Anahita's Woven Riddle by

Anahita's Woven Riddle by Meghan Nuttall Sayers

Published by Harry Abrams, 2006. 112 pages $16.95

ISBN:0-8109-5481-8

Anahita is a bold, freethinking teenager in a culture that is based on historic tradition. Her family is a nomadic Muslim tribe that travels from the mountains in the summer to the plains in the winter with their herds of sheep which provide the wool for their beautiful, highly prized rugs. Master dye makers and weavers, this tribe faces loss of water rights as the khan (leader) strategizes to marry Anahita. Anahita refuses to marry the khan and presents a challenge that whoever can answer the riddle woven into her marriage carpet will be her husband. There are four suitors. One is a tribe member who becomes a soldier fighting the Russians who threaten the area, another a teacher who has been brought in to teach the tribe, and one a prince who happened to see Anahita in a nearby market and the fourth is the khan. Each suitor’s life is detailed and will appel to male readers. Sayres weaves Muslim terms, with definitions embedded into the text and italicized for reference in the glossary, seamlessly into the fast-paced story of Anahita and her tribes problems, loves, and beliefs. One gains knowledge of dye making, rug weaving, and the lifestyle of Muslims, especially the expectations of women in the Muslim culture. Because the action takes place in Hasanabad area, the corollary to the current discord in the region is evident. A colorful telling of a nomadic culture with action that will keep the reader turning pages. L.L.M.