If words can come off a page and stun you senseless, this is the book to read. When Chiyo a young peasant girl was sold to the Nitta okiya in Kyoto to one day become a geisha. She could not imagine the depths of the water in the sea her life would embark. From the harsh treatment from Hatsumomo, the primary geisha of the house; to apprentice geisha Mameha as her big sister; to the shamisens; to the tea houses; to the Japanese dances; to the hands of Nobu-san the cold kind business man; and finally to the chairman a man of great compassion and understanding. She will lead you thru the great depression and World War II seen thru the eyes of someone who experienced great wealth, kindness, longing, pain of suffering, loss, friendship, betrayal, and extreme poverty. As you read you will meet Sayuri (formally called Chiyo). An excellent read.

Quotes:

I knew he noticed the trees, and the mud, and the children in the street, but I had no reason to believe he'd ever noticed me.

She may have been cruel as a spider, but she was more lovely chewing on her fingernail than most geisha looked posing for a photograph.

"Never forgot them, Chiyo-chan," she said. "They're all that's left of your childhood."

This is why dreams can be such dangerous things: they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes consume us completely.

"I'd like to be as cooperative as I can." Mameha replied, " but I'd have difficulty arranging such a thing, since you haven't yet agreed to be Sayuri's mizuage patron. If her integrity is in doubt..........well, Sayuri will be presenting ekubo to a great many men. I'm sure most will be skeptical of stories they hear from Hatsumomo."

"I never seek to defeat the man I am fighting," he explained. "I seek to defeat his confidence. A mind troubled by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory. Two men are equals - true equals - only when they both have equal confidence."

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."

Sem dúvida, uma das minhas melhores leitura foi “Memórias de uma gueixa”, não só pelo impacto que essa leitura me causou, mas também pelo conhecimento que me trouxe da cultura japonesa. Aprendi muito. Conta basicamente a história de Sayuri que em 1929 devido ao estado de pobreza e a saúde precária dos seus pais, é vendida ainda bem pequena (9 anos), com a sua irmã, para uma Okiya (casa de gueixas) em Kyoto. No entanto, ao chegar em Kyoto ela é separada da sua irmã e parte sozinha para viver nessa Okiya. Lá passa por todos os tipos de provações, humilhações, na tentativa de se tornar uma gueixa famosa. Ela tem que suportar Hatsumomo, uma famosa Gueixa que vive na Okiya que vê em Sayuri uma real ameaça ao seu reinado e começa então a praticar todos os atos de maldade possíveis contra ela. O enredo do livro é basicamente esse: a busca de Sayuri em ter sucesso como gueixa, ajudada por uns e atrapalhada por outros, principalmente por Hatsumono, seus treinamentos buscando a perfeição através da dança, da música, ao vestir seu quimono, ao se maquiar. Mas há personagens maravilhosos como o Sr. Presidente que em um momento de desespero a ajuda quando ela ainda era bem pequena, arrebatando o seu coração. Há também Nobo, um sobrevivente de guerra com grande sequelas físicas que também se apaixona por Sayuri. Temos também Mameha uma Gueixa muito famosa que auxilia Sayuri em seu árduo caminho para se tornar uma gueixa. Enfim há outros personagens tais como o Dr Caranguejo, uma gueixa que chamam Abóbora, há também o Barão, enfim uma gama de personagens inesquecíveis. Outra coisa que me chamou a atenção é o submundo que envolve o mundo das Gueixas, como a guerra entres elas para se ter sucesso, os interesses meramente financeiros das donas das Okiya, a venda da virgindade das gueixas para quem der o maior lance como se fosse um leilão, homens ricos, famosos e casados que procuram as Gueixas para satisfazerem seus desejos sexuais. Enfim são tudo aparências, o amor é uma ilusão, isso me enojou muito. Como já citei foi uma ótima leitura, amei esse livro, uma obra-prima de Arthur Golden, que estudou muito o mundo das gueixas e nos brindou com esse livro, que em parte pode ser um livro histórico, e parte um conto de fadas e também um livro de terror!

