لم يُخلق القبح لحواء ابدا؛لكنها حوصرت بالعبودية دوما
والعبيد هم:الذين يهربون من الحرية؛فاذا طردهم سيد بحثوا عن سيد اخر؛فالعبيد هم الذين يطلبون الحرية اما الاحرار:فيصنعونها

A beautiful story that explores the secret world of the Japanese geisha (if you think that geisha = prostitue, you need to read this book just to learn how wrong that assumption is), told in the style of an interview with a woman named Sayuri Nitta, who used to be one of the most famous geisha in Kyoto. My favorite parts of the story were the detailed descriptions of geisha beauty rituals (they wax their hair and sleep with their necks resting on wooden blocks so they don't mess up the hairstyles) and tradtions (when a geisha leaves her okiya, or geisha house, a spark is struck against her back for good luck). The descriptions of the kimono worn by Sayuri and the other geisha in the book are also gorgeous.
The only part of this book that I didn't love was Sayuri's constant adoration of a man know only as the Chairman. Sayuri meets him when she's eight, and because he's kind to her and buys her a flavored ice, she decides that she's going to become a geisha just so she can meet him again. Did I mention that the chairman was about forty at the time? I didn't have a lot of faith in the level of Sayuri's love for him, and just couldn't wrap my head around the idea of an eight-year-old girl falling in love with a man more than thirty years her senior.

UPDATE: So, I wrote this review when I was in high school and didn't know much about the actual writing process of this book. Turns out Arthur Golden didn't actually do that much real research and had a bad habit of just making shit up. This book apparently pissed off a real geisha so much that she wrote her own book in response.

I'm writing this update now because today in my literature class we were talking about how we all basically read only British and American books, and this one girl starts talking about how she used to only read American books and then one day read Memoirs of a Geisha and it just, like, totally opened her eyes to other cultures. And everyone is looking at her like she just said that watching The Godfather helped her understand Italian history.

So basically what I'm saying is, don't come to this story looking for historical accuracy. It's still a good story, just not necessarily an accurate one. Think of it as fiction, and you'll be fine.

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."

عن الحب و الحرب ، عن جمالية الفنون و مرارة الإتجار في البشر ، ممتهنات أقدم مهنة عرفها التاريخ :

جميلات الدعارة الراقية كما تسمى اليوم
من هن حقيقة فتيات الغايشا في اليابان
!
الغيشا في الاصل هن المضيفات من الفتيات اللاتي يقمن بإحياء الحفلات والمآدب عن طريق الأغاني والرقصات التقليدية اليابانية والعزف على آلة الـ”شاميسين“ وغيرها من الفنون.

يقال إن بداية هذا الفن كانت في عصر إيدو في القرن السابع عشر حين بدأت الفتيات العاملات في محلات الشاي بكيوتو واللاتي كُنَّ يقدمن الحلوى والشاي، بمحاكاة عروض مسارح الكابوكي وأصبحن يؤدين عروض الرقص والعزف كنوع من الترحيب بزائري المعابد البوذية والشنتوية والسائحين. ولا تزال ثقافة الغيشا باقية إلى الآن في عدة مجالات ومنها السياحة حيث يتم الاستفادة من ثقافة الغيشا بشكل أساسي في كيوتو وطوكيو وأيضاً في نيغاتا وأكيتا وغيرها من المناطق الأخرى. لكن لطالما ارتبط اسمهن بالدعارة و تسلية أهم الرجال من الدولة.

هن في الواقع مراهقات حسناوات يتم تبنيهن للعيش داخل الاوكيا و هي منازل للرعاية و وتكوين فتيات الغايشا المستقبليات من خلال تلقيهن دروس في الفن و الرقص و الرسم و الاتيكيت ، مقابل أخذ نسبة من أجورهن في المستقبل بعد أن يصبحن غايشات ناجحات.

تبدأ الرواية بسرد الواقع المرير للفتاة الجميلة نيتا التي سيصبح اسمها في بعد سايوري، فقر أسرتها المدقع و مرض أمها الذي لا أمل في شفاءه اضطر أبيها بيعها هي و اختها الكبرى لرجل ثري سيأخذهما للعيش في إحدى الأوكيات .

فعلا تدخل الفتاة الصغيرة و تبدأ رحلة معاناتها لتصبح غايشا ، علاقاتها المتعددة نجاحاتها إخفاقاتها و الأهم من كل هذا مشاعرها الدفينة في كل موقف و التي أغلبها حزينة و موجعة، حتى قصة حبها الوحيدة عانت كثيرا لتصل للعيش رفقة حبيبها كخليلة لأنه كان متزوج و كان هو عائلها أو الدانا كما يطلق على معيل الغايشا آنذاك ..

