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Memoirs of a Geisha (Vintage International)(Mass Market Paperback) (平装)
by Arthur Golden
| Category:
Fiction, World War II, Japanese culture |
| Market price: ¥ 108.00
MSL price:
¥ 98.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
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AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 16 items |
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Beren Erchamion (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-18 00:00>
I borrowed the book from a friend of mine whoose family bought it but never read it. Just a bit of background information regarding myself, I have been intretsted in the Japanese culture since day one. Maybe being partially Japanese is to blame but I have been fascinated by the culture. Everything to anime to samurai to geisha to sake. 8 years later, I am now a Japanese language student studying to be a translator.
Several reviews made sense to me for those who understood the Japanese culture and even more so the dark life of the Geisha. I myself never knew much about them however, after picking up this book, I did make a note to educate myself regarding the Geisha. When I picked up this book, I knew it was not going to 100% correct to history nor to Geisha. Fiction never is. However, if you go into a book, or a movie, or something of that nature with the view that "Oh my god this is not 100% fact!" and spend the remainder of your time with the material trying to disprove it, you miss the over all picture. "Memoirs" to be was a beutiful novel of a basically fantasy life of the Geisha. I took it as it is and didn't let some of the obvious nuiances distract be of enjoying this book.
The character are made to look disgusting. They are meant to look like money-pinching, slave-driving people that take joy ins eeing themselves elevated and see others smashed to the ground - Chiyo/Sayuri included. Without that feature, this book would become a happy-happy-joy-joy fest devoid of any true character developement.
One element I loved about this book is the detail described in it's pages. Everything from the way the hair was worn to the designs of the kimono to the surroundings to the events Sayuri finds herself in. However, I never expected this book to be a "Everything that You Want (or Don't Want) to know About Geisha" type style. What people, who are not knowledgeable in Japan or Geisha, are more intrested in the appearence of kimonos and the thoughts of Sayuri then the in-deph explanation of the tea ceremony or any other precise attribute of the Geisha. The book is to tell a story of a young girl who want from rags to riches and became one of the most desiered Geisha of Gion. Not a entire encylopedia of Geisha. If you want that, some reivewers have posted some very good books to look into. Which drives my other point...
This book, as indictated by some reviewers was a very good read for someone who only knew Japan for samurai, raw fish, and possibly cartoons with large eyes and blue hair that shot fireballs from thier hands. Oh and Godzilla. Can't forget him. To me, if this book somehow educated the average American and introduce them into the world of historical Japan, then this book is very much worth the time and effort. This book helps introduce the person to the world of the Geisha and ultimately 1930's Japan which was on the ridge of being industrialized. The Japanese words used are explained while pertaining to the story but the author doesn't go over board and pile on terminology over terminology expecting that everyone who reads this is a scholat in the History of Geisha. He knows his audience is people who know nothing concerning Japan but find the world of the Geisha exotic and entracing. What they get is something not what they expected but yet something they can indentify with.
Overall, setting aside my "Japanese superiority complex", I enjoyed the book instead of pointing out every single misconstrued fact (or "lie") and enjoyed this book. The edning wasn't exactly awe inspiring but it was decent. I highly reccomend this book to those who are intrested in the Japanese culture but I urge those who are still intrested to pursue other areas of Japanese history. It is such a historical rich culture that it is almost a crime to not read about it. |
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Nicole (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-18 00:00>
Memoirs of a Geisha, written by Arthur Golden, is the tale of a girl that battles several obstacles and ends up becoming a successful geisha. Along the way, she falls in love with a man that, to most would seem out of reach. As the book progressed, I quickly found myself wrapped up in the story. The best way I can put it is that the novel was beautifully written. It flowed from start to finish and it was easy to be captivated in the plot. The incredible imagery and extensive Japanese culture described in the novel was so unique and interesting, I had a hard time putting the book down. The only flaw would have to be all the names of people, places, events, and rituals that could get a bit overwhelming at times. I ended up having to read some parts twice. However, it did not stop me from enjoying the novel and the story. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to read something somewhat adventerous and new, or anyone that is interested in learning more about the Japanese culture of the early twentieth century. It does have a few explicit parts, but overall the novel is absolutely wonderful. As silly as it sounds, I feel like a more well-rounded individual having read Memoirs of a Geisha. It is no wonder why it has been a bestseller.
