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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Iwasaki was this century's most famous and highest paid Geisha. She is also one of the few to ever talk about the life and training of a Geisha and was one of the advisors to Arthur Golding when he was writing his novel 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. Clearly she knows what she's talking about and this book explores the beauty and discipline that rules the life of Geishas. Through Iwasaki's words the world of Gion is brought vividly to life and community of women who work together to make that world the exotic paradise that all outsiders view it as. Iwasaki's life appears to have been a charmed one, although not without it's disappointments, and choosing to leave the world of the Geisha was a hard one for her. This is a book for anyone interested in what lies beneath the surface of that enchanting world.
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape
thoroughly enjoyed. mineko is the OG antisocial scorpio queen we love to see it
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
This book was extremely difficult to put down. Mineko brought her story magnificently to life, so much so that half the time, I felt as if I was living it.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Another amazing must read. This is a story that no one should know and everyone must have.
A detailed look into the hidden world of the Kyoto geisha. Beautifully and honestly written. Mineko leaves no detailed unsaid and reveals the drive and strength it took her to reach the top of the geiko ranks.
Perhaps one of my favourite autobiographies that I've read since I signed up to GoodReads and a must for those who've read Golden's 'Memoirs of a Geisha'. Along with beautiful photos accompanying the text 'Geisha of Gion' is the account of Mineko Iwasaki, Japan's foremost geisha, as told by Iwasaki herself along with Rande Brown. It is a life that has seen the artistic beauty of the "flower and willow world" and yet remains firmly grounded with Iwasaki's family struggles, issues with men and love, and the basic need to hide in a cupboard when things just get too much.
First off, unlike most of the other reviewers, I've actually never read [b:Memoirs of a Geisha|930|Memoirs of a Geisha|Arthur Golden|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1157749066s/930.jpg|1558965]. I picked this up because I've always been curious about geishas and I have a love of memoirs.
I found Mineko's writing immediately engaging -- I think her skill as a geisha really comes out in the way she writes. Her words are precise, but captivating and she really captures the emotional tone of a scene.
Mineko's life is fascinating and otherworldly. She presents snippets of her life, leaving the reader to fill in details: a scene from her infancy, a scene from her toddlerhood, vignettes along the way to her being whisked into the secluded world of geisha-hood.
The book toes the line between a description of specifically Mineko's life and exposition of the life of a geisha. Unfortunately, by compromising in to the middle ground, it does an adequate job to both sides, but is stellar on neither. I learned a lot of the terminology, economy and practical matters that go into being a geisha; however, while Mineko states several times that she has a passion about the lack of education that geishas get, this passion is not demonstrated at all in the book and the emotions that the geishas have are obscured. Similarly, Mineko's decision to retire as a geisha and become an art dealer happens over the course of a mere handful of pages and seems to have no basis in the rest of the book.
Mineko also is very clearly a spoiled girl and woman, who is very used to being catered to. While she occasionally shows insight to that, there are also huge portions of the novel where she seems to have no insight, which left me wondering whether the injustices that she complains of were true, or figments of her unrealistic expectations.
I found Mineko's writing immediately engaging -- I think her skill as a geisha really comes out in the way she writes. Her words are precise, but captivating and she really captures the emotional tone of a scene.
Mineko's life is fascinating and otherworldly. She presents snippets of her life, leaving the reader to fill in details: a scene from her infancy, a scene from her toddlerhood, vignettes along the way to her being whisked into the secluded world of geisha-hood.
The book toes the line between a description of specifically Mineko's life and exposition of the life of a geisha. Unfortunately, by compromising in to the middle ground, it does an adequate job to both sides, but is stellar on neither. I learned a lot of the terminology, economy and practical matters that go into being a geisha; however, while Mineko states several times that she has a passion about the lack of education that geishas get, this passion is not demonstrated at all in the book and the emotions that the geishas have are obscured. Similarly, Mineko's decision to retire as a geisha and become an art dealer happens over the course of a mere handful of pages and seems to have no basis in the rest of the book.
Mineko also is very clearly a spoiled girl and woman, who is very used to being catered to. While she occasionally shows insight to that, there are also huge portions of the novel where she seems to have no insight, which left me wondering whether the injustices that she complains of were true, or figments of her unrealistic expectations.