رحلة طويلة للبحث عن الاحترام و عن مكانة بين ذالك المجتمع المغلق و إثبات الذات و إثبات نجاحها ك غايشا.

بعد بحثي عن تاريخ الغايشا في اليابان وحقيقة هذه الحياة الحافلة و السرية، وجدت أن مكانة الغايشا بين النساء كانت مهمة ومحترمة، فالغايشا الناجحة هي صاحبة المال و السلطة تستمده من الدانا أو معيلها أو من معارفها المتعددة و للأسف في أكثر من مصدر فتيات الغايشا كن خليلات أهم رجال الأعمال و السياسة خصوصا في القرن العشرين.

أحببت الرواية جدا فهي أقحمتني في عالم كان مجهولا بالنسبة لي بتفاصيل متعددة و أسلوب سرد فريد للثقافة اليابانية.

(Book 93 From 1001 Books) -tMemoirs of A Geisha, Arthur Golden

Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical novel by American author Arthur Golden, published in 1997.

The novel, told in first person perspective, tells the story of a fictional geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before and after World War II.

In 1929, nine year-old Chiyo Sakamoto and her 15 year-old sister, Satsu, are sold by their father to work within the entertainment districts of Kyoto.

They are taken from their home, the coastal fishing village of Yoroido along the Sea of Japan, and travel to Kyoto by train; upon arrival, Chiyo is taken to the Nitta okiya (geisha boarding house) in Gion, whereas Satsu - deemed less attractive and therefore a poor investment - is instead taken to a brothel within Kyoto's pleasure district.

Chiyo is taken inside, and is introduced to Auntie, Mother (Auntie's adoptive older sister and the matriarch of the house) and Granny, their elderly and poor-natured adoptive mother and the okiya's former "mother".

Both Auntie and Mother are strict, though Auntie is kinder to Chiyo, whereas Mother is driven by money and business.

Chiyo is also introduced to Hatsumomo - the premier geisha of the okiya, its primary earner, and one of the most famous, beautiful and ill-mannered geisha of Gion.

Hatsumomo takes an instant disliking to Chiyo, and goes out of her way to torment her. Auntie warns Chiyo against both angering and trusting Hatsumomo, knowing the ill-mannered geisha's true nature very well. ...

خاطرات یک گیشا - آرتور گلدن (سخن) ادبیات؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: در ماه مارس سال 2003میلادی

عنوان: خاطرات یک گیشا؛ نوشته: آرتور گلدن؛ مترجم: مریم بیات؛ تهران، سخن، 1380، در 640ص؛ شابک 9646961703؛ موضوع: داستان - ژاپن - تاریخ از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا- سده 20م

نمیدانم، یادم نمانده، کدامیک از سالهای بگذشته بود، که برای نخستین بار، یک پی.دی.اف از همین کتاب، با ترجمه ی بانو «مریم بیات»، برایم رسید، برنامه ای نوشتم، تا متن پی.دی.اف را به فارسی آفیس نسخه 2003میلادی برگردانم، بسیار سخت گذشت، بارها و بارها برنامه را مجبور شدم هوشمندتر کنم، تا اینکه کتاب را پس از تلاش بسیار، در 174733کلمه، و در 409صفحه ی 31سطری، و هر سطر میانگین 22واژه، و هر واژه میانگین بیش از چهار حرف، برای خویش آراستم، البته باز هم مجبور شدم، بیشتر صفحات را ویراستاری کنم

