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A review by kailafitz
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
4.0
Almost a 5 star read. I think I only became engrossed in this novel towards the end, and only then did I appreciate the full read that it was.
Set in Japan during the times of the Great Depression and the second World War, this story was a very interesting insight into the cultural norms and conditions of the people living in such times, particularly through the lens of the distinguishable geisha tradition.
“Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as we might like to be.”
Our protagonist Chiyo is taken from her home in the small fishing village of Yoroido as a very young girl. Sold and sent to Kyoto along with her older sister, Chiyo leaves behind an ill mother and an elderly father which leaves her little prospects in the fishing village. From early on in the story, we discover that one thing about Chiyo tends to draw startling attention- her uncommon silvery blue eyes.
Sent to Kyoto and separated from her sister, the young girl is put into an okiya, a lodging place for geisha. Life in the okiya is strange and horrible with hostile company and horrid chores and routines as Chiyo starts out as a maid. She must build her way up the ladder and deem herself worthy of becoming a successful geisha, the only favorable prospects for a livable future with her circumstances.
“I dont think any of us can speak frankly about pain until we are no longer enduring it.”
This is a challenge for Chiyo, the transition and acceptance of her life does not come easy to her. Furthermore, suffering hostilities from the beautiful and spiteful geisha Hatsumomo throws Chiyo into further debt and despair, almost ruining her chances of any future at all. A rivalry is struck between them as Chiyo is seen as a threat with her unusual beauty.
Hope revives itself with the incidental and almost insignificant event from the outside eye, an encounter with a gentlemen which would spiral into a whirlwind fantasy in Chiyo's mind, pushing her onwards in becoming a successful geisha. Under the guidance of the famous geisha Mameha, Chiyo continues her training into apprenticeship, overcoming many odds that were against her, and Sayuri is born.
“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.”
Success does not come easy to Sayuri. Trouble is stirred by Hatsumomo whilst trying to build her reputation in the Gion area of Kyoto, and secure the affections of men in order to gain financial stability for her okiya. Her livelihood will depend on her ability to woo businessmen and aristocrats with techniques of the geisha tradition. It was very fascinating to read about how the geisha sustained themselves in such a way through this cleverly seductive means of entertainment in the impressive tea houses of Gion.
“If you aren't the woman I think you are, then this isn't the world I thought it was.”
During the course of the geisha life, we learn that an established geisha can acquire a danna, a patron figure who would support a geisha's lifestyle and cover large expenses. Although a danna is usually already married, a geisha with this patron can sometimes be involved in acts of entertainment of the sexual sort. At this career point for Sayuri, she must choose between damaging her carefully built reputation in order to avoid the danna her destiny has always seemed to lie with, or finally do something she never thought she could do; take control of where her river flowed.
“If you keep your destiny in mind, every moment in life becomes an opportunity for moving closer to it.”
This book was very beautiful to read. I was slow to get into it personally, but by the end of the novel it felt like I'd come through a long journey, and having gotten to know the character so well early on, it was warming to see the ending and its dramatic events.
“It was what we Japanese called the onion life, peeling away a layer at a time and crying all the while.”
A lovely read on the hardships of life in Japan during the 1920s and 30s. The writing has lots of lovely metaphors and similes with nature which for me was a very Japan thing with Buddhism being so prominent in the country.
The book was also full of interesting characters. Throughout the life of Chiyo and Sayuri, many different people of authority and personality intervened and guided her which made for a curious adventure.
Overall delighted to have read it!
A beautiful quote to end the journey....
“She paints her face to hide her face. Her eyes are deep water. It is not for Geisha to want. It is not for geisha to feel. Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances, she sings. She entertains you, whatever you want. The rest is shadows, the rest is secret.”
Set in Japan during the times of the Great Depression and the second World War, this story was a very interesting insight into the cultural norms and conditions of the people living in such times, particularly through the lens of the distinguishable geisha tradition.
“Adversity is like a strong wind. I don't mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as we might like to be.”
Our protagonist Chiyo is taken from her home in the small fishing village of Yoroido as a very young girl. Sold and sent to Kyoto along with her older sister, Chiyo leaves behind an ill mother and an elderly father which leaves her little prospects in the fishing village. From early on in the story, we discover that one thing about Chiyo tends to draw startling attention- her uncommon silvery blue eyes.
Sent to Kyoto and separated from her sister, the young girl is put into an okiya, a lodging place for geisha. Life in the okiya is strange and horrible with hostile company and horrid chores and routines as Chiyo starts out as a maid. She must build her way up the ladder and deem herself worthy of becoming a successful geisha, the only favorable prospects for a livable future with her circumstances.
“I dont think any of us can speak frankly about pain until we are no longer enduring it.”
This is a challenge for Chiyo, the transition and acceptance of her life does not come easy to her. Furthermore, suffering hostilities from the beautiful and spiteful geisha Hatsumomo throws Chiyo into further debt and despair, almost ruining her chances of any future at all. A rivalry is struck between them as Chiyo is seen as a threat with her unusual beauty.
Hope revives itself with the incidental and almost insignificant event from the outside eye, an encounter with a gentlemen which would spiral into a whirlwind fantasy in Chiyo's mind, pushing her onwards in becoming a successful geisha. Under the guidance of the famous geisha Mameha, Chiyo continues her training into apprenticeship, overcoming many odds that were against her, and Sayuri is born.
“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.”
Success does not come easy to Sayuri. Trouble is stirred by Hatsumomo whilst trying to build her reputation in the Gion area of Kyoto, and secure the affections of men in order to gain financial stability for her okiya. Her livelihood will depend on her ability to woo businessmen and aristocrats with techniques of the geisha tradition. It was very fascinating to read about how the geisha sustained themselves in such a way through this cleverly seductive means of entertainment in the impressive tea houses of Gion.
“If you aren't the woman I think you are, then this isn't the world I thought it was.”
During the course of the geisha life, we learn that an established geisha can acquire a danna, a patron figure who would support a geisha's lifestyle and cover large expenses. Although a danna is usually already married, a geisha with this patron can sometimes be involved in acts of entertainment of the sexual sort. At this career point for Sayuri, she must choose between damaging her carefully built reputation in order to avoid the danna her destiny has always seemed to lie with, or finally do something she never thought she could do; take control of where her river flowed.
“If you keep your destiny in mind, every moment in life becomes an opportunity for moving closer to it.”
This book was very beautiful to read. I was slow to get into it personally, but by the end of the novel it felt like I'd come through a long journey, and having gotten to know the character so well early on, it was warming to see the ending and its dramatic events.
“It was what we Japanese called the onion life, peeling away a layer at a time and crying all the while.”
A lovely read on the hardships of life in Japan during the 1920s and 30s. The writing has lots of lovely metaphors and similes with nature which for me was a very Japan thing with Buddhism being so prominent in the country.
The book was also full of interesting characters. Throughout the life of Chiyo and Sayuri, many different people of authority and personality intervened and guided her which made for a curious adventure.
Overall delighted to have read it!
A beautiful quote to end the journey....
“She paints her face to hide her face. Her eyes are deep water. It is not for Geisha to want. It is not for geisha to feel. Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances, she sings. She entertains you, whatever you want. The rest is shadows, the rest is secret.”