a real reader, this book was captivating. A bit long but I wanted to read it at all times. A great long plane read!

[Pamela Levine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 & 1/2 stars
about the opium trade
quite interesting

[Tyree Wieder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting story about opuim trade in the early 1800 from a Jewish family in India

[Pam Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story. Books was way too long and too wordy.

[Rennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A virtually unknown bit of Jewish history that is well worth reading for all.