NUMBER: 35TITLE: Memoirs of a Geisha
AUTHOR: Arthur Golden
STARTED: April 2, 2006
FINISHED: April 10, 2006
PAGES: 434
GENRE: Fiction
FIRST SENTENCE: One evening in the spring of 1936, when I was a boy of fourteen, my father took me to a dance performance in Kyoto.
SUMMARY: [From barnesandnoble.com] Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. Sayuri's story begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. Through her eyes, we see the decadent heart of Gion - the geisha district of Kyoto - with its marvelous teahouses and theaters, narrow back alleys, ornate temples, and artists' streets. And we witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup and hair; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it. But as World War II erupts and the geisha houses are forced to close, Sayuri, with little money and even less food, must reinvent herself all over again to find a rare kind of freedom on her own terms.
REASON FOR READING: I saw the movie and have been wanting to read the book for awhile.
THOUGHTS: Honestly, I liked the movie better. That is not the say that the book was bad. In fact, just the opposite; the book was very good, I just thought it lacked the characterization of the movie. I know that's the reverse of the normal structure, but I honestly thought the characters in the book fell flat every now I then. I had trouble believing their actions and emotions, but I think that comes when a male author is writing from a female perspective.
That being said, the book was still enjoyable. The lifestyle of a geisha is simply stunning. Reading about the way their daily lives operate is just fascinating. Golden did a fantastic job of creating drama and conflict for his characters, I just wish the characters had lived up to the situations.
The strongest part of this book is Golden's writing; it's lyrical and beautiful. I could easily picture the scenes Golden was depicting. The visuals he was able to create in my mind saved this book from being just a mediocre read.
MISCELLANEOUS: I still don't like the age gap between Sayuri and the Chairman. It just creeps me out.
KEEP/SHARE/CRINGE(?): Keep (at least for now)
RATING: 8/10 [Terrific]
CR: Beauty and the Spy by Julie Anne Long
RN: Adcult USA by James B. Twitchell
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