Relax and Read Book Reviews
  • Book reviews
  • Book covers
  • Blog
  • Character in the Spotlight
  • Author interviews
  • About Me
  • Contact Me

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden

22/9/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
5/5

Book Description
This is a seductive and evocative epic on an intimate scale, which tells the extraordinary story of a geisha girl. Summoning up more than twenty years of Japan's most dramatic history, it uncovers a hidden world of eroticism and enchantment, exploitation and degradation. From a small fishing village in 1929, the tale moves to the glamorous and decadent heart of Kyoto in the 1930s, where a young peasant girl is sold as servant and apprentice to a renowned geisha house. She tells her story many years later from the Waldorf Astoria in New York; it exquisitely evokes another culture, a different time and the details of an extraordinary way of life. It conjures up the perfection and the ugliness of life behind rice-paper screens, where young girls learn the arts of geisha - dancing and singing, how to wind the kimono, how to walk and pour tea, and how to beguile the most powerful men.


My review

"We don't become geisha so our lives will be satisfying. We become geisha because we have no other choice."

'Memoirs of a geisha' by Arthur Golden is an evocative narrative that tells the emotional and extraordinary day-to-day life story of a geisha girl in the 1930s and 1940s. It is written from the pov of the geisha.

Chiyo is a very poor girl with lovely grey eyes living in a 'tipsy' house on a hill in a small fishing village. She lives with her very ill mother, old father and her sister Satsu. One day Chiyo and her sister are taken away from their home to the Gion district of Kyoto. Here the sisters are immediately separated. Chiyo is taken to an 'okiya' or geisha house. In Gion she is sent to school to learn the arts of entertaining by taking classes in music, dance, tea ceremonies and comportment but, "The training of an apprentice geisha is an arduous path."

"We were made to toughen up our hands by holding them in ice water until we cried from pain ... And in fact toughening the hands in this way really did help me play better."

In the okiya, Chiyo suffers terribly at the cruel hands of the resident geisha Hatsumomo. Due to Chiyo's beautiful features, this geisha sees a rival in her and does all she can to get rid of her. The 'Mother' of the okiya does not care about Chiyo either, she cares only about her account books and sees Chiyo just as a business opportunity.

One day, while a young Chiyo is crying near a stream, a very elegant man comes in her aid. He is accompanied by a geisha who calls him 'Chairman'. This man speaks gently to Chiyo, and before he goes away, he gives her his handkerchief and a coin to buy some sweets. This is the first person to have talked kindly to Chiyo since she came to Gion. She is immediately infatuated with and drawn to this man, though she doesn't know who he is. From this day onwards, the Chairman is always in Chiyo's thoughts. Who is this man? Will she ever see him again? Will he recognize her?

Years pass. Under the direction of a beautiful geisha called Mameha, Chiyo has now become an established geisha named Sayuri. Mameha ensures that Sayuri is known by all men and mistresses of Gion's many teahouses. Sayuri has now reached the moment of her 'mizuage'. In other words, wealthy men bid money and the highest bidder wins the right to deflower her. Who will win this right?

Sayuri's story goes on during the horrible war years and afterwards when she has to attract a 'danna', that is a wealthy man who pays all her expenses and buys her gifts in return for the pleasure of her company and services. Sayuri has only one man in her mind for this role but the odds of her dream ever becoming a reality are almost nonexistant.

In my opinion the story tends to drag a bit towards the last part. Another thing is that I found rather far-fetched the fact that this girl spent almost her entire existence obsessed with this one man and with only one aim in her mind - to be the Chairman's lover.

Having said that, I really had a great time reading this book. The narrative is almost poetic at times. I learned a lot about the Japanese Geisha culture. The author uses Japanese terms (with their explanation) to draw the reader more into the story. 'Memoirs of a geisha' is a very entertaining, well-researched story.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Currently reading

    Picture

    Picture
    Picture
    Challenge Participant
    Picture

    Authors

    All
    A.J. Waines
    Alex Marwood
    Alison Baillie
    Allan Guthrie
    Andrew Nicoll
    Angela Marsons
    Angie Smith
    Anne Goodwin
    Antti Tuomainen
    Arlene Hunt
    Arthur Golden
    Ava Marsh
    A.W. Rock
    B.A. Paris
    Ben Cheetham
    Beth Miller
    Betsy Reavley
    Camilla Lackberg
    Camilla Way
    Cara Hunter
    Caroline Mitchell
    Carol Wyer
    Chris Carter
    Chris James
    Christine Sutton
    C.J. Tudor
    Claire Douglas
    Claire Seeber
    C.L.Clark
    Cynthia Clark
    David Videcette
    Debbie Howells
    Debbie Rix
    Deborah Rogers
    Elizabeth Haynes
    Emma Kavanagh
    Emma L. Clapperton
    Eva Dolan
    Evans Light
    Faith Mortimer
    Gail Honeyman
    Graham Masterton
    Graham Smith
    Harlan Coben
    Helen Callaghan
    Hendrik Groen
    Hollie Overton
    Ingrid Black
    J.A. Baker
    Jackie Kabler
    Jack Jordan
    Jac Wright
    Jadran Hawke
    James L. Conway
    Jane Harper
    Jan Ruth
    J.A. Schneider
    Jeff Menapace
    Jennifer McVeigh
    Jessie Keane
    Jodi Picoult
    John Lincoln
    John Nicholl
    J.S. Carol
    Karin Fossum
    Karin Slaughter
    Kathryn Croft
    Kathryn McMaster
    Kerry Fisher
    Kerry Wilkinson
    K.L. Slater
    Laila Ibrahim
    Laura Elliot
    Leigh Russell
    Lin Anderson
    Linda S. Prather
    Linwood Barclay
    Lisa Hall
    L J Ross
    Louise Jensen
    Luana Lewis
    Luca Veste
    Lyle Howard
    M.A.Comley
    M.A.Comley & Linda Prather
    M.A.Comley & Tara Lyons
    Maggie James
    Maggie Shayne
    Mandasue Heller
    Margaret Atwood
    Mark Edwards
    Mark Tilbury
    Martina Cole
    Mary-Jane Riley
    Matt Brolly
    Mel Sherratt
    Michael Wood
    Nate Gubin
    Netta Newbound
    Nicky Black
    Pamela Crane
    Patricia Cornwell
    Patricia Gibney
    Paul Finch
    P.D.Viner
    Peter James
    Rachel Amphlett
    Ragnar Jonasson
    Rayven T. Hill
    Rebecca Bradley
    Renita D'Silva
    Richard Montanari
    R. I. Olufsen
    Robert Bryndza
    Robert Harris
    Robin Roughley
    Ruth Ware
    Samantha Downing
    Samantha Hayes
    Sara Bailey
    Sarah Stovell
    Scott Pratt
    S. E. Lynes
    Sibel Hodge
    Simon Kernick
    Siobhan Daiko
    SJI Holliday
    Sofia Lundberg
    Sten Ostberg
    Stephen Edger
    Stephen King
    Stuart Neville
    Tamar Cohen
    Tara Lyons
    Teresa I. Robison
    Terri Reid
    Tess Makovesky
    Tim Ellis
    Tom Bale
    Val McDermid
    Will Carver


    Archives

    June 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013


    Super book blogs


    By the letter book reviews
    I Love Reading

    CrimeBookJunkie
    ​
    Best Crime Books

    ​Bibliophile Book Club

    


    Goodreads: Book reviews, recommendations, and discussion

    Tweets by @callejajos

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.