A timeless genre picture of a strong woman making the best out of terrible circumstances.

Not just the personal story of the main protagonist is very well written, it´s how Japans´culture and history are shown in a new perspective one wouldn´t have ever thought of because of the stigmas and prejudices the same men haunting the poor women are imposing on them with their conservative, misogynic policy.

The Asian way
Sexist male dominance manifested in many different forms and how the Japanese culture arranged prostitution has hardly ever been described in such memorable words, metaphors, and pictures. The strange thing is that all that glitter and glamour around it, letting it seem cultivated and less primitive, creates the disturbing impression that it´s not as bad as it is, something so cognitive biasy that it´s hard to stomach, understand, and put in context to the cultural impact, especially when comparing the very different approaches towards it around the world.

Prostituion by region
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostit...
As so often, the Scandinavians set the best, new policies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostit...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostit...
, with „Neo-abolitionism - illegal to buy sex and for 3rd party involvement, legal to sell sex“ (that´s once a word with Neo that is not evil)
thereby making it illegal for the clients to buy sex and not criminalize the prostitutes. That´s an important approach away from victim blaming and slut shaming, the punishment of the female victims, and offender protection that is law in many other bigoted, conservative, sexist states, towards a more enlightened society. Critics like to claim that this would increase sexual violence and rape, but maybe just every sexual offender should be facing life imprisonment without any chance of probation, maybe including permanent chemical castration so that he can´t all the time happily masturbate to his snuff rape fantasies in his cell.

Traditions and culture of exploitation
According to the stereotypical calm, silent, mindful, and introverted Asian mentality, even the sex business is full of ceremonies, traditions, and elements that couldn´t have developed in other cultures with less focus on elegance and aesthetics. Of course, it´s still sick and disgusting, but at least it goes with the option for women to reach a certain status and adds art, culture, and class to the perverted mix.

Talent and obsession
It´s one of the greatest fiction without fantasy novels I´ve read, one of the rare cases when talent meets the lifelong interest of an author in a topic or culture and is distilled to something so amazing that it isn´t exaggerated to say that there might hardly be ever a similar novel written that has the same intensity in dealing with this theme.

Sociocultural impact of prostitution
What´s more bigoted, letting it all seem shiny, noble, and cultivated, hiding it or making it illegal or the open, direct, strangely still somewhat illegal, Western way? There is so much behind this, parts of it already mentioned in „Prostitution by region“, and it would take far too long to mention all the complexity, and especially misogyny, behind it. And who is causing and promoting it for millennia, and I don´t mean the male sex drive alone, but to what institutions, that make sex and love punished, abolished, or dominated by crazy, stupid rules full of sexism, hate, and misogyny, its degeneracy has mutated. The faithful creating hell on Earth for multi k years since the neolithic, first agricultural revolution to install bloody dictatorships, what a slogan.

Drugs
I don´t know if there are hidden implications and innuendos about Western trade traditions, especially how to get bestselling products into the Chinese market,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_W...
I don´t get, but it seems quite probable that there is something deep lurking in the big history meta background. However, even without that, and me overanalyzing and seeing things that aren´t there as if high as heck, it´s always a great trope to get someone insane in the membrane to get the plot started, show ones´ brain on whatever, and how people slowly fall to pieces.
t
Subjective insecurity
This is absolutely not my genre, so my impression and subjective review might be more than incompetent regarding established rating standards, but I definitively like this different, character focused style of storytelling that teaches much about foreign cultures. Hopefully, the writer did his research and it´s accurate, because some reviewers seem to be critical regarding this fact. But, as said, I am an absolute amateur in reading protagonist´ focused stuff and just loved the show.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

Very interesting,entertaining, and quick to read! Chiyo/Sayuri and her sister Satsu were sold into slavery at the age of 9 by their father, Sayuri tells of her traumatic arrival at the Nitta okiya (a geisha house), where she endures harsh treatment from everyone, In spite of the problems she had to face, Sayuri became the beautiful geisha accomplished in the art of entertaining men.







“He was like a song I'd heard once in fragments but had been singing in my mind ever since.”