نقل نمونه متن: (یادداشت «آرتور گلدن»: چهارده ساله بودم، که در غروبی در بهار سال 1936میلادی، پدرم مرا به تماشای یک برنامه ی رقص، در «کیوتو» برد؛ از آن برنامه، تنها دو چیز را به یاد دارم؛ نخست اینکه من و پدرم، تنها تماشاچی غربی در میان تماشاگران بودیم، تنها دو سه هفته بود که از کشورمان «هلند»، به آنجا سفر کرده بودیم، بنابراین هنوز نتوانسته بودم، خود را با انزوای فرهنگی تطبیق دهم، و تاثیر آن بر من هنوز فوق العاده زیاد بود؛ دوم اینکه خوشحال بودم، که پس از ماهها فراگیری زبان «ژاپنی»، آنهم به صورت فشرده، میتوانستم از حرفهایی که میشنیدم، جسته گریخته، چیزی سر دربیاورم؛ از زنهای جوان «ژاپنی»، که روی صحنه میرقصیدند، به جز اشکالی مبهم، از «کیمونو»های الوان درخشانی که، بر تن داشتند، چیزی به یاد ندارم؛ مسلم است که به هیچ راه، به ذهنم هم خطور نمیکرد، که در زمان و مکانی بسیار دور، یعنی تقریباً پنجاه سال بعد، و در مکانی به دوری «نیویورک»، یکی از همان زنان، نزدیکترین دوستم خواهد شد، و خاطرات استثنایی اش را برایم تقریر خواهد کرد؛ در جایگاه یک تاریخ نگار، همیشه خاطرات را به چشم منبعی از مواد نگاه میکنم؛ خاطرات، سوابقی را فراهم میآورد، که بیشتر به دنیای خاطره نویس، تا خود او مربوط است؛ خاطرات با «بیوگرافی» فرق دارد، چون در «بیوگرافی»، خاطره نویس نمیتواند، جنبه هایی را ببیند، که برای «بیوگراف» نویس، امری عادی و منطقی است؛ «اتوبیوگرافی»، البته اگر واقعاً چنین چیزی وجود داشته باشد، به این میماند، که از خرگوش بخواهیم برایمان بگوید: وقتی توی علفزار، بالا و پایین میپرد، به چه شکل درمیآید؟ از کجا بداند؟ از طرفی، اگر بخواهیم چیزی در مورد علفزار بدانیم، هیچ کس بهتر از او، نمیتواند برای ما آنرا توصیف کند، مگر آنکه در نظرمان باشد، که در جستجوی چیزهایی هستیم، که خرگوش، قادر به مشاهده ی آنها نیست؛ ....)؛ پایان نقل

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 28/05/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 09/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

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.

3.5 Stars - Great book.

It took me a few chapters to get into the story and the characters – just about everything. The opening is fine but that’s it, just fine. I wasn’t pulled into the story in any way. Mediocre may be too strong of a word for the first three to four chapters but it definitely teeters on mediocre.

There are many different ways to draw me into a book but mostly I have to feel some sort of connection to the characters. I didn’t feel that in the first few chapters here. Honestly, I don’t know why I kept reading but ultimately I’m glad I did.

As for the characters, there’s not one character that I liked but I didn’t necessarily dislike or hate them either (except for Hatsumomo and Mother, those two I despise). Sayuri isn’t even that great of a person, and yet I was rooting for her, even through her stupid mistakes. I think part of the problem with the characters is that the situations they’re in and the culture they’re in are just so different than anything I’ve read before. I must sadly say that my reading experience tends to be heavy on the Western Hemisphere. I think I need to adapt my reading skills to really appreciate characters from other cultures. I say all that, and that doesn’t mean the characters aren’t well written. They are impeccably written and I can see that. I just don’t like the characters as people. I don’t like them but I do respect them, well I respect most of them.

Part of the problem is that the whole subject matter was new to me so I was so focused on grasping certain concepts and understanding the Geisha experience/life that I forgot the little things. So much of the character “issue” is on me. But some of it is on the author because I’m not that terrible of a reader.

One of the good things about the characters were their complex backstories and that for most of them, I could sympathize or at least understand why they were the way they were. For instance, Sayuri’s character development is fascinating to watch. Sure, she isn’t perfect but who is? I can relate to certain feelings of hers and that helps create a bond between myself and the main character. Though, I did always feel a certain disconnect. I will say that the author created someone, in my opinion, that is purely evil - Hatsumomo. I know her circumstances and life may not have always been kind to her but I’m a firm believer that people have choices. They can’t control what happens to them, but they can control how they act. Hatsumomo chose incorrectly. This may be a bit of a stretch but since I just finished Rebecca, I saw some major title characters between the title character and Hatsumomo. Both absolutely beautiful bitches that could fool people into believe they were better people than they actually were - less for for Hatsumomo at the end of the book though.

The writing is fine and really plays to the scenes. By that I mean that when the author needs to be descriptive he uses beautiful, flowery language and when he needs to be more concise he molds his words to do just that. The author really knows how to form phrases and sentences and so on to create scenes. My main issue is that he doesn’t know how to break-up paragraphs. If I was taught anything in school, it’s that you can’t let a paragraph go on for too long because you lose your reader and this book certainly proves that point. It was straining on my eyes and I eventually had to go back over and read some of those arduous passages again.