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S. Anderson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-18 00:00>
Memoirs of a Geisha is the story of a young girl sold away, along with her sister, from her dying mother and aging father. They leave their hometown behind, as well as their old tipsy house to find they have separate fates. Sayuri was to become a geisha in Kyoto and Satsu, her sister, was to have a lesser fate. Sayuri's eyes were what caught the attention of everyone. Her eyes are an inexplicable clear-blue-grey shade that captivates all who take note of them. Having "a lot of water" in her, which she received from her mother, Sayuri's personality was conducive to her cleverness, her ability to make sense of situations and her ability to meander through life. Through Sayuri's character, Auther Golden helps to reframe the American perception of geishas simply being prostitutes and depicts a more complex lifestyle.
While Sayuri was sent off to Kyoto with the intention of one day becoming a geisha, the head geisha of her okiya, Hatsumomo, had other plans for her. Hatsumomo was Sayuri's obstacle. Filled with jealousy and hatred, Hatsumomo was threatened by Sayuri's beauty and potential. She tormented Sayuri and set her up with hopes that she would never become a geisha.
With the help of one of the most prominent geishas in Kyoto, Mahema, Sayuri rises to success. Through Sayuri we learn about the life of a geisha. When war hits, the geisha districts are closed down and all look forward to the reopening of their well-known lifestyle. The seduction of men is a learn quality laced with natural ability. This is essential for Sayuri to be successful, the skill of conversation and flirting. Having her virginity bided off, her sexuality becomes and object useful for financial convenience as opposed to pleasure.
At times, I would pause while reading the book to check the sex of the author. Auther Golden, writing with such conviction and emotion, beautifully captures the character of a young Japanese geisha. His writing leaves one unable to put down the book and always wanting to know what happens next. The size of the book should not be an intimidating factor.
Reading this book taught me, personally, a lot about the Japanese geisha culture. Knowing the amount of research that went into the accumulation of this book, I feel confident in the information. If you are interested in exploring other cultures and various lifestyles, Memoirs of a Geisha will definitely satiate your appetite. |
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G. Wynne (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-18 00:00>
Yes, this novel could've been better and has some serious problems that should've been resolved before publication. Like another reader, I had trouble imagining these characters as Asian (especially the male ones- The Chairman kept popping up in my head as Caucasian and i had to constantly revise my mental image). Funny how the author captures Japan so vividly but fails to capture the Japanese people themselves! Where is their essence, their "flavor" - every ethnic group has one that differeientates them, but this book is sorely lacking in that and everyone comes off as generic human beings wearing kimono, IMO. I also resented him giving Chiyo the impossible blue-gray eyes, as if that European trait exalted her above everyone else. Furthermore, I was kept very aware that a man was writing this book for the fact that he fumbles during Chiyo's puberty: The development of her breasts and her menstruation are quickly described in 2 or 3 (retrospective) sentences and dropped forever. Sorry, but in reality those milestones are a humungous deal to any girl, and will continue to be for the rest of her life, regardless of what she thinks of either throughout. Worst of all, the author deprives Chiyo of any sexual feelings as a youth and teenager... That is simply impossible since children, yes GIRLS included, get those feelings even if only by accident, and are going to experiment as surely as water falls on a stone(lol). The author doesn't go into any of this because its clear he simply doesn't know better. It has nothing to do with modesty, not after the blunt, believeable sex scenes he writes (through Chiyo's voice) later on. So I feel that this author failed to adequately become his subject in both gender and nationality. And yes, that was his duty, especially if he's going to write using his real identity. It was his burden to make me forget that this book was not being written by a native Japanese woman, which he usually didn't.
World War II (a refreshing change in antagonists for Chiyo) is mentioned almost in passing. When Americans invade Japan, everything's fine, no prejudice on either side, no dead POWs being carted off, no allied soldiers abusing native women, no disfigured Japanese soldiers, no mourning families, no crying and bitterness, just a lot of laughing and drinking and singing and good chaste fun. Nanking, Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, all water under the proverbial bridge. Chiyo never hears anti-American or anti-Chinese sentiment though she entertains military men and is "so smart" that she talks everything from politics to cherry trees with them. Nazis do not exist. Chiyo moves to Post war US and even with her Japanese name, features, and kimono never experiences xenophobia, racism, or even "well-meaning ignorance", just quizzical stares from the occasional passerby. Pul-eeze!
Okay, that concludes my criticism. Because in terms of prose, this one of the best novels I've ever read and probably ever will. So being one of the best I believe its flaws (some not even mentioned in my review but done so in others') are going to be more magnified than your run-of-the-mill Sidney Sheldon potboiler. And to be honest, I believe there's no such thing as an absolutely perfect novel. So I still recommend this book to people for the experience of something artistic and fresh in subject matter.