“Can't you see? Every step I have taken, since I was that child on the bridge, has been to bring myself closer to you.”

We can never flee the misery that is within us.

Sakamoto Chiyo was only 9 years old when in 1929, out of desperation her father sold her and her older sister to a man who took them to Kyoto to work as entertainers.

When in Kyoto, Chiyo is separated from her sister and is taken to a geisha boarding house to be trained and eventually become a geisha.

The story itself was beautifully told, but for me, it sounded too American if you know what I mean. It felt like the characters in the book were only playing at being Japanese.

Despite the elaborate language and rich description, something important was missing: Authenticity.

Imagine if a Chinese author were writing a book about a 20th century Armenian woman. It may convey the story, but no amount of ‘dolma’s and ‘manti’s would be enough to make it sound authentic.

And that brings me to the book not being able to choose if it was fiction or non fiction.

On one hand the author professes penning the memoirs of a real geisha, who by the way, categorically asked him not to mention her name in the book, which he very unprofessionally did and was sued for and paid the price eventually.

And on the other hand, the facts are changed to the extent that the story sounds completely fictional, in which case the author didn’t have to mention the geisha’s name at all, which would have saved her the distress.
In a word, I liked the movie better.

'Memoirs of a Geisha' is an incredibly exquisite novel to read. The life of the Japanese geisha Sayuri, the main character, in 1930's Japan is so realistically described I believed at times I was reading an actual memoir. The writing is as liquid and lovely as an ornamental pond with a small designed waterfall. Reading this book is entirely all delight - which it shouldn't be considering the subject is about forced formalized prostitution. However, Arthur Golden is a beautiful writer, and luckily, his main protagonist (based on a real geisha's interview) Sayuri is a fighter, the type of woman who made lemonade from lemons.

She was born with the name Chiyo, but she kept it only as long as she was an ordinary little 9-year-old girl, daughter of a small village fisherman, living in a typsy shack by the ocean with her dying mother and older sister, Satsu. After her mother took to her bed with cancer, her father sold her and Satsu to a rich industrialist, who in turn quickly sold them into prostitution in Kyoto, Japan. Satsu ended up performing as a low-end prostitute immediately, being transferred to a very low-class house, but Chiyo is given to a high-class okiya, a place where geishas were trained and indentured for life. Chiyo has a destiny she is forced to embrace because she has the luck to be a beautiful child with grey-blue eyes, and poor parents sick with bad health.

She struggles against her dictated fate and succeeds in derailing the house's owners, Granny, Mother and Auntie, from their plans to train her as a geisha. She does this with with an attempt to run away, intending to return to her parents. Instead the escape ends in disaster and she is returned to the okiya by the neighbors, all of whom fully support the okiyas and the geisha system, because without the money produced by the party-girls, there would be a lot of suppliers and other businesses which would struggle to lure wealthy businessmen to spend. So, although she is returned to her owners, she is in disgrace. Granny and Mother make the decision she is too much of a risk to train as a geisha, an education which will cost the house thousands of dollars by the time Chiyo is a teen. She becomes a maid, cleaning and polishing while watching the magnificent geisha, Hatsumomo, already in place and supporting the entire house through the entertaining of men in tea-houses and invitations to appear on the stage in plays.

Hatsumomo is so important to the survival of the entire okiya, she is permitted every angry vengeful attack on everyone who displeases her. She is careful to maintain her appearance and dancing, singing and music lessons, keeping within the boundaries for her behavior by the traditions of the institution of the geisha - a Japanese word which means 'artist entertainer'- but her angry neurotic spite leads her to abuse every member of the house, especially those whose beauty or geisha apprenticeship threaten her place in the hierarchy of the house. She has hopes of being adopted as Mother's daughter, which means she would inherit the okiya upon Mother's death.

When Hatsumomo's number one Kyoto competition, Mameha, an independent geisha supported partially by a danna, shows up in the okiya one day, offering to become Chiyo's older sister, an official designation in geisha culture of a personal trainer, it changes Chiyo's path once again. No longer a maid, she is given a new name - Sayuri.

