Anahita's Woven Riddle

Anahita's Woven Riddle by Meghan Nuttall Sayre. I found this book in the "foreign locales" section of the library's recommended list.  The locale was indeed foreign (19th century Iran), and the book was duly recommended. I loved it. The characters were warm and enjoyable, the plot was excellent, the ending made me squee.

Anahita is a young woman of a nomadic tribe who has just been informed by her father that she will need to make her wedding qali (no, I'm not explaining, go read the book) as she will likely be married to the tribe's khan the following year. At first, she protests- she has ambitions of her own and marriage isn't a part of it. She soon realizes that marriage may not be all that bad- if she can have some choice in the matter. She convinces her father and the tribe's religious leader to allow her to pose a riddle contest- she will weave a riddle into her qali and she will marry whichever suitor can guess her riddle. Toss in a pernicious khan, three very charming suitors, and a year of gathering wool, spinning, dyeing, and weaving.

The ending.... ahhh, not telling. Suffice to say, what I read on a whim in turn sent me out to the pressing crowds of a popular shopping district to hunt for another book my surprise find referenced (and that led to a very interesting conversation with a complete stranger and fellow aspiring polyglot).

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