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Diana Behren (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-18 00:00>
The first time I read Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha, the simple genuine voice of the narrator, Chiyo/Sayuri, as she moves from a puzzled girlhood to a fulfilling womanhood enchanted me. Sold to a Gion "okiya", Chiyo, the illiterate child of a fishing village, shares with the reader her struggle to find her identity while surviving and accepting the rigorous disciplines and the personal sacrifices necessary to effectively and complacently morph into Sayuri, one of Kyoto's legendary geishas circa WWII in Japan.
Golden gently instructs us without an information burnout of the extensive and thankless training the geisha undergoes to ensure her livelihood as a paid artistic entertainer. Borrowing heavily from first hand experience gleaned from one of Gion's top geisha during the 60s and 70s, and from Liza Darby's anthropological study of geisha culture, Golden recreates a lost world that rings sweetly with an exotic authenticity as lovely and as ephemeral as a cherry blossom.
After watching the rather long and vacuous Rob Marshall film adaptation, I found that I wanted to give the novel a second look to substantiate my initial warm feel for the narrator, her story and Golden's depiction of her lost geisha's world. However, a viewing of the film complete with all of the novel's key scenes -spectacular glimpses of an attractive enigmatic demimonde of colorful pageantry and a treacherous infrastructure of cutthroat competitors - still renders a re-evaluation of the novel devoid of the clarity of emotion so easily accessed by a first reading. Sitting through 145 minutes of kimono changes and nuanced facial gestures seems to suck at the marrow of the book leaving the reader softly mesmerized by pastel floral patterns and fluttering fans but feeling detached and disappointed as the film imprint stamps the novel's characters with too much of Marshall's peripheral vision and not enough of Golden's bulls eye heart.
If reading Chiyo/Sayuri's story appeals to you, do so without tainting Golden's delicately told tale with Rob Marshall's whirlwind celluloid version. Picture Chiyo/Sayuri in your own mind while remembering that her words are told from the vantage point of a certain age and Park Avenue address. Remember that nuance is difficult to recreate on a screen where one picture forms a thousand words and no matter how clever or authentic the sets the actual drama takes place in the soul of a girl who has lost her heart to a man who once showed her a simple kindness.
Recommended to all who enjoy first person coming-of-age narratives where the outcome does not soar with the usual happily-ever-after crescendo of music and lingering glances but comes fairly close for a parallel universe that is difficult to understand or imagine in the 21st century.
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-19 00:00>
I was actually quite into this book when I first started reading it. The writing is enthralling, the protagonist smart and pretty and all that. Most of all, it appears to be educational and of a higher standard than most mainstream novels. However, about 1/3 of the way into the novel, as chiyo becomes sayuri and wildly successful (as we knew she would be), the storyline became a lot shallower and hollow points in the storyline really stick out. The turning point was when chiyo-sayuri says "I became good at dancing because of all the practise I did at home, when the evil Hatsumomo wouldn't let me go out. It was tought, but I won in the end, so in your face, oppressive society!!" or some such rubbish, that the nagging feeling of this-is-quickly-developing-into-a-bad-book exploded into a horrific flashback of Chinese Cinderella and The Joy Luck Club. At once, I began to see chiyo-sayuri as the typical biographical unrealistic matyr type of narrator, of whom I've always held a scathing dislike for.
Also, the supporting characters were rather 2-dimensional, lacking any real depth. Perhaps the most interesting character, her arch nemesis Hatsumomo (and as if no one saw her come-uppance coming from a mile away) could have been explored in more depth, rather than the classic jealous-stepmother type. I almost expected her to start rambling to a mirror and poisoning apples by the end of it.
Her treatment of the aesthetically-ravaged, one-armed Nobu also decreased my opinion of chiyo/sayuri. Her unfathomable obsession with the Chairman was unidentifiable, and though told repeatedly that she's smart, her actions and words serve to contradict this many times. Myself, I had her pegged as dull, stupid and overly-passive. She makes no attempt to rebel, aside from the disastrous running-away-though-i-should-tell-you-now-it-will-end-badly attempt. The "asian girl with blue eyes that marks her as special" thing was an extremely weak fall-back plot for the author to rely on.
Golden reduces the geisha to pretty clothes and makeup, and while I'm sure he meant to enlighten the reader of the subtle intricacies and dangerous power plays that were part of the geishas day-to-day lives, I was disappointed with how their existences ultimately came across as small and empty and essentially meaningless. For some reason, the fact that the author was not in fact female as I'd assumed, and that the story was completely fictional didn't sit right with me.
All in all, Memoirs of a Geisha turned out to be ordinary and overly marketed; though rabid fans of the Da Vinci Code can rejoice, having found another mainstream novel, full of interesting facts to leech off then spout out to anyone willing to listen, in an attempt to appear knowledgeable.
(A negative review. MSL remarks.)
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1 2 Total 2 pages 16 items |
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