While these momentous happenings are shifting Sayuri's life around like a windblown leaf, the Depression is causing starvation throughout Japan. However, Japan's industrialists are doing well, so the geishas are also doing well since they are hired to entertain the wealthy industrialists. It isn't until near the end of WWII the geisha enclaves feel the upheaval all of Japan, including the industrialists, soon feel because of losing the war. Meanwhile, Sayuri, who has decided to be the best geisha she can be, is having to defend herself against the malicious attacks by Hatsumomo against her character and reputation. If she cannot build her clientele list or if she loses a single male supporter, she could end up in rags once again, scrubbing toilets and starving. Only one can be left standing...whoever becomes Mother's adopted daughter. Game on...

I have used current idioms for my review, gentle reader, but Sayuri's narration, and Golden's words, are far more eloquent and beautiful than my more mundane review. I should also mention, that while Sayuri eventually embraced the geisha life, had to be one for survival, and the book emphasizes the Fine Arts a geisha are trained in, fully describing the makeup, clothes and the ceremonial work behind being a professional companion, along with the cultural environment and traditions of mid-20th century Japan, she believes sex is far down the list of what is expected of a geisha. I do not share the geisha viewpoint in this. There would not be a geisha institution if not for the sexual desires and hierarchical dog-pack requirements of rich men. It simply boils down to whether a girl is a high-priced talented courtesan or a street whore by the price she charges for her services and what effort she makes at providing an illusion of having a good time with horrible men.

Examples of Golden's superb writing ability :

"The path from our house followed the edge of the sea cliffs before turning toward the village. Walking it on a day like this was difficult, but I remember feeling grateful that the fierce wind drew my mind from the things which troubled me. The sea was violent, with waves like stones chipped into blades, sharp enough to cut. It seemed to me the world itself was feeling just as I felt. Was life nothing more than a storm that constantly washed away what had been there only a moment before, and left behind something barren and unrecognizable?"

"During those first few days in that strange place, I don't think I could have felt worse if I'd lost my arms and legs, rather than my family and home. I had no doubt life would never again be the same. All I could think of was my confusion and misery; and I wondered day after day when I might see Satsu again. I was without my father, without my mother--without even the clothing I'd always worn. Yet somehow the thing that startled me most, after a week or two had passed, was that I had in fact survived. I remember one moment drying rice bowls in the kitchen, when all at once I felt so disoriented I had to stop what I was doing to stare for a long while at my hands; for I could scarcely understand that this person drying the bowls was actually me."

The world of 'Memoirs of a Geisha' is unforgettably mesmerizing.


Below is a link to a geisha dance to a Lady Gaga song: Bad Romance

https://youtu.be/Hvwu80LT9To


This is a BBC/A&E production of the history of geishas:

https://youtu.be/4b4khFSChd4

Creo que puedo contar con los dedos de las manos los libros que he cerrado con un suspiro de satisfacción, aquellos con un desenlace que roza lo perfecto y, por supuesto, Memorias de una geisha entra en este selecto grupo de mis lecturas.

Lo que entrega esta novela puedo dividirlo en dos aspectos. Por una parte, un acercamiento magnífico a la cultura e historia del Japón de la pre y post Guerra a través de la sufrida vida de una geisha de Gion. El autor nos pasea con crudeza pero también con una exquisita delicadeza narrativa por las casas de té, las casas de geishas y sus abusivos vínculos económicos, la educación de estas jóvenes, la superstición que las envuelve y mucho, mucho más. Me dí cuenta que de este tema no sabía casi nada y lo que sabía... bueno, en su mayoría eran percepciones erróneas. Me enteré también que en su momento este libro causó una fuerte polémica, ya que algunas costumbres no se describían con la suficiente exactitud, pero al menos en mi caso, eso no le quita valor.

Por otra parte, tenemos la novela propiamente tal, con todos los conflictos que rodean la historia personal de Chiyo/Sayuri, desde sus inocentes 9 años, hasta que logra la paz interior (no me atrevo de calificarlo de felicidad) que tanto necesitaba. Con unos personajes antagonistas tan bien dibujados que los llegas a odiar (Hatsumono, sin quien el libro se reduciría prácticamente a la mitad) y a amar (Nobu, quien me causó una profunda pena durante toda la lectura).

