I didn't quite know what to expect from this book. I had a friend once tell me that they were glad they had read the book because the movie was bad. Not seeing the movie I was just hoping the book was good as well. Just based on the title, and truly not knowing what a Geisha was I jumped in. Even though it is written as a memoir it is truly fiction. I'm just amazed that Arthur Golden was able to capture some of the thoughts of a little girl or an apprentice Geisha. The book starts when young, grey eyed Chiyo is just a fisherman's daughter in a rural Japanese fishing village. As her mother is ill, and her father is unsure how to take care of two young daughters, she and her sister are sold, Chiyo to a Okiya to become a Geisha, and her sister into prostitution.
Set in Japan, starting just before WWII gets heated, I loved the prospective this novel gives. How did WWII affect the lives of a Geisha? Their lives, like everyone else's changed dramatically during this time. But even throughout the book the narrator, Sayuri, clarifies that while their lives had changed, it was obviously not as much as those around them.
Not knowing the history of Geisha, I felt like I was reading a swan song to the time of the Geisha. Even she ended up in New York City.
This book really is one of the better books I have read. Of course it is 20th century historical fiction - of course I love it.
Although, I wonder if as a feminist I'm 'not supposed' to like it. I mean, it is all about the objectification of a woman. Sayuri's sister is sold in straight prostitution, and eventually runs away, but we never find out how her life turned out. The story leads you to believe that Sayuri leads a better than she would have had she stayed in her fishing village and lived her life as little Chiyo. Instead, the man of her dreams saves her from a horrible life as a maid, pays for her training, and even eventually (through a VERY roundabout manner) takes her to NYC for her to live out her life there. Something of a "Pretty Woman" or "Cinderella" story, just set in the geisha district of Gion in Kyoto Japan.
I've already started another book. This time I will be reading Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. It is a rather long book, so I'll try and post more often as I'm reading it.
Set in Japan, starting just before WWII gets heated, I loved the prospective this novel gives. How did WWII affect the lives of a Geisha? Their lives, like everyone else's changed dramatically during this time. But even throughout the book the narrator, Sayuri, clarifies that while their lives had changed, it was obviously not as much as those around them.
Not knowing the history of Geisha, I felt like I was reading a swan song to the time of the Geisha. Even she ended up in New York City.
This book really is one of the better books I have read. Of course it is 20th century historical fiction - of course I love it.
Although, I wonder if as a feminist I'm 'not supposed' to like it. I mean, it is all about the objectification of a woman. Sayuri's sister is sold in straight prostitution, and eventually runs away, but we never find out how her life turned out. The story leads you to believe that Sayuri leads a better than she would have had she stayed in her fishing village and lived her life as little Chiyo. Instead, the man of her dreams saves her from a horrible life as a maid, pays for her training, and even eventually (through a VERY roundabout manner) takes her to NYC for her to live out her life there. Something of a "Pretty Woman" or "Cinderella" story, just set in the geisha district of Gion in Kyoto Japan.
I've already started another book. This time I will be reading Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. It is a rather long book, so I'll try and post more often as I'm reading it.
No comments:
Post a Comment