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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
Growing up, I was fascinated with the movie Memoirs of a Geisha, and it turns out that the author interviewed a real geisha and then completely made up a storyline and incorrectly labeled Geisha as being the same as a Oiran (skilled courtesans). Geisha were never prostitutes but rather skilled entertainers and dancers that helped keep many Japanese traditional trades and arts alive into the modern day.
This memoir is the story of one of Kyoto's most famous geisha, her love of traditional dance, and her never-ending work until her early retirement at age 29. This memoir was incredibly immersive, and Mineko's personality was incredibly entertaining.
This memoir is the story of one of Kyoto's most famous geisha, her love of traditional dance, and her never-ending work until her early retirement at age 29. This memoir was incredibly immersive, and Mineko's personality was incredibly entertaining.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Okay, I understand: this is an important book. It's a response to Memoirs of a Geisha, it's an explanation of the reality of that shadowy world that no one really knew anything about.
But man, is it poorly done.
It's arrogant and baffling. I can't fault her for her arrogance: it's just a personality trait, and she was raised to be the very best so her tone isn't surprising. But I can fault her for her baffling writing technique. It jumps from point to point like wildfire, with no transitions at all. Is it her fault, or her translator's fault? Are elements simply lost? Who knows. All I know is that things just happen in this book with no build up, little explanation. You can tell she's really angry with Arthur Golden's novel, and I know this book is a sign of bravery since she's writing, basically, about trade secrets, but bleh.
She does really love kimono and dance, and her descriptions of the things that she loves are charming and escape the hurt and frustration of much of the rest of the book. Those sections are worth the time. And it is a very detailed book when it comes to the inner workings, like how money is distributed and the processes and politics. So it does have value and is worth reading. It's just not a charming read and not what I had expected.
But man, is it poorly done.
It's arrogant and baffling. I can't fault her for her arrogance: it's just a personality trait, and she was raised to be the very best so her tone isn't surprising. But I can fault her for her baffling writing technique. It jumps from point to point like wildfire, with no transitions at all. Is it her fault, or her translator's fault? Are elements simply lost? Who knows. All I know is that things just happen in this book with no build up, little explanation. You can tell she's really angry with Arthur Golden's novel, and I know this book is a sign of bravery since she's writing, basically, about trade secrets, but bleh.
She does really love kimono and dance, and her descriptions of the things that she loves are charming and escape the hurt and frustration of much of the rest of the book. Those sections are worth the time. And it is a very detailed book when it comes to the inner workings, like how money is distributed and the processes and politics. So it does have value and is worth reading. It's just not a charming read and not what I had expected.
I was so excited to read this book because of my upcoming trip to Japan and my love of Memoirs of a Geisha. However the authors self obsession made it practically unreadable. My father once said that everyone is the hero of their own story and that is true in this case. Mineko lead an amazing, life and she was truly talented, but some of the stories, particularly of her as a child don't seem realistic, especially the saga of how she decided to become a Geiko. I found myself rolling my eyes at some of her anecdotes.
It wasn't all bad though. Like I said she was a talented artist who lead an amazing life. Since I have read Memoirs at least half a dozen times I saw where much of the inspiration of that book came from, and ultimately I disagree with Mineko that Memoirs was a gross mis-characterization of Geisha culture.
It wasn't all bad though. Like I said she was a talented artist who lead an amazing life. Since I have read Memoirs at least half a dozen times I saw where much of the inspiration of that book came from, and ultimately I disagree with Mineko that Memoirs was a gross mis-characterization of Geisha culture.