Una delicia de libro que recomiendo sobradamente.

n  Reto #44 PopSugar 2020: Un libro ambientado en Japón, anfitrión de los Juegos Olímpicos de 2020n

The world is no more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean. Whatever our struggles and triumphs, however we may face or suffer them, all too soon they bleed into a wash, just like watery ink on paper.

A historical account of a young Japanese girl and the trials and tribulations that she faces on her path to becoming and working as a geisha.

The novel mostly centres around the theme of the hardships and challenges that Chiyo Sakamoto
has to face right from a very ripe age of 8-9. The narrative is gripping, the story is engrossing, and transports you to a different time and place (off-course with the good imagination that we readers possess). However, this is a long book (longer than most), lasting 500 odd pages and it did take some good amount of time to finish it. The novel, in the first 100-150 odd pages was a bit slow, but it eventually picked up pace towards the latter half.

Overall, I'd say it is a commendable work of evoking a vanished world in great detail. And once again, as many historical fiction novels point out the struggles of a woman / girl, Memoirs of Geisha also did the same via great imaginative empathy.

This book is yet another example of how indefatigable a woman can be. Even after constantly being tormented and being unbearably suppressed, a woman can stand her ground.
Not just stand, but make her way through it with a bang!
The vivacity of a woman's spirit, portrayed in the book, is utterly commendable and shows how overwhelmingly resilient a woman can be.

Looking forward to watching the 2005 movie adaptation now; read that the movie was nominated for 6 Academy Awards and won 3 out of them, which makes me more excited to watch the movie.

Coming to the rating, I'd round off my 3.75 stars to 4! (again emphasizing on the need for a decimal rating system on GR, haha!)

Si les soy completamente honesto, me cuestioné por mucho tiempo la calificación que merecía esta novela. Me senté a pensar en los personajes, la ambientación, los diálogos, la narrativa, las descripciones y todo me encantó.

Es de esos libros que aprendes mucho conforme disfrutas de la historia. Además me encanta que se nota la buena investigación que conllevó este libro porque a la medida que vas viendo que sucede con Sayuri o Mameha, te van describiendo el mundo Geisha.

¡Fascínate!

Si te gusta la cultura japonesa y las novelas históricas este es un básico. Si podría decir que es de las mejores novelas historias que he leído.

In a small Japanese fishing village of Yoroido, on the coast of the Sea of Japan, a child Chiyo Sakamoto 9, lives with an ancient father, dying mother and older sister Satsu in a dilapidated home, leaning over a cliff the year 1929, things are tough and will get harder, as the Great Depression is about to commence...the impoverished family needs help and the two sisters are sold. Pretty Chiyo with beautiful eyes, to become a geisha after a long apprenticeship and the unlucky, plain Satsu, an abused prostitute....In a house that never becomes a home, in the former royal capital of Kyoto, in the section called Gion where most geisha live, and the tea houses to entertain rich men, there the scared girl is under the complete control of three money- hungry women, who show no pity Granny, (she has coins in her heart) the matriarch and her two adopted daughters, Mother the real boss and Auntie, they love nicknames, both are as unfeeling as Granny. The only genuine geisha in residence is stunning Hatsumomo, as beautiful as she is detestable and takes an odd, instant hatred to the little girl and torments her nonstop. One day while doing an errand, the child starts crying in the streets, her miserable life has no joy, a man known as the chairman , the owner of an important electronics business stops and comforts Chiyo, leaving her his monogrammed handkerchief, it will be the most prized possession the girl has, at last someone cares... she falls in love and this will remain forever. After an aborted escape try with her sister, she falls from the roof of a neighbor's house injuring herself, things become even more dismal, Chiyo is demoted to a lowly maid in the house, no more school to learn her profession, to the elation of cruel Hatsumomo. Still life is cloudy and is never foreseen, even the fortune -tellers, the geisha go to often can't predict accurately... the most successful , glamorous, admired geisha in Kyoto , Mameha, becomes her "Big Sister", a mentor that can help any woman rise to the top, how strange. Her name is changed later to "Sayuri", she returns to school, becomes a fine dancer and does a solo at the annual celebrations in the local theater, her poster is painted by a famous alcoholic artist in town, the career prospers, but the chairman, that Sayuri constantly meets in the tea house parties, ( where the men get drunk on Sake, listen to stories told, watch the singing the dancing and music played by the geisha) is rather distant, and doesn't recognize the grown- up woman ... Gruff Nobu, scarred and disabled in a war, the chairman's best friend and second -in -command at the electronics firm, likes Chiyo/Sayuri , he her love can never interfere, too much respect for his colleague, and they are so close, it is a sad, hopeless situation for Chiyo/ Sayuri ... The years roll by, and war is on the horizon, change is coming, it always is...the now renowned geisha, awaits...The most famous, popular, geisha Mineko Iwasaki, now retired, ( one of the characters is based on her, in the novel) greatly helped Mr. Arthur Golden , in research, revealing to him in confidence, the secrets of the mysterious life of these women for the first time much to her later regret...