I thought the ending came up very fast. That is to say, that when Sayuri and the Chairman finally “got together” there were only a few chapters left. And that was even cut short because of Sayuri’s move to New York. I understand that this book is supposed to focus on her life as a Geisha, but I still felt short-changed. When I finished, I can’t say I felt satisfied. It appears that Sayuri is happy, or at least content, with where life eventually brought here but I wasn’t satisfied as a reader. That’s probably because I wanted Sayuri and the Chairman to be together forever, as the cliche goes (even though I never got of the ridiculous age difference. Creeps me out a little) but even as I write it I know that’s just not how the Geisha culture is.

Overall, I can happily recommend this book. It’s a great book and even though I’m not sure I actually liked it I appreciated it and the storyline.

2022
I didn't think that I'll re-read this book but Lisa of Troy's read-along group has this book selected for May so why not? I listened mostly and have a book for reference. It's such a slow story but I think it works for this fictionalized memoir.

Memoirs of a Geisha follows Chiyo's life which begins in a small fishing village. She and her older sister, Satsu were taken from their parents with the promise of a better life (their mother is terminally ill). They were shortly sold, Satsu into prostitution and Chiyo to a geisha house. Chiyo became Sayuri and trained in various traditional arts and became an apprentice geisha (maiko).

I'm not going to lie, this book has parts that made me very uncomfortable. The selling virginity to the highest bidder and having sugar daddy (danna). Bidding ceremonies and prostitution were outlawed in 1956. I try to remove my opinion and consider it part of history and old culture (pre and during WWII). It wasn't easy, but overall it's a good (difficult) story.

A ReadAlong group with Lisa of Troy.

2014
2 ⭐
DNF. Bought this paperback for a long flight, but never finished it.

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.

Memoirs of a Geisha is an American novel, and as such the attempt at West does East, especially on the complex and delicate subject of the geisha, is compelling, interesting, but also heavy-handed and ultimately ineffective (even more so in the case of the film). It is a wonderful introduction to geisha, Japanese culture, and the East for the uninitiated Western reader, and I can see why the book is popular, but I found it disappointing. For the reader already familiar with the culture, western influences are all too clear and the book comes off as a bit clunky and imperfect. I also had some problems with the general perception of the characters by readers versus the way the characters were actually portrayed in the book--Memoirs is far from the good-willed fairy tale that people assume it is. By all means, read it, but leave it open for critique and remember that a more authentic representation of eastern culture, especially in the details, will come from the east itself.

A lot of my critique stems from the fact that this movie has attained such wide-spread fame and been made into a movie, to be sure. I feel like it is being perpetuated as something it is not. Even the introduction to the book (a faux translator's note) perpetuates the myth that Memoirs is an accurate, beautiful, in-depth reflection of the life of a geisha, when in truth it is no more that historical fiction and is written by an outsider. Golden has done his research and is well-educated on his subjects, and I have no problem with people reading from, taking interest in, and even learning from this book; I do, however, think it is important that readers don't conflate the American novel with Japanese reality. They aren't the same thing, no matter how much research Golden did, and if we take the book as an accurate representation we're actually underestimating and undervaluing geisha, Japan, and Japanese culture.

Because Golden attempts to write from within the geisha culture, as a Japanese woman, he must do more than report the "facts" of that life--he must also pretend to be a part of it. Pretend he does, acting out a role as if he has studied inflection, script, and motivation. He certainly knows what makes writing "Japanese" but his attempt to mimic it is not entirely successful. The emphasis on elements, the independent sentences, the visual details are too prevalent and too obvious, as if Golden is trying to call our attention to them and thus to the Japanese style of the text. He does manage to draw attention, but to me, at least, what I came away with was the sense that Golden was an American trying really hard to sound Japanese--that is, the effect betrayed the attempt and the obvious attempt ruined the sincerity of the novel, for me. I felt like I was being smacked over the head with beauty! wood! water! kimono! haiku! and I felt insulted and disappointed.

The problems that I saw in the text were certainly secondary to the purpose of the text: to entertain, to introduce Western readers to Japanese culture, and to sell books (and eventually a film). They may not be obvious to all readers and they aren't so sever that the book isn't worth reading. I just think readers need to keep in mind that what Golden writes is fiction. Historical fiction, yes, but still fiction, therefore we should look for a true representation of Japanese culture within Japanese culture itself and take Memoirs with a grain of salt.