کتاب فوق العاده ای بود حتما ��یشنهاد می کنم که بخونید

So.. Memoirs of a Geisha. I'd been wanting to read that one for a very long time. I had heard so many good things about it. It's supposed to be awesome, and deep, and beautiful, right?
Wrong. It's not.

The writing was what bothered me the most. It's pretentious and superficial, and sloooooww and it goes on and on and on and on and on and still, very little happens. In some sort of weird combination, the writing is both superficial and cliché. It feels like Golden thought it would be a good idea to emphasize all the Japan-and-nature clichés to the point of ridiculousness : I still can't believe how many times he compares something to the nature. Ironically, it doesn't feel natural at all. It feels forced and weird and and it's very annoying, as it slows down the pacing (which is already very slow) and frequently interrupts the narrator's flow of thoughts.

Examples? Yes, yes. Because I was so sick and tired of reading for the 40th time how something is LIKE a bird or a snake or whatever, I made a list. Enjoy, people.

This is how Sayuri narrates the story. Please notice and enjoy how natural this way of thinking sounds :

"I felt as a dam must feel when it's holding back an entire river."

"I felt as sore as a rock must feel when the waterfall has pounded on it all day long."

"My poor scalp felt the way clay must feel after the potter has scored it with a sharp stick."

And it goes on :

"Like water bugs kicking along the surface."

"Like the crisp skin of a grilled fish."

"Like a scrap of paper in the wind."

"Like ruts in the bark of a tree."

And on :

"Like a pig trying to survive in a slaughterhouse."

"Like a stray cat on the street without a master to feed it."

"My mind on the eve of my debut was like a garden in which the flowers have only begun to poke their faces up through the soil."

"It was like when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly."

"Out of my element as a pigeon in a nest of falcons."

"Felt as a simple smelt must feel when a silver salmon glides by."

Still not enough? I was hoping you'd say that. Here you go! :

"Like what a workman does to a field using a hoe felt the way clay must feel after the potter has scored it with a sharp stick."

"I felt as the waves of the ocean must feel when clouds have blocked the warmth of the sun."

"As if he were the wind that blew and I were just a cloud carried upon it."

"Like a tree and its roots, or like a shrine and the gate that stands before it."

"With as much difficulty as a hungry child turns away from a plate of food."

"I felt like a slab of tuna the grocer had just delivered."

"I was like a temple bell that resonates long after it has been struck."

"I tried to imagine I was simply a house standing in the rain with the water washing down the front of me."

"Like when a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom."

"Like the tree where the tiger might sharpen its claws."

"Like a fish belly-up on the stream."

"A tree may look as beautiful as ever; but when you notice the insects infesting it, and the tips of the branches that are brown from disease, even the trunk seems to lose some of its magnificence."

"As much a part of her as a song is part of a bird."

"Was as simple as a stone falling toward the ground."

"If you no longer have leaves, or bark, or roots, can you go on calling yourself a tree?"

"Felt toward him just as an ice pick feels toward a block of ice."

"The two of them weren't "spending time together" any more than a squirrel is spending time with the insects that live in the same tree."

"Like the fisherman who hour after hour scoops out fish with his net."

"Like a mouse expecting sympathy from the snake."

"Like rice pouring from a torn sack."

"Expanding just like a river whose waters have begun to swell."

"I was like a child tiptoeing along a precipice overlooking the sea. And yet somehow I hadn't imagined a great wave might come and strike me there, and wash everything away."

"Like a snake that had spotted a mouse."

"Your eyes hang all over him like fur on a dog."

"I began to feel like a tree whose roots had at last broken into the rich, wet soil deep beneath the surface."

"Just as naturally as the leaves fall from the trees."

"Just as a stone must fall toward the earth."

"It was all like a stream that falls over rocky cliffs before it can reach the ocean."

"No more permanent than a wave rising on the ocean."

"Just like watery ink on paper."

So yeah. Just because of that, it can't get more than 2 stars for me. It just can't. It's awful to read.

And the characters. *SIGH* What can I say about them? Hatsumomo was just a big cliché, and so was Pumpkin, and so was The Chairman.