This was one of the best-written books I have ever read. There was something so special about the writing style, I can't really put it into words. It was just so "fitting" and transported me right into this fascinating world. I knew absolutely nothing about the Geisha tradition going into this book, and I feel like I've learnt so much! It is extremely evident that the author did a lot of extensive research and clearly appreciates the Japanese culture. I never would have guessed that I could become so invested in the life of a single girl, who is growing up in a country I don't have any connection to, and who is living a lifestyle I've never thought all too much about before.

I thing the exquisite writing style is what truly makes this book. Of course the plot is interesting as well (especially if, like me, you don't know anything about all the work that goes into becoming a Geisha), but without  Arthur Golden's wonderful storytelling it would have been only half as good. He made me feel things I wouldn't have felt otherwise. He managed to make even the most mundane things sound exciting and interesting. I especially need to mention the fact that there were many things happening I would have found disgusting and appalling under different circumstances (this is not a critique on the book itself; these situations are realistic and an attribute to the time period the book takes place in). However, the author pulled me so far into the story and had such a beautiful way of describing things, that I just couldn't bring myself to be angry at anything.

All in all, this was an absolute perfect book to me. If I were to teach a writing class, I would definitely choose this novel as an example on great storytelling. It deserves all the hype and acclaim it gets.

Very interesting book of the culture of the Geisha. I really thought this was going to be more like an actual memoir, but apparently it is not. The story was well written but developed very slowly.
I enjoyed very much about learning about the history of the Geisha, but the ending was very disappointing.

Stilul este foarte dificil, iar mai multe aspecte ori nu au fost clarificate ori nu prea am fost eu atent suficient de mult încât să înțeleg ce vrea Golden să demonstreze.

"Uneori, în viață dăm de lucruri pe care nu le înțelegem pentru că n-am mai văzut niciodată ceva asemănător."
"Noi, oamenii, suntem numai o părticică din ceva mult mai cuprinzător. Mergând, putem strivi un gândac sau putem crea un curent de aer care să facă o gâză să ajungă într-un loc unde altfel n-ar fi ajuns. Iar dacă ne gândim la același exemplu, dar cu noi în rol de insectă și universul în rolul nostru, devine limpede că suntem zilnic afectați de forțe asupra cărora nu avem mai mult control decât are bietul gândac asupra piciorului uriaș care-l calcă."
"Ce putem face? Trebuie să folosim orice metodă pentru a înțelege mișcările universului și a ne plănui faptele în așa fel încât să nu luptăm contra curentului, ci să ne lăsăm ajutați de el."
"- Apa nu așteaptă niciodată. Își schimbă forma, curge pe lângă obstacole și găsește calea secretă la care nimeni nu s-a gândit - spărtura minusculă din acoperiș sau din podea. Fără doar și poate, e cel mai versatil dintre cele cinci elemente. Poate spăla pământul; poate stinge focul; poate subția metalul. Nici chiar lemnul, care e complementul ei natural, nu poate supraviețui fără apă."
"Durerea e un lucru foarte ciudat; suntem atât de neputincioși în fața ei. E ca o fereastră care se deschide atunci când vrea ea. Camera se răcește și nu putem decât să tremurăm. Dar de fiecare dată se deschide mai puțin, și mai puțin; până când, într-o zi, ne întrebăm ce s-a ales cu ea."

