Memoirs of a Geisha

I think this is going to be one of those books you either love or hate, or is that a tattoo I’ve seen somewhere?.

Having checked my Almanac I knew I had to finish this book before the east wind of Hurricane Milton reached the Tiger Claws of Alligator Alley. Thank goodness I did, the leaves need sweeping.

Although a fictional tale set predominately in Japan in the 1930’s, it gave me a wonderful insight into the vanishing world of a life of a Geisha.

From childhood, to apprentice Geisha, to a fully fledged Geisha was a daunting ride.

The Characters for me made this book. On one side you had the main Geisha’s battling out for their dominance of Gion. All sorts of mixed cunning methods, friendly, smart or down right wickedness hidden behind the white faces and beautiful kimono’s. The other main Characters being the customers visiting the tea houses mainly Businessmen, Politicians, Generals and Doctors. Some of these perhaps more caring than others and some simply that give you the creeps, let’s not talk about Dr Crab.

Anyhow, I worked out the ending pretty quickly but still loved the plot.

Geisha meaning artist, performing artist or artisan. What a wonderful way to describe something else, only the Japanese could do that.

Sadly there was no Dancing Queen when the Shamisens were playing, although I’m sure there was an hint of a Gary Glitter track “you want to be in my gang” when Dr Crab paid a yen or two.

There is actually a Shamisen Thunderstruck cover on YouTube, check it out.

If you hate metaphors, you will hate this book, it’s full of them. There are more metaphors than dinghy’s blowing north in the Channel.

Off to buy some more books but I need a danna.

5 Stars.

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.”

A beautiful, poingnant story that is so incredibly, lyrically captivating you are seduced from the very first word. An absolute work of art, each page overflows with beautiful, sensual, evocative images.

Such is the skill and authority of Golden's writing, I feel as though I have spent hours, being entertained by the most gifted of all Geisha. Utterly Satisfying. I want to read it again for the very first time!

American author Arthur Golden studied Japanese art and history at Harvard and Columbia and did extensive research to write this fictional account of the life of a geisha in Kyoto before, during and after WW II. And it shows: The story offers a lot of information about the time and the profession, and the storyline, though rather conventionally crafted, unfolds wonderfully. At the same time, the text is clearly targeted at a Western audience that also wants to be enchanted and entertained, and this aspect of exoticism combined with a certain degree of kitsch is a little questionable. Our protagonist and first-person narrator is Sayuri who, as a 9-year-old child, is sold into slavery and forced to become a geisha - but her dream is not to be free, but to be loved by the so-called chairman, a powerful, married businessman. Maybe it is unfair to frame the story like that, because Sayuri grows up and has to survive in a world where the idea of a woman living on her own terms would be fantastical, but still, there is a degree of romanticization of the "Pretty Woman" variety, Eastern style.

Then again, "Pretty Woman" is great fun and a classic, and so is this book. And it's certainly not without its literary merits: Golden does a great job illustrating the life in Kyoto's geisha district, the dependence and fear that comes with the job, the focus on reputation and superficial traits - but the novel never gets gritty, and even when Sayuri's virginity is auctioned off, the sex scene does not make it seem like this is a woman undergoing trauma because she has to give her body to the highest bidder to get rid of her debt and because custom requires it. While the chairman is portrayed as a real romantic interest, he is de facto more of a fantasy than a real-life character, a man Sayuri hardly knows and onto whom she projects her love (the ending makes the whole thing even more surreal). This always remains a comfortable read, which isn't necessarily a plus considering what Sayuri has to undergo.

We accompany Sayuri from her childhood in a fishing village through her training in Kyoto, we learn about the occupation of a geisha and the course of history and often, it's utterly fascinating to read. Golden interviewed several geisha for this novel, among them Mineko Iwasaki who later sued him for defamation and using confidential information (they settled out of court). The movie version of the book looks stunning and won three Oscars for Cinematography, Art Direction and Costume Design.

So all in all, this has the flaws of a popular book explaining complex cultural phenomena while aiming at a broad audience, but it is still intelligent and just very fun to read.

Memoirs of a geisha is what I'm talking about! the type of historical fiction I like. I'm so very glad I read it. I really enjoyed learning about Japan culture during WW2. Not sure its a favorite read but very enjoyable.

We start off following a young girl named chiyo who is poor and from a fishing village. Her mother is sick and about to die and her father is old and unable to take care of chiyo and her sister. They both are sold the pretty chiyo to be a geisha and her older sister to be a whore. The sister runs away from her whorehouses and chiyo never hears from her again. One immediately thought was how mean everyone was to chiyo. Most notably the houses main geisha hatzamomo. She was horrid along with mother and granny the owner of the house. The only bright spot is another young girl her age nicknamed pumpkin and a failed geisha know as aunty. Memoirs of a geisha is a love story despite all the strife chiyo who's name changes to Sayuri after becoming a geisha goes through. I as always don't want to give to much away so I'll stop the synopsis here. Sayuri survives WW2 which isn't as easy as you would think and moves to New York. All in all I think she had a great life compared to other geishas.

I'm not sure how true the story is but geishas being entertainers, I will once again state I was fully entertained. I was enthralled by every detail because if a story is told well you will most likely enjoy it even if it's about kimonos and keeping disgusting men company!

A beautiful, sad , evocative, exciting and intriguing novel which engaged me from start to finish about a nine year old Japanese child, Chiyo Sakamoto , from a poor fishing village sold by her ill and poverty stricken parents into the world being a slave to the whims of men and more powerful women, though her sister Satsu suffered a far crueler fate being sold into an brothel and into the hellish world of forced prostitution.

Chiyo is a survivor, who uses her white, savvy and survival instincts, as well as pure strength of character to go from a basic child slave , and survive the wicked wiles of the evil supreme Geisha geisha, Hatsumomo, the cruelty of 'Granny' the matriarch and the greed of 'Mother'
A sad reflection of life for women and children sold or forced into the sex trade.Something epidemic today including in Western countries
The kindness of the Chairman of a major Japanese corporation and her mentor and so called 'elder sister' Geisha Mameha,provides her with some salvation. And her story is a fascinating one
Always against the backdrop of the Japan of the times, shows us of the country during both the glory of the 1930s Japanese empire and the deprivations of World War II. The whims of the men who become her Danna, basically sexual master and patron.
Encapsulates the sights, expounds and smells of the Japan of the time,. As we really get into the head of Chiyo who becomes Sayuri after her deflowering. And I found myself anxious for her throughout the novel, felt her trials and tribulations but also learned from the history and social issues, threaded through this excellent bestseller.

Non si diventa geishe per piacere ma per necessità. Queste poche parole, pronunciate da una delle protagoniste, sembrano racchiudere il senso di questo romanzo, la condizione di una donna-oggetto destinata al puro piacere dell'uomo, che, nella propria condizione di prigionia, si sforza di cercare brandelli della libertà perduta e negata e, nei giochi di potere con le altre geishe, l'opportunità di esprimersi e farsi valere che non ha più. Illusione e auto-inganno necessarie a vivere una vita che potrebbe solo condurre alla disperazione. Tentativi più o meno riusciti di far proprio uno stile di vita inaccettabile e illudersi di poter ancora vantare un'esistenza degna di tal nome.

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.