They didn't feel real. None of them did. Sayuri on top. So I'm supposed to feel something for her, right? Relate to her somehow. That was impossible. I don't know why, but somehow I was able to relate to Chiyo - but not to Sayuri. Even though they're the same person, I couldn't bring myself to care for Sayuri. As soon as she "grows up" (even though she keeps telling her story with the skills of a freakin' 4 year old) so around the time when she becomes a geisha, that is, she becomes insufferable.

And she has this sort of weird fascination for adult men, first M. Tanaka and after The Chairman, and it's just so annoying. Why does she like them? Why?

And, yeah, she was also such a victim. She never made anything to change her condition, she was just this kind of submissive woman who, well, blinks and, I dunno, bows. I know it's the way she's supposed to behave, but still, it's infuriatingly boring to read about such a character. The only thing she ever does for herself is  sleeping with The Minister so she doesn't have to undergo Nabu-whathisname as a danna but even that is done in the purpose of eventually being with The Chairman. And who was he, that Chairman? Who was that man we hear about, again and again and again? What's he like? Have they ever had a real conversation? I don't think so. She idealizes him, she never sees him as who he really is, she just keeps wetting holding that stupid handkerchief every night and that annoyed me. It felt childish and weird.

The only character I liked was Mameha, and she's the angel of the story, meaning that you're just supposed to like her because she's, well, perfect, kind, loyal and beautiful, the way Agnes is in David Copperfield or Melanie in Gone With The Wind.

The informations about Geishas were nice, I suppose, but I don't know how much of it is true. The war was awfully, awfully boring, and very badly executed.

I think you can see it was written by an American just by the way the United States are depicted. They atomically bombarded Japan and two of greatest its cities and yet, Sayuri doesn't even blink and say "The American troups were very kind to us and gave candy to the children." Er... Really?

The plot dragged on and on, and I had to struggle to finish the book. The ending felt rushed. I hate, hate it when authors do that. He wrote a whole book about someone's life, and the final chapter is soo rushed and it goes like "So that was forty years ago, now I'm seventy and I'm old and I'm gonna tell you what happened in my life between then and now in like, two sentences. So I married the guy I talked so much about, and then we went to live in the USA because that's like ZOMG the best country EVAR! And then he died, and.. Ah yes.. Did we have a kid? Oh, but wouldn't you like to know!.. Well you won't, cause I'm not telling you, neener- neener. Whatever I'm old, and I'm probably gonna die now LIKE A BIRD THAT FLIES AWAY", because what would be the final sentence without a nature-related comparaison, huh? Right. I swear, the book probably deserves an award, for like Worst Ending Chapter Ever or something. It made no sense, it gave no real closure.

Everything in this book was just so... flat. It tried to be epic and it tried to be a classic but it failed so badly. The characters weren't well fleshed-out, it was obvious that the Good people (Sayuri, Mahema) would triumph over the Bad (Hatsumomo), it was obvious that Sayuri would get her happy ending after all..

See, all throughout the book, I was completely disconnected, I didn't feel anything. I didn't smile, or laugh, I certainly didn't cry. I can't even say I'm angry or that I hate the book - because hatred requires that I care, and I don't. I'm just... indifferent. Bored. Unimpressed. And isn't it the worst state of mind you can possibly be in after you finish a book? Ultimately, it didn't leave a mark.

So the book as a whole was a major disappointment and I'm glad it's over. I just hope the movie might be better - I kept thinking it would be better to watch it, seeing how graphic the descriptions were (of the kimonos, for example). [Edit: So I saw the movie. Meeeh.]

But as a book, it was unconvincing and very flawed.

An engrossing historical fiction novel about a girl with extraordinary eyes named Chiyo and how she became a celebrated geisha named Sayuri. The path of her life was not always easy, but like water flowing over bumpy rocks, she braves the rapids and, eventually, reaches the ocean of her dreams.

"But the truth is the afternoon when I met Mr. Tanaka Ichiro really was the best and the worst of my life. He seemed so fascinating to me, even the fish smell on his hands was a kind of perfume. If I had never known him, I'm sure I would not have become a geisha." pg 13, ebook

It is a coming-of-age story but also a romance. Some have compared this book to the fairy tale of Cinderella. I see the comparison, but feel as if this historical fiction is better than Cinderella. Unlike the made-up fairy tale, the land and closed world of the geisha actually existed.