حين كنتُ أدرس التاريخ الجاهلي في شبة الجزيرة العربية كانت هناك فقرة تتكرر دائما عن وضع المرأة في المجتمع عبارة كنت أشعر أنهم يكررونها بشكل متعمد لإهانة جنس النساء كان المؤلف يصف معاملة الرجل المرأة على أساس إنها متاع أو ما شابه حين كنت أقرأ الجيشا رنّت تلك العبارة في ذهني مسترجعة قسوة الرجل ولامبالاته تجاه هذا الكائن الحي !
أي وضع مأساوي كانت تعيشه المرأة في الهند أو الصين أو اليابان أو عند العرب أو غيرهم شرقا وغربا لم يكن يختلف !
الأنثى كانت تدور دوما في فلك الرجل تموت و تحيا لأجله !
الجيشا درّبت لتكون على هيئة لوحة جميلة يتبارز عليها الرجال وينالها أكثرهم سطوة وحظوة وذكاءا ..
هذا الوضع المأساوي ونوعية التفكير الذكوري المتوارث بلا شك يثير الحزن والحقيقة إنني طوال قرائتي لتلك الرواية أتعجب كيف كانت النساء تبيع أنفسهن بهذه الطريقة المخجلة وعلى الرغم أن الأمر مازال يمارس بأشكال مختلفة وأكثر بساطة في الكثير من الأماكن التي يخيم عليها كابوس الفقر إلا أن ما يثير الدهشة كيف أن الجيشاوات خلقن لهم عالما خاصا به قوانين خاصة تسيرها نساء غلبت عليهم شهوة الطمع والسيطرة وانتفت معها كل معاني الإنسانية !

يحكي آرثر غولدن قصة فتاة وشقيقتها والدها صياد كبير في السن بينما والدتها كانت تعاني من مرض عضال أفقدها القدرة على الحياة ومع الوقت تفقد فعاليتها ويرجع صوت الألم مجلجلا ليحرم بطلتنا الصغيرة من الشعور بالأمان ومرارة الإحساس بقرب النهاية
وفقا لذلك لم يكن هناك من يرعى الطفلة بطلة القصة وشقيقتها المراهقة ، خرجت شيو لتحضر الدواء لوالدتها ولكنها أصيبت فأحضرها الصيادون إلى رب النعمة تاناكا ، اللقاء مع تاناكا هو الذي غير حياتها إلى إتجاه آخر تماما لم يكن يخطر في بال تلك الفتاة الصغيرة
شيو كانت تتمتع بعينين رماديتين تسرق الأنظار على الرغم من إنها تسير حافية القدمين مبعثرة الشعر والملابس إلا إن السيد تاناكا انبهر بتلك العينين وبدأ يرى مستقبلا آخر سيعود عليه بالمال !
ونظرا لظروف الفقر القاهرة والمستقبل الغامض الذي يحيط بالفتاتين اضطر الأب إلى بيع فتاتيه إلى السيد تاناكا الذي باعهم بدوره،، الصغيرة لأحد بيوتات تربية الجيشاوات والمراهقة إلى أحد بيوت الدعارة ومن هنا يبدأ مشوار عذابات الطفلة التي تضاءلت أحلامها في بيت ورعاية جيدة في معية السيد تاناكا