I also had problems with the rushed end of the book, the belief that Sayuri is a honest, good, modest, generous person when she really acts for herself and at harm to others throughout much of the book, the perpetuation of Hatsumomo as unjustified and cruel when she has all the reason in the world, and in general the public belief that Memoirs is some sort of fairy tale when in fact it is heavy-handed, biased, and takes a biased or unrelatistic view toward situations, characters, and love. However, all of those complains are secondary, in my view, to the major complain above, and should be come obvious to the reader.

Memoirs goes quickly, is compelling, and makes a good read, and I don't want to sound too unreasonably harsh on it. However, I believe the book has a lot of faults that aren't widely acknowledged and I think we as readers need to keep them in mind. This is an imperfect Western book, and while it may be a fun or good book it is not Japanese, authentic, or entirely well done.

Memoirs of a Geisha is an amazing novel that discusses the life of a Geisha, a Japanese artist-entertainer. Both its very exotic setting, with its extremely different value system, and its fascinating plot, which grabs your interest early on and keeps you waiting for more all along, contribute to making this novel a special book worthy of reading.

The best quality in this novel, in my opinion, is the way the narrator (Chiyo), tells the story. Her reflections concerning much of the events in the novel are very similar to those of the reader. At least I felt I could connect with her, and approved of – even if I didn't always agree with – many of her actions. The pain she suffered is well-depicted in the novel, we almost start to feel that pain with her; we often share the same surprises with her about the different things a geisha should or should not do, and even share the pleasures of success regardless of the fact that most of us despise the geisha way of life.

A slave, sold by your own family, and trained for the sole purpose of pleasuring men, whether you like it or not. Imagine living such a life; I know I cannot. Yet, at some point, you are happy that Chiyo succeeded in becoming a geisha. If that's an indication of anything, it's the skills of the author.

They say a geisha is no prostitute; well, that may be true, but as the story truly shows, the main revenue for a geisha is through sex, at least when she is a successful one. To me, sex for money, no matter how much you sugar coat it, is still some form of prostitution.

I don't like what she did with Nobu, but I understand her perspective. Our emotions are not necessarily affected by how other people treat us, but by how we feel about their behavior. The chairman in my opinion was much more the Chiyo type than Nobu is, and her dedication to reach him amazes me, though not the methods she used to achieve it after her desperation.

The destruction of Hatsumomo was, in my opinion, the brightest point in the story. I feel that the story, and the geisha life, has changed forever after the Second World War, so Chiyo, or any other geisha at the time for that matter, could not have been more successful after the war, nor could the story be more fun.

Yet, another bright point was the encounter with the Chairman. Since Pumpkin caused the Chairman to run into Chiyo and the Minister, I knew the Chairman and Chiyo are going to have a future together. In fact, when Iwamura Electric called for Chiyo to the Ichiriki Teahouse, I guessed – correctly – that Nobu won't be there, but the Chairman.

The most disappointing thing in this novel, in my opinion, is the way the author talked about the US. If the novel had talked about any other place than his country, this might have been tolerable, but when an American author, writing a novel that takes place in Japan for the most part, makes the main character fall in love with the US, and talks about it like a country much better than Japan, there is something wrong. Unless, and I hope this is the case, he did this mainly because the actual geisha upon which he based his novel had described this to him. Then I might accept it.

I don't really know why I waited so long to read this book, and I most certainly never thought I would enjoy it as much as I did. Of course I realize this story is historical fiction and may not correctly depict the life of a geisha during the 1930s and 1940s in Japan in its entirety. I do feel, however, that I know quite a bit more about the geisha than I did before reading this book - both because of the book itself and of it inspiring me to research a little on my own.

My heart was absolutely broken for Sayuri (Chiyo) almost from the get-go. I cannot even begin to fathom how desperate a parent would have to be to sell his or her children into the life of slavery. You may argue that the geisha were not slaves, but when you have absolutely no other choice, you are a slave at least to your circumstances. The women of the okiya were so horrible to Sayuri. I understand they also led terrible lives, but that does not excuse cruelty toward a child.

I did have to confront my distaste of polygamy in this book. To my understanding, Japanese marriages, at least during this time period, were mostly arranged among the upper class. They didn't marry for love. I still couldn't help feeling sorry for the wives of the men who were patrons of the geisha. I can only imagine how hurt I would feel if my husband became the danna of another woman. I would feel betrayed at the very least. While I did very much want Sayuri and the Chairman to end up together, him being married was a hard pill to swallow.

My heart was also absolutely broken for Nobu. I felt that he did truly love Sayuri, and while she shouldn't have been with him if she didn't truly love him in return, I was simply saddened at the cruelty of life for him. He seemed to be a good man with good intentions. He deserved to be loved by someone with the same depth he was capable of loving.