"After a block or two I worked up my courage and said to Mr. Bekku, "Won't you please tell us where we're going?" He didn't look as if he would reply, but after a moment he said, "To your new home." pg 41, ebook.

To be a geisha was to excel at the arts. It was to demonstrate excellence in dance, music and the art of conversation. It was a way of being, and dressing. As a geisha, Sayuri transports the men she is with to another world, the world of "Flowers and Willows".

I did some research into the history of the geisha and what I found was fascinating. From what I read, the history portrayed in Memoirs of a Geisha was rather close to the truth, minus the made-up characters.

"Because, you see, when a geisha wakes up in the morning she is just like any other woman. ... Only when she sits before her mirror to apply her makeup with care does she become a geisha. And I don't mean that this is when she begins to look like one. This is when she begins to think like one too." pg 67, ebook

The whole culture seems so exotic to me. This book is truly an escape into a different world. I, of course, adored the main character, Sayuri.

Years ago, I saw the film version of this book and remember enjoying it very much. Fortunately, I forgot most of it except for one critical moment towards the end. That, however, didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book. It is better, much better.

There's more character development, more battles with Hatsumomo, more to the conclusion. Sayuri's life completes a circle in the written version of the story — I seem to remember that the story felt a bit stunted in the film. I think I'll watch it again to see if I'm remembering it right.

"We lead our lives like water flowing down a hill, going more or less in one direction until we splash into something that forces us to find a new course. If I'd never met Mr. Tanaka, my life would have been a simple stream flowing from our tipsy house to the ocean." pg 112, ebook

There's also the development of the theme of water. The characters in the story attribute Sayuri's startling blue eyes to an abundance of water in her soul. Throughout the book, she's alluding to water — how it flows, bends and can wear down rocks. You really begin to view her life through this lens of watery inevitability.

"Here you are... a beautiful girl with nothing on earth to be ashamed of," he said. "And yet you're afraid to look at me. Someone has been cruel to you.. or perhaps life has been cruel." "I don't know, sir," I said, though of course I knew perfectly well. pg 119, ebook.

Highly recommended for fans of historical fiction. Memoirs of a Geisha is a surprising treat, like a sudden rainbow glinting off the water into your eyes. Blink once, and it's gone.

"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."
"I didn't know it at the time..."

Kill me.

A pleasing mix of Great Expectations and Little Orphan Annie but all mixed up in Japanese Geisha society.

Full disclosure: I, like many westerners, believed that geisha were a high end version of prostitutes. Sophisticated, talented and very excessively priced – but prostitutes all the same.

Golden’s book has afforded me some erudition and I now know that is not the full story … except, well … there are still some elements of prostitution in the story. The fictional geisha first person narrator describes her own role as akin to a mistress rather than a wife, with formal rules that for the most part established that a geisha was connected to her “danna” or patron. It’s all very complicated and I never fully understood what was going on. To be fair, looks like the intricate etiquette rules confuse many Japanese as well.

My usual genre is science fiction / fantasy so this was something of a departure for me, but honestly, the description of Japanese culture, particularly Geisha culture, might as well have been something dreamed up by Jack Vance or Robert Silverberg it was so alien to me.

Golden describes the “memoirs” of a fictional geisha, Sayuri, and her ascent to the role of geisha in a bildungsroman style. We also share in Sayuri’s animosity with rival geisha Hatsumomo and her complicated relationships with patrons and sponsors.

Entertaining and provocative, this also sheds light on a time and place, Japan before, during and after WWII.

read it quite long time ago. i mention it sometimes to my tourists which i guide through gion area in Kyoto. but this year i will not tell the story...this year i will not wonder in Japan. nice read

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...

Wow, reteading this I’m realizing how fucked this actually is. But Yes, this is still my favourite book

Loved the book and the writing but there was something about it that I passionately disliked as well.
I can’t explain it as I myself don’t understand it but it definitely hindered my enjoyment to the full.

I was also somewhat take aback by my sheer dislike for Sayuri. I feel like I’m the only one who actively disliked her to this extent but there were moments where I felt so infuriated by her, by her selfishness, her utter lack of loyalty, her self-importance... I just couldn’t stand her.