آرثر غولدن درس أصول الفن الياباني وهذا الأمر إنعكس بشكل بارع في روايته الجيشا وفي توغله لعالم الجيشاوات الذي يقوم على تربية الفتاة لتكون راقصة وعازفة ومتذوقة للفن ومتحدثة وقادرة على خدمة الرجال في بيوتات الشاي الشهيرة التي يجتمع فيها رجالات المجتمع الراقي ، ما لفت نظري بل سلب لبي هذا الوصف الشائق والدقيق الذي اعتمده غولدن في وصف الكيمونوات وهو اللباس الذي كانت ترتديه الجيشاوات لجذب اهتمام الرجال ويمثل مبارزة حقيقية بين الجيشاوات للحصول على أفخر وأجمل أنواعها وكان غولدن يسترسل في الوصف حتى تعرف أن الكاتب نفسه مولع بهذا النوع من الفن فيصف القماش واللون والرسوم ويقوم بتحليل حركتها فتبدو وكأنها لوحة تضج بالحيوية والحياة ، لقد كان غولدن أيضا يتوغل في تفاصيل صغيرة كالصباغ الأبيض وطريقة طلاء الوجه والشفاه والعينين وكل هذه الأمورالتي تذكرك أن غولدن استغرق أعواما طوال ليكتب هذه الرواية كما فعل باموق في اسمي أحمر هذه الدقة وهذا الشعور بالمسئولية تجاه الكتابة ألا يجعلك تقف احتراما للكاتب خاصة إنه قرر الدخول إلى عالم لا ينتمي له في الحقيقة !

إن الأمر لم يقتصر فقط على الدخول لذلك العالم ولكن بحبكة مشوقة لم تنتهي عند عذابات تلك الصغيرة مع منافستها التي لم تألو جهدا في زعزعة وجودها في الأوكيا ولا بفكرة الهرب التي ظلت تراودها للبحث عن حياة حرة وكريمة تلك الفترة المظلمة التي حولتها إلى خادمة مهانة
حين تخلى عنها الأب والأخت برق أمل وحيد كان دافعا لها لكي تصبح الجيشا الأكثر شهرة في تاريخ الجيشاوات
بل بهذا الأمل الذي يخلقه الحب ليصبح هو الدافع الرئيسي لإحتمال كل ما لا يمكن أن يحتمل ، إن اللقاءات التي جمعت بين سايوري ورجلها الوحيد كانت من أجمل المشاهد الدافئة والحميمية وإن كانت لقاءات متباعدة وقليلة وتحمل القليل من الأمل والكثير من اليأس ..

كان غولدن متفوقا في رسم شخصياته الخيالية وكأنها شخصيات حقيقية ، إن تفرّد الكاتب جاء في المساحات التي قدمها لكل شخصية كتب عنها قد تكون صفحات كثيرة وقد تكون أسطر قليلة وعلى الرغم من أن سايوري هي الشخصية المحورية في هذه الرواية إلا أن حضور الشخصيات الأخرى كان متساويا من حيث قوة تأثيرها على مجريات السرد غولدن الأم التي تدير الأوكيا بجشعها وتسلطها
وهاتسومومو المنافسة الجميلة التي ظهرت كالأنثى الحية تبدل جلدها حسب ما تقتضيه مصالحها الشخصية أحببت جدا طريقة رسم هذه الشخصية المتحركة حيوية مجنونة مليئة بالغرابة والإدهاش , الفارس النبيل الرئيس , البارون القبيح المنفوخ كبالون والدكتور الذي تفوح من أسطر غولدن حين يتحدث عنه رائحة المستشفيات
ومامها الأنثى الجميلة العاقلة نموذج للجيشا المثال التي كانت تزاحم بنضج الأنثى ذات التجارب
ونابو آه من تلك الشخصية إنها بالفعل من أروع وأعظم شخصيات الرواية على غرابته وتصرفاته العنيفة التي كانت ترافق صفات أخرى نبيلة
لا أدري لم إستدعت هذه الرواية سيرة تلك النساء الصينيات ( بجعات برية ) كنتُ أفكر في الرابط بين الروايتين
ربما هو عالم الشرق أو ربما هي الأنثى المهانة ولعلها العذابات التي عانتها الصغيرة أو قد يكون ذلك النوع المتفرد من المتعة والتشويق الذي حصدته في الكتابين عن عالمين مختلفين عني تماما !