A gripping and tragic real life account of growing up in and leaving behind an Afghanistan ripped apart by endless warfare. At times it was hard to believe that this story is true because the things that have happened to Afghanistan and its people are so unbelievable. Pazira is a strong woman and a strong writer, but by the end of the book, I found my attention waning. Pazira's visit to Russia and her conversations with former members of the Soviet occupation felt a bit anticlimactic for me. ( )

One of Nelofer Pazira's earliest memories is of going to visit her father in prison. Born in Afghanistan in the last year's of the Shah's reign, Nelofer's family was well-educated, liberal-minded, and in support of democratic change. Unfortunately the Saur Revolution that overthrew the Shah led to a communist government that failed to deliver on its promises and committed the same sorts of human rights violations that made the Shah's regime so despised. In December 1979, Soviet troops entered Afghanistan to prop up the communist regime, and a decade of violent occupation ensued.

Nelofer grew up in this turbulent atmosphere of revolution, occupation, and the armed resistance of the mujahidin. As a girl, she chanted slogans against the Soviets and threw rocks at their tanks. The mujahidin seemed like national heroes. By 1989, conditions and security in Kabul have deteriorated, Nelofer's father is arrested again, and the Pazir family decides to flee to Pakistan. There Nelofer begins to understand what life under an Islamic regime means, especially for women. By the time her family is given refugee status in Canada, Nelofer is as disillusioned by the mujahidin as she was by the communists. Then the Taliban take over.

As an adult, Nelofer returns to the region trying to find her childhood friend, with whom she had maintained a correspondence from Canada. In the process of making a film, Kandahar, Nelofer experiences first-hand the difficulties of life under the Taliban. And finally she learns the fate of her friend, Dyana.

The story of the Pazir family is the story of the educated class in Afghanistan. Their fate, like so many of their compatriots, is a series of raised hopes, disillusionment, and flight. A Bed of Red Flowers was particularly interesting because of how well Nelofer was able to articulate her emotional support first for the communists and then for the mujahidin, but in each case to be profoundly disappointed. ( )

"'The picnic of the red flower' is a traditional time of celebration for
Afghans. One of Nelofer Pazira's earliest memories is of family outings at New
Year's, when people would gather in the countryside and admire the tulips and
poppies that carpet the landscape. It is the mid-1970s, and her parents are
building a future for themselves and their young children in the city of Kabul.
But when Nelofer is just five, the Communists take power and her father, a
respected doctor, is imprisoned, along with thousands of other Afghans. The
following year, the Russians invade Afghanistan, which becomes a police state
and the centre of a bloody conflict between the Soviet army and American-backed
mujahidin fighters. A climate of violence and fear regions, punctuated by
unrelenting rocket attacks. As the war drags on, many Afghans become refugees."
--jacket

Recommended by Mrs. Capone!
As a young girl growing up in 1970s Afghanistan, Nelofer Pazira seems destined for a bright future. The daughter of liberal-minded professionals, she enjoys a safe, loving and privileged life. Some of her early memories include convivial family picnics and New Years’ celebrations overlooking the thousands of red flowers that carpet the hills of Mazar. But Nelofer’s world is shattered when she is just five and her father is imprisoned for refusing to support the communist party. This episode plants a “seed of anger” in her, which is given plenty of opportunity to grow as the